The Challenge

The world of banking in Africa is highly dynamic with increasingly aggressive competitors offering similar, largely undifferentiated products, services, technologies and marketing tactics. New generation of clients are beer informed, educated and more demanding. Their benchmarks for service experience are not necessarily other industry players, but rather leading companies in retail, sportswear, electronics, fashion, computing, transport, etc. New, nimble and disruptive competitors are making inroads into traditional banking industry with creative, simple, easy-to-use products, services and business models offering new customer experiences in the process. This environment requires that every member of the organization, especially senior members, must not only add tactical value to today’s business but must develop their strategic thinking skills to create new value propositions relevant for the future business of the company. This Bank requires a new breed of professionals-individuals with strategic thinking capabilities able to see industry gaps and to innovate models to close those gaps to benefit customers.

The Solution

NiBS designed an integrated program with several sessions delivered at strategic intervals to several cohorts of senior executives over 3 years. The objective is to help the bank develop a pool of strategic thinking leaders with the strongest commitment to continuous improvement of their dynamic capabilities. Modules include Leading strategic innovation, creating and leading winning teams, building a customer centric organization and corporate strategy and execution. The overall premise is that leaders with strong commitment and skills in execution will reward the organization with enhanced customer trust, long-term engagement, and credible, sustainable growth.

The Result

Over 3 years, this program has helped to develop a new mind-set and language of innovation, strategy, and teamwork among the participants. It has unlocked new ways of looking at the wealth management, retail and other banking businesses. Participants have developed several new projects from products, services, to business models. The bank reports of significant improvements in alignment and collaboration among executives, enhanced executive capacity to think about and to discover potential new levers for innovation and growth, as well as to build their personal leadership capabilities. Following the first year of this program, the bank found it necessary to institute a formal innovation management system to evaluate and support innovation projects by executives.

 Testimonials

“The program will help you ‘unlearn’ some of the behaviours that are generally assumed as drivers of business success. It gives the opportunity to reassess evaluate and reprogram behavioural thinking on innovation, the customer and the company.” – D. Martins, Head IT Consulting.

“The program is very mind-altering as it helps in challenging one’s mind to think differently. This is particularly interesting to me as the things learnt here can be applied in the organisation and also in my personal life. The gradual and progressive way the instructor helped us to develop innovative ideas for products, services and business models is very commendable. The practicality of the content and relation to our industry made me really think of newer ways of doing the same things. This program should be extended to the entire Group, top executives and all middle managers”.

“The presentation on team leadership types and skills, undertaking the assessments on self and team members, and the enlightenment from the team leadership style questionnaire helped me to discover my personality traits and associated team leadership styles; build team leadership strategies, and draw up my team leadership plan. Case studies and video illustrations of different leadership styles made a very interesting program which will help improve my team leadership skills. The group work resulted in very engaging interaction during and after the program”.

“The program provided a paradigm shift for me in terms of how I view the customer and what is indeed important to the customer.” – Charles Omoera, Head Investment Research and Strategy.