CASE STUDY.

Using the ECR to deliver leadership development programmes that create organisational impact.

“The experience of working with RocheMartin has been seamless. The team there is highly collaborative, very engaged, and it’s very easy to work with them. On top of that, the ECR speaks for itself. It’s user-friendly, the validations are strong, it gives really good quality information and data, and the different content you get from the ECR 360 gives you great material to develop rich coaching conversations. It’s definitely our tool of choice.”

Tony O’Connor, Founder, People Dimensions International

Key results

Consistent approach

The ECR forms the starting point of PDI’s suite of leadership development programmes stretching across several different disciplines.

Guaranteed clarity

Both the profiling and feedback offered by the ECR talks to executives in clear, easy-to-understand language – so lessons are learned quickly.

Leadership focus

Speaking the language of C-suite executives is critical to gaining their trust. The ECR focuses entirely on the issues that strengthen leadership performance.

Senior advocates

Securing the backing of C-suite figures is essential to company-wide coaching engagements. The ECR makes it easy to expand a coaching relationship.

Company background

People Dimensions International (PDI) works with large, multinational corporations such as Johnson & Johnson and Allianz Partners. Most of its clients are C-suite executives and other senior figures, and it focuses on building long-term coaching relationships, some of which have lasted more than 20 years.

Founded by executive coach Tony O’Connor after a 16-year military career, RocheMartin’s Emotional Intelligence tools have been central to its operation for over a decade. Tony became a RocheMartin certified coach 15 years ago. Since then, he was used the ECR and the ECR 360 on an ongoing basis.

Challenge

PDI needed a new tool to facilitate leadership growth and transform performance across its leadership journey modules. But its diverse client base meant that finding an appropriate tool was not straightforward. PDI had strict criteria to satisfy. First, its chosen tool had to enjoy scientific validity and global recognition. This was essential in building credibility with its clients. The chosen tool also had to be able to cascade culturally across an entire organisation and still maintain relevance in different regions in the world. PDI turned to the ECR – and hasn’t looked back.

The ECR is a very strong foundation for being a successful leader and we use it as a conduit into all the different parts of our programme.”

Tony O’Connor, Founder, People Dimensions International

Consistent approach

PDI coaches its clients on personal, interpersonal, organisational leadership, and growth mindset skills. To engage its clients, it aims to make the learning journey more memorable than its competitors. RocheMartin’s Emotional Intelligence tools help PDI coachees develop a confident, optimistic, and positive attitude towards learning.

“In all our leadership development, we always start with the ECR,” says Tony. “It’s been our tool of choice for many, many years and it sets the foundation from which we build on. We’ll always do the ECR 360 with new clients and then start with a feedback session and complete the Action Plan. That’s the first stage of our leadership programme.”

Leadership focus

Working with C-suite executives means PDI has to meet specific expectations, conduct accurate and detailed profiling, and drive performance conversations with high-level and highly experienced figures. The ECR has given them the credibility to do that at pace.

“Because it’s very leadership focused, it’s very easy to sell it as a leadership tool,” says Tony. “Other tools might be focused on personality, behaviour, or different competencies. But the ECR is leadership focused and when you’re selling a leadership training programme, it’s a very natural selling point. The ECR is integrated into everything we do.”

A woman talking in a business meeting at a table

Guaranteed clarity

Emotional Intelligence profiling is a new experience for many of the executives PDI works with. Taking an overly scientific approach might leave people struggling to connect any findings with their real-world, day-to-day experiences leading some of the world’s largest organisations. That’s why the ECR’s approach is so appreciated.

Tony explains: “I started with EQ-i and then moved across into ECR. They’re both good tools, but the entry point of the ECR is really user-friendly. People can understand it very quickly. In all the years I’ve used it, I’ve never once had someone come back to me and tell me they didn’t enjoy it. The way it’s laid out, with the 10 competencies and the three areas of focus, you can get your mind around it very, very quickly.”

Man talking in a business meeting at a table

Senior advocates

Building trust with C-suite executives is essential to garnering company-wide support for Emotional Intelligence coaching. The ECR is proven to make an immediate impact on leaders at all levels, helping PDI to grow its business with extended engagements that expand over time.

“People are a lot more aware of EQ now,” says Tony. “They understand that your EQ is as important as your IQ. With one of our multinational clients, as soon as the senior team was profiled with the ECR, they insisted that everybody had to do it – so that’s what we did. We went in and worked with about 100 of their managers.”

Woman talking in a business meeting at a table

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