We love working with clients who are inspiring and who challenge convention. MTR Elizabeth line tick these boxes. You will be familiar with the Crossrail construction project – MTR Elizabeth line is the company that will operate this new railway on behalf of Transport for London. When fully operational the Elizabeth line will transform travel across the capital, serving an estimated 200 million passengers annually and increasing central London’s rail capacity by 10%.
MTR Elizabeth line (MTREL) are industry-leading and are determined to rethink and reshape how a railway company operates. Their vision to set a new transport standard for the UK requires leaders who are aligned and equipped to deliver this aspiration.
We were commissioned to create a programme for their senior leadership team by Richard Wilde, MTREL’s Head of Learning and Development. Regarding their ‘Empower’ programme, Richard said: “We required a development programme that engaged and inspired our experienced senior leaders. AKD Solutions worked collaboratively with us to gain a deep understanding of both our wider business objectives and our specific learning objectives. This enabled them to design and deliver a bespoke experiential programme that stood out from other leadership programmes. AKD Solutions have proved to be the perfect partner and have successfully delivered our vision for Empower.”
The Challenge
We spent time understanding the aspirations and the challenges, to enable us to design the right programme.
• Some of the drivers included:
• Increasing strategic capacity
• Improving political and other stakeholder management
Developing a cohort that would continue to work closely together and draw on the leadership skills developed to add value to MTREL long after the programme had finished
Empower
One of our fundamental beliefs is valuing the uniqueness of every organisation and reflecting this in how we design and deliver any learning experience. The programme is disruptive, experiential and challenging.
We deliberately didn’t involve normal rail-based content. Instead, we worked with several partners including DB Schenker, Metrobank and Warner Brothers to shape and deliver the 1 year programme. Monthly modules were wide in focus and scope ranging from “I’m only as good as my team” working with UK Athletics at their Elite Athletes Centre at Loughborough University, to “We make the difference,” a customer experience workshop hosted by the Harry Potter Studios.
The Impact
This programme has had a profound impact on individuals and the organisation. There has been a tangible change in the self-awareness and confidence of participants. There has also been increased engagement and ownership of their role in leading the organisation. Alison Bell, HR Director said:
“What Akin and his team offer is very different to what many experience as part of a leadership development programme. Their focus is on experiential learning rather than typical theory and classroom-based training. AKD have partnered with us to challenge our approach and push the boundaries of our thinking to create and deliver a bespoke, innovative development programme for our leadership team. The results have been truly inspirational and have left a lasting impact on all participants.”
The feedback from the participants include:
“I’m clearer on the environment I want to work in and the environment I want to create for my team.”
“I’m not frightened to challenge more (in the right way).”
“I lead based on my values, being focused and purposeful, developing myself others, being reliable, and inspiring others.”
MTR Elizabeth Line – Global Leadership Assessment Centre
