How LBI Built A Thriving Women In Leadership Program
How A Large Bank In Ireland Leveraged The LEADx App To Accelerate Gender Equality
Accelerating gender equality at LBI.
A large bank in Ireland (we'll call them LBI) is committed to building a diverse and inclusive talent pipeline. Achieving 50-50 gender equality is an essential part of this goal.
To reach this goal, LBI's Learning Team needed to:
Build a strong pipeline of women they can develop, retain, and eventually promote to senior leadership.
Foster and fortify an empowering environment for women.
Increase awareness around gender diversity commitments.
As LBI set out to achieve this goal, they put together a Women in Leadership program — a six-month program aimed at developing specific skills that would help women progress into leadership roles and thrive.
The Solution: A Six-Month Women in Leadership Accelerator
LBI partnered with Accenture and LEADx to build and deliver RISE, a six-month leadership development program for 223 selected women. The program covered five key modules:
01 Strengths
Inspirational virtual kick-off opened by the CEO, followed by StrengthsFinder group coaching.
02 Journey
Real-life career stories focused on imposter syndrome and career planning.
03 Sources
Influence, power, and persuasion — and how these skills create business value.
04 Voice
The skills women need to tell their stories in a way that does them justice.
05 Challenge
Reflection on learnings, future commitments, and ways to pay knowledge forward.
Many learning teams have a pool of talented, motivated participants, a meaningful curriculum, expert facilitators, and well-chosen outcomes. The foundation is in place — but budget, time, and resources don't allow them to deliver the reinforcement and practice research shows is necessary for habit change.
That's why LBI used the LEADx platform to deliver a steady stream of reinforcement exercises and insights in the flow of work. Personalized nudges and micro-learning built a rhythm of application and practice — closing the gap between knowing and doing.
The Results: LBI Increased Mobility For Women In Their RISE Accelerator
LBI built and delivered this six-month program between January and July of 2022. Just two months after RISE ended, 43 of the 223 women who participated were either promoted or moved into different roles they hadn't previously considered.
“I liked being able to talk to people from different departments within the bank, including people who work or have worked in branches, which is something I know little about.” —RISE participant
“This course allowed me to think about my strengths rather than focusing on weaknesses.” —RISE participant
“I felt empowered after that program. It really made me think about how women are viewed by society and how we need to speak up.” —RISE participant
Moving Forward
LBI gave participants continued access to nudges and micro-learning for six months after the program ended — so participants could keep practicing and pull up key learnings whenever they needed them.