Building High Performing Teams – Leadership & Management Training for National Grid

   Case Studies

Client Profile: National Grid

National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) is the regional electricity distribution division of National Grid. Formerly known as Western Power Distribution, the UK’s largest electricity distribution network serves nearly 8 million customers in the East and West Midlands, South West and Wales, delivering essential power to millions of homes and businesses across its regions.

With a distribution area of 550,000 square kilometres, it’s 6,500 colleagues are committed to providing a safe, stable and reliable electricity supply and ensuring the highest quality of customer service.

The Challenge: Fostering Emotionally Intelligent Leadership

In response to a staff survey called Grid:Voice that highlighted the need to equip their managers with the necessary skills to be leaders of the future, NGED sought a training partner to help them address this crucial requirement.

The Solution: Bespoke Leadership Training by Develop Training

NGED’s search for a partner led them to Develop Training, the UK’s leading accredited provider of compliance, technical, and safety training.

Develop’s initial remit was to provide a mental resilience/cognitive agility programme for managers in order to improve their mental wellbeing and overall performance levels. This would enable them to understand how their thoughts/feelings and behaviours impact on themselves and their team members.

However, due to the overwhelming success of this training, senior leadership and operational managers from NGED and Develop Training collaborated closely to design a bespoke programme of training called ‘Building High Performing Teams’.

The goal was clear: to elevate NGED’s operational middle managers into emotionally intelligent leaders capable of navigating challenges, fostering relationships, and driving the organisation forward.

A Collaborative Journey to Excellence

Develop’s organisational specialists dove deep into NGED’s operations, conducting extensive site visits and engaging with senior leaders and operational managers. These interactions were crucial in understanding NGED’s unique pressures, challenges, and aspirations. By immersing themselves in the company’s ethos, Develop’s specialists gained a comprehensive perspective, enabling them to craft a training programme perfectly aligned with NGED’s needs.

This ‘Building High Performing Teams’ programme is delivered on National Grid’s premises in cohorts of up to 10 managers, attending 6 days over a 7-month period.

A unique aspect of the programme is that every cohort has be allocated a senior cohort advocate/mentor. This has proved to be a highly successful aspect of the training as it has enabled each cohort to develop as a team of managers whilst accessing continued support from their senior advocate, whom also attends all 6 of their on-site development days.

The 6 training days of the BHPT leadership programme involve practical, interactive team activities across a range of topics, for example:

• Understanding organisational culture and the impact of own core/aspirational values
• Developing growth versus fixed mindsets in self and others
• Understanding and developing high performing team traits and behaviours
• How to develop a psychologically safe environment to promote collective intelligence and psychological ownership.
• Emotionally intelligent leadership – styles/situations, motivating self and others.
• Mental resilience, cognitive agility and how to manage oneself – self-awareness, self-regulation.
• Whole brain-based presentations of cohort action learning set briefs throughout the 6 days
• Understanding and managing change, workplace conflict, and positive influencing via courageous conversations
• The manager as a positive impact communicator – meetings, presentations, discussions
• Developing self and others via coaching/mentoring/delegating and feedback/feedforward
• Continuing professional development and identifying own career anchor.

The Result: Transforming Leaders, Shaping Futures

The 2-year programme has been running from September 2022 and is due to end in late 2024. Throughout this time delegates have given extremely high feedback ratings, with January – April 2023 receiving consistent 100% positive feedback – an incredible achievement!

One delegate praised the training saying, “I found the training very thought-provoking and it has already offered useful advice/guidance on ways I can help improve my team. I was unaware of most of this before the sessions!”

Develop is awaiting the results of NGED’s next Grid:Voice survey but the feedback already shows that the results are likely to be positive.

Delegate testimonials

Conclusion: A Lasting Partnership for Leadership Excellence

The partnership between Develop Training and NGED stands as a testament to the power of collaboration, employee investment, and dedicated expertise. By crafting bespoke leadership training that focuses on mental resilience and emotional intelligence, Develop Training has not only elevated NGED’s management teams but has also contributed to building a stronger, more resilient, and forward-thinking organisation that is well-equipped to lead in an ever-evolving energy landscape.

Through their ongoing collaboration, Develop and NGED continue to shape the future of leadership, ensuring that the leaders of tomorrow are equipped with the skills, insights, and emotional intelligence to excel in their roles and drive organisational success.