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Developing Digital Leadership and Transformation Skills at Squared Guru

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About

Google, the world-leading multinational internet and technology company, developed Squared Guru to enhance its understanding of digital transformation. Guru grows the leadership and change management skills required to drive digital transformation. Impact has partnered with Google since 2009.

Impact designed and facilitated three days of a two-week programme, which supported participants to consider what leadership in the digital age really means, and the mindset shift required to make change happen.

The Squared Guru vision is to empower today’s and tomorrow’s leaders to drive transformation and growth where they work. Squared Guru is based on four pillars:

Have a vision - Think ‘big’ and take risks on your ideas and the ideas of others.

Benchmark yourself - Be aware of your leadership impact. Recognise your habits and be willing to move beyond them - dare to do things differently.

Liberate brilliance - Create a culture where everyone can be at their best. Collaborate, enquire, have great conversations, and create allies. Influence change and drive action through others.

Become a committed learner - Develop your curiosity, and have a passion for insight and growth.

Impact ran three days of this two week face-to-face experience delivered by a mix of Googlers, industry experts and guest speakers. Impact delivered the leadership and behavioural agenda which formed a red-thread throughout. Impact spent two days laying the foundation of the programme, helping the group of delegates to:

  • Form strong relationships and create a risk-free environment.
  • Understand the principles of leadership in a digital world.
  • Develop skills to create new, unusual, powerful collaborations.
  • Learn to learn from every experience and have increased self-awareness.

This was achieved through real, live, immersive projects combined with facilitated discussions and feedback.

An example is ‘Project C0-Create’, where participants were responsible for supporting a group of young students on a project, creating an environment where the students can be their best, be innovative and achieve a practical outcome.

On the final day, Impact facilitated ‘The Ongoing Revolution’ which culminated in participants defining their change roadmap – a personal action plan including strategies to influence change within their organisation.

  • 92% Overall score
  • 94% Facilitator score
  • +45 NPS

Overall programme feedback scores were consistently high but the real results were on a personal level for participants and their organisations.

The foundation days allowed the mind-set shift needed for the two-week programme to be a valuable change.

Participants left with the confidence to think big and take risks, they understood themselves and could be clear, communicative and collaborative. They empowered and coached each other, and became conscious of habitual modes of working so they could move beyond them.

The ‘Ongoing Revolution’ day resulted in a further shift in mind-set: delegates left the programme with an action plan and the ability to drive change regardless of their formal authority to do so, with an enhanced ability to find solutions and influence others.

“Impact’s expertise in behavioural change has been core to our Squared programme. They are collaborative and insightful partners for the Google Digital Academy and other teams here at Google and we’d recommend them highly.” Sarah Logan - Head of Google Digital Academy

Testimonials
See what our customers say about us
Christopher Williams
Strategic Content Manager
Sony
“I see real benefits in terms of the operational efficiency of the business. We’ve had loads of really good examples where people have either driven forward existing projects or new projects.”
Aneta Trojanowska
Development Manager
Play
“Impact worked with a group of 12 high potential managers from PLAY. The main objective was to support the participants to create their own development plans. Impact’s development centres are different; participants are part of the learning process, receiving regular feedback to help build a picture of ability along with identifying improvement areas. The project, which was professionally designed and delivered, ensured that each participant benefitted from opportunities for personal insight and learning."
Programme participant
Premier Farnell
"The programme’s combination of personal experiences, the trust with the team, the communtiy project, the sense of accomplishment and most of all the feedback in a trusting environment – has helped me to be a better leader."