Hospira Business Leadership Academy: Leveraging the Power of New Independence
Business Leadership Academy participants
listen intently as Hospira's Steve Edelmuth,
Manager - R & D (foreground) shares the
results of his business analysis.
Hospira’s leadership had a bold vision. Formed in 2004 as a spin-off from the core global hospital products business of Abbott, the new company would integrate the best of two worlds. From Abbott, it would capture the rich heritage of expertise earned through
its seventy-year track record as a respected industry leader; with its independence, Hospira would propel itself to new heights as a lean organization with a culture of entrepreneurship.
Instilling a new style of leadership: To achieve its mission, Hospira Research and Development, Medical and Regulatory Affairs recognized the need to instill a new style of leadership throughout the management team. A challenging transformation for any organization, at Hospira R&D, M&RA the change would need to take hold across a management team composed largely of scientists and engineers. Few managers had recent training or experience in the type of leadership and business acumen skills their new roles would demand in leading their teams. “The bottom line was that managers throughout our company needed to not only act differently,” says Julie Dexter, Manager of Human Resources, “they needed to think differently, too.”
Academy stresses tactical and strategic perspectives on business: Its mission clear, Hospira’s R&D, M&RA senior leadership worked with Lake Forest Corporate Education to develop the Hospira Business Leadership Academy. The Academy pursues two very significant, interrelated objectives. First, participants would learn the high-impact business leadership skills they would use to drive real results within a culture that values entrepreneurship and innovation. Second, participants would acquire a big-picture perspective of how their actions and decisions impact Hospira’s larger, mission-critical goals.
“In effect, we set out to create a comprehensive training program that would raise each manager’s effectiveness from both a tactical and strategic perspective, while also helping reinforce his or her personal connection to the new Hospira organization,” explains Susan Vece, LFCE Director and Business Leadership Academy project manager.
Hospira credits much of the Academy’s ongoing success to the research and solid business theory that went into its development. “Hospira conducted an employee engagement survey and 360-degree profiles of the managers in our R&D, M&RA groups and also conducted focus groups to hone in on the specific high-impact skills most needed in our organization,” Dexter explains.
In addition, LFCE conducted follow-up interviews with multiple levels of management to confirm the targeted skill sets and to create customized case studies to simulate participants’ real-world challenges.
Over a total of eight days, Academy participants experience a series of integrated sessions designed to help them gain essential tactical and strategic thinking skills and to build experience applying their new skills in real-world situations. “Each class builds on the skills learned in the prior session,” says Vece. From a tactical perspective, participants learn to lead high-performing teams, develop others, and manage through change. Communication, finance, business strategy, and project management are addressed with an emphasis on strategic thinking.
“We’re thrilled by the results and responses we’ve received from participants,” says Dexter. The managers nominated Communication Skills as their favorite course. In the words of one manager, “This class made it very clear to me that in order to be a good manager, I need to work on my behavioral skills.”
Finance was a close second. “Many participants were eager to learn how interdependent financial measures influence and shape business decisions – a testament to the intellectual curiosity of technical experts!” Vece notes.
Enthusiasm of key leaders seals success: The Hospira Business Leadership Academy might never have been as successful as it was without the enthusiastic support of Hospira’s key leaders. Chief among them is Ed Ogunro, PhD, Hospira’s Senior Vice President of Research & Development, Medical Affairs and Chief Scientific Officer, who addressed each group of managers on their first day of the program.
Sharing his own learning path in gaining business leadership skills, Ogunro explained, “Early in my career as a scientist, senior managers took a chance on my leadership potential, challenging me to build the strategic and tactical business skills I now call upon every day. The Leadership Academy is an important investment in our future because it represents our commitment to giving our technical experts the tools they need to become strong business leaders.”
By the end of July 2006, more than 130 of Hospira’s scientists and engineers in key management positions had completed the Academy. Following requests from numerous participants to send their teams through training, the Communication Skills course will be offered to teams who want to attend together to improve their team interactions and communications. Another group of managers will participate in the Hospira Business Leadership Academy this fall.
