Summary of the YLP Luncheon Discussion, 27 Feb 2009

Opening remarks from GIFT CEO Chandran Nair

• All of us are aware that this is a unique time for business. There is a trust deficit.
• What role has HR played and how can it be elevated? How does this discussion get started?
• Can we imagine a dynamic within companies where HR leaders are asked to advise the CEO on who makes it onto the Board of Directors? A recent FT article considers this question.
• What GIFT does is promote and provide a platform for learning and understanding leadership which goes beyond the textbook, “Jack Welch method” which is so often the default for executive learning.
• We feel that the discussions on leadership and ethics have to go beyond what is possible from an internal course taught by the company’s own executives, which often just reinforces conventional thinking.
• There is a new business landscape emerging and people are currently still in denial. The next 3-5 years will result in something very different than what we are familiar with now. There is a need to confront this and get prepared.
• GIFT recently produced a piece looking at the role of business schools in the current financial crisis and the culpability of executives who made poor moral decisions. The WSJ picked it up for an article and has also been examining the role of business school in creating the mess.
• Critical aspects of leadership in the Global Young Leaders Programme (YLP):1. Knowledge – having a wide knowledge base and a genuine curiosity and willingness to think differently about important business issues and its role in society.
• 2. Communication – an ability to use language effectively particularly when working with people from different cultural backgrounds and not simply relying on powerpoints, gimmicks and prepared text.
• 3. Empathy – the ability to feel what others feel and appreciating the full consequences of decisions taken which have an impact on society.
• HR teams should be playing a bigger role in the company beyond being administrators. The ideal time is now.
• The YLP can be one way for HR to play a significant role in creating a platform for the inspiration of employees.
• It is the best time to ‘switch on the lights.’ Do things to end the doom and gloom.
• Give employees a chance to get out and feel what the new business landscape might look like – the future customer, the future market.

Global Young Leaders Programme (YLP)
Q&A

What was the original inspiration for the YLP?

• The YLP was conceived from the interest to go beyond consulting into a real world setting with real world impacts and to take young executives beyond book learning and conventional wisdom about the world we live in. From the beginning, there was an imperative for the model to address social and environmental issues and translate solutions into investment opportunities.

 Where does GIFT’s funding come from?

• GIFT is not a charitable organization though its motives are not-for-profit. The programme makes money so as to ensure the sustainability of the organization and the ability to hire and retain good people.
• It is a hybrid model that challenges traditional views on what a social enterprise might be. As such, GIFT has three primary revenue streams, specifically the Global Young Leaders Programme (YLP) participation fees, corporate advisory services and speaking engagements.

How do you ensure the sustainability of the projects or the businesses created?

• With regards to developing a commercially viable business model, it is up to the YLP participants to do it, with GIFT facilitators supporting them in this process. Due diligence in picking these projects is also vital.
• Participants write the full business plan including identifying required injection of capital, cash flow projections and exit strategy for investors.
• The aim is to take an enterprise and provide the business plan to attract investment, not necessarily to write the perfect plan at this stage. When investors are interested, additional due diligence and refinement of the plan may be required.

GIFT does not take a role in running the social enterprises?

• GIFT does not get actively involved in running the enterprises. At most, GIFT may be retained for a short period of time in a project management role.

What impacts on people or companies have you seen since the YLP began?

• GIFT is not an HR consultancy, and does not always use the type of hard metrics that HR executives look for.
• We do know that many participants return from the two weeks quite inspired and are still engaged through the alumni network.
• Everyone gets a slightly different take-away from the process, depending on where they come from and what is needed to promote their development.
• When needed and requested, GIFT will work with the employer to assess the way forward for the employee in question.
• A formal evaluation of the employee is provided at the end of the programme.

Is the YLP pitch changing given the current climate and if so, how?

• As the credit crunch has deepened and as all conventional wisdom about how things should be done is being deconstructed we are finding it easier to talk to decision-makers – many are listening. We hear that because internal corporate trainers will rarely challenge the way things are done they therefore see the YLP as a rare offering pushing the envelope, intended specifically for talented high-potentials in order to get them thinking in new ways.
• Further, as companies look to address key challenges in new ways, we are seeing greater interest in the company-specific tailored YLP which uses a similar methodology but also leverages internal stakeholder engagement to come up with innovative solutions to an issue and aligns the field-learning objectives with company culture and priorities.

Does the YLP have a sufficient cross-functional mix of participants to create a viable outcome?

• The truth is that GIFT does not have absolute control over the mix of participants that show up on any given YLP. This is because companies who send nominees do so based on their own unique strategies and priorities for regional learning.
• However to date the programmes have tended to receive a decent mix of people with the right types of business skills. GIFT’s facilitators have sufficient background and experience to fill in any missing gaps, for example in assembling robust financial projections, etc.

What aspects of leadership does the YLP develop?

• Key leadership traits cultivated through the YLP include: appreciating the need to widen the spectrum of knowledge in an increasingly complex world (knowing what you do not know); developing effective communication abilities across cultures including knowing how to beg to differ and building a personal capacity for greater empathy or understanding issues from different perspectives.
• In general, over the last 20 years there has been too much leadership jargon which has detached the intellectual rigor and analysis from the emotional context necessary to make wise decisions. The effective use of both of these functions – thinking and feeling – is a key for effective decision-making.

Is there follow-up coaching for YLP participants?

• Following the YLP, GIFT provides evaluations and feedback and engages in dialogue with both the participants and their line managers. There is also a well established but informal alumni network through which participants engage with each other and from which a consistent stream of future participants is generated through referral.
• However, GIFT is very clear that it is not an HR consultancy. Therefore we do not provide systematic follow up coaching or ongoing process service delivery.

What is the relationship of the YLP to Corporate Social Responsibility? Is the YLP a CSR activity?

• GIFT is careful not to position nor package the YLP as a CSR initiative because this tends to cause certain decision-makers within companies to lose interest or misunderstand or underestimate the value of the methodology.
• In fact, the YLP site projects do have certain CSR relevance that participating companies can leverage and GIFT staff has significant background in sustainable development and CSR understanding. However, our experience has been that in its current state, typical CSR activities do not hold enough priority nor command enough financial resources within companies to drive priority in the YLP.
• Improving employee performance and cultivating solid leadership skills through experiential learning on real world business plan development are more effective to highlight as benefits when generating support for the programme.