Building senior leadership capability with an Asia Region IFI
This rapidly growing Asia Region international financial institution (IFI) recognised the need to invest in the development of its senior leadership in alignment with its evolving strategic direction. With a diverse leadership team of Directors, Vice Presidents, and Executive Committee members, they sought to create a unified leadership culture and enhance leadership effectiveness across the institution.
After a rigorous selection process, Sheppard Moscow was appointed as the long-term partner for a multi-level senior leadership development programme of work. The first programme launched in late 2024, serving Directors through 2025, with an ExCom programme to follow, enabling this Asia Region IFI to achieve the impact they want in part through their leadership development journey.
Focus
Our initial programme for Directors was designed with the intention to:
Action
Before designing the programme, we conducted a comprehensive review of this IFI’s existing leadership framework, aligning competencies with strategic goals, values and culture. After creating this revised leadership competency framework, we benchmarked it against eight global MDBs and institutions including WBG, IMF, KPMG, and Barclays.
The programme was then grounded in and informed by this framework, ensuring relevance and rigour in leadership expectations. It featured:
- An in-flow programme focused on self-awareness, authentic leadership and resilience.
- Team workshops to foster collaboration and shared accountability.
- Coaching and feedback mechanisms to support individual growth.
The framework was embedded in all leadership development initiatives ensuring consistency and strategic alignment. In the design process, we maintained sight of the strategic needs of the institution and will continue to evolve the design with the organisation’s needs and the needs of its leaders.
Impact
- Senior team effectiveness: Director level leaders report that the programme enabled them to form, for the first time, into a cohesive, powerful and potent team of senior leaders, driving strategic execution.
- Strategic alignment: the programme embeds a consistent leadership culture across this Asia Region IFI’s diverse management team, directly reinforcing the strategy priorities and enabling more aligned decision-making.
- Capability development: leaders are building deeper self-awareness, practicing authentic leadership, and developing the agility to lead through complexity and change, enhancing their effectiveness in fast-moving, dynamic environments, strengthening organisational resilience.
- Institutional integration: the revised competency framework sets a new standard for leadership excellence. The expectations are rigorous, globally benchmarked and tightly aligned with institutional goals, ensuring clarity and consistency across the organisation.
- Leadership impact: participants are now better equipped to lead high-performing teams, manage performance effectively, and collaborate across institutional boundaries – strengthening leadership capacity and accelerating performance as it scales.
Find out more about the impactful work we do with IFIs, including further insights and case studies.
