For nearly a decade, this Fortune 500 life insurance company had been investing in its most promising people. Designed to accelerate the growth of their high-potential leaders (HiPos), its in-house Emerging Leader Development Program had earned national recognition. Instead of learning in the abstract, cohorts of 30 HiPos a year built new leadership capabilities and applied them immediately to real business challenges over seven months. Along the way, they put the company’s leadership success factors, like accountability, empathy and cross-functional collaboration, to work.
In 2024, the program’s sponsors decided to raise the bar. As leadership needs evolved, they recognized that AI fluency, innovation and human-centricity were critical skills for high-potential leaders and sought to weave them into one connected experience. That journey would culminate in a capstone: a decision-ready pitch in front of a Shark Tank-style judging panel.
To layer in these new capabilities, the company designed a multi-month journey, partnering with ExperiencePoint to support by delivering a series of in-person workshops and virtual micro-learning throughout. Each skill was practiced, applied, then reinforced, so that each adopted skill built on what came before.
From the start, the work had real stakes. Twelve executive leaders sponsored five challenges the business genuinely cared about, so every team knew their ideas would be heard by someone invested in the outcome. The challenges ranged from preparing for the great wealth transfer as Boomers age, to making life insurance more relevant for the unique needs of emerging generations and using AI to improve the product lifecycle process.
Learners began with AI and innovation learning experiences, which gave them the foundation to run a design sprint on their own challenge. Before designing anything, teams interviewed real users to frame the problem, so their solutions grew out of real needs rather than assumptions. As those ideas took shape, a change management simulation and an application workshop taught them how to bring stakeholders along. Storytelling workshops then helped them turn their work into a compelling message that could win people over. Beyond ExperiencePoint’s contributions, their in-house customer advocacy team provided additional workshops and coaching throughout.
The experience culminated in a Shark Tank-style finale. Teams pitched their solutions to a panel of C-level leaders, including their Chief Strategy Officer, Chief Legal Officer and Chief Investment Officer, who evaluated their content, analysis and presentation. Then each team faced the question that mattered most: would the company champion their idea?
For many participants, the turning point came well before the finale. Design thinking gave them a way to frame the problem before jumping to solutions, and a way of working they carried back into their daily work.
Beyond building lasting capability, the program made an impact on the business itself. In the end, sponsors saw real progress on their challenges, and the company gained a brand-new bench of leaders with an enterprise-wide perspective and broader business acumen.
