Leadership Development Framework Design
Client Project Briefing

Learn how we guided the development of a Leadership Development Framework Design to help a National Laboratory optimize performance. Leadership Development Programs are fundamental for best-in-class organizations operating in competitive environments. Culture is the context in which productivity, morale, and overall performance reside. The leadership drivers in your organization are the key factors that enable people and execution. By partnering with a leading defense research laboratory, we assessed, validated, and implemented new managerial and leadership competencies to keep pace with a complex and demanding technical environment. This initiative not only fostered a culture of continuous improvement but also equipped leaders with the skills needed to navigate challenges and drive innovation. Our comprehensive approach ensured that the laboratory remained agile and resilient, ultimately enhancing its capability to achieve strategic objectives and maintain a competitive edge in the industry.
- Explore the Client Project Briefing below to learn how our Leadership and Senior Consultant Team craft tailored solutions that foster growth, build adaptability, and deliver measurable & sustainable results. Additionally, you can explore our integrated Management Consulting Solutions, Professional Development Training & Executive & Leadership Coaching Programs or Contact Us to discuss your unique needs.
Client
The Client is a major research and development laboratory operated by a leading east coast technological university in conjunction with a division of the US Department of Defense.
Challenge
The organization required identification and validation of the scope of competencies required for their managers and directors to ensure functional effectiveness and overall situational leadership success in a complex technical environment. The existing leadership development requirements and process would require assessment, evaluation, and where required, implementation of transformational measures to ensure best-in-class results for a wide-ranging and technical complex national defense portfolio.
Solution
AMS senior consultants conducted a formal evaluation (gap analysis) of current leadership development requirements and processes against a robust set of best-in-class competencies and behavioral characteristics linked to demonstrated results for managerial and leadership successes in the same and similar environments.
Critical steps to the solution implementation included conducting interviews with key managers, directors, and laboratory leaders to elicit their thoughts on managerial and leadership requirements and challenges. We assembled the assessment model based on interview results and senior consultant industry experience. This model was then reviewed and validated by client stakeholders to ensure its relevance in the subject environment and alignment with current organizational role delineations, functional practices, and leadership challenges.
We developed web-based surveys and conducted detailed interviews with participants at all organizational levels to gather comprehensive data. In addition, we reviewed best practice and process documentation, project and program documentation, and conducted interviews with the laboratory’s key defense client.
Based on this extensive analysis, we developed a detailed recommendations report. The report outlined areas where leadership development mechanisms were successful and provided a wide-ranging list of recommendations for transformation. These recommendations included improvements in Technical and Project Management Best Practices, Roles and Responsibility Definition, Functional Manager Competencies, and the inclusion of an overall Leadership Competency Model with definitive behavioral characteristics.
Benefits
The client greatly benefited from the solution provided by AMS senior consultants, which involved a formal evaluation (gap analysis) of current leadership development requirements and processes. This evaluation was based on a robust set of best-in-class competencies and behavioral characteristics linked to demonstrated results in similar environments. Critical steps included conducting interviews with key managers, directors, and laboratory leaders to understand their thoughts on managerial and leadership requirements and challenges. AMS consultants then assembled an assessment model, which was reviewed and validated by client stakeholders to ensure its relevance and alignment with the organization's needs.
Web-based surveys and detailed interviews were conducted with participants at all organizational levels, providing comprehensive data. This was supplemented by a review of best practice and process documentation, as well as project and program documentation, and interviews with the laboratory’s key defense client. The resulting recommendations report outlined successful leadership development mechanisms and provided a wide-ranging list of recommendations for transformation. These included improvements in Technical and Project Management Best Practices, Roles and Responsibility Definition, Functional Manager Competencies, and the inclusion of an overall Leadership Competency Model with definitive behavioral characteristics. This comprehensive approach equipped the organization with the tools and strategies needed to achieve significant leadership and managerial success.
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