IMD is delighted to have once again earned a Gold Award in the 2023 EFMD Excellence in Practice Awards, which recognize outstanding and impactful learning and development partnerships in the field of executive education.
This year, Professor John Weeks, Professor Susan Goldsworthy, Professor Howard Yu, Learning Manager Jennie Zeiner, and Senior Researcher and Writer Nancy Lane won in the Organizational Development category for The LEGO Group and IMD: Building the Leadership Playground.
The case summary explores how the LEGO Group was able to devise a new strategy and develop a leadership culture that helped the iconic children’s play materials manufacturer to sustainable sales growth.
Partnering with IMD, the LEGO Group co-created three, two-day workshops for a cross-functional Working Group which culminated in the development of the Leadership Playground, a manifesto laying out a new approach to leadership that aimed to empower and energize people at all levels.
The second phase involved two programs for top leaders: “Panorama” and “Catalyst”, to fully embed the new model and scale up, developing leaders to better deliver the company’s strategy and mobilize the organization.
“At IMD, we are inspired by the visionary idea in the LEGO Group that leaders are people at any level of the organization who create the space so that ‘everybody is energized every day’. It is a privilege to partner with them in so many different ways to bring their LEGO Leadership Playground to life,” said Weeks, Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior, and Program Co-director of Workshops, Panorama and Catalyst.
Commenting on the recognition, Loren I. Shuster, Chief People Officer & Head of Corporate Affairs, said: “The Leadership Playground represents the essence of our core values at the LEGO Group – the power of playful learning to energize all colleagues, regardless of their role, and help them develop as leaders. We’re honored to be recognized alongside IMD and thank them for their fantastic, continued partnership.”
EFMD is the largest international network association in the field of management development. The annual EFMD Excellence in Practice Awards (EiP) are given out in the categories of Leadership, Professional, Talent, and Organizational Development.
In 2022, IMD was recognized with a Gold Award in the Talent Development category for its work with Moroccan fertilizer group OCP and Africa Business School, and a Silver Award for a customized learning program for Norwegian financial services group DNB.
It has also previously won EFMD Excellence in Practice Awards for case studies on SCB, Valmet, and Stora Enso.
Find out more about IMD’s Custom Programs.
