The Opportunity
Lloyds Banking Group needed more leaders prepared to step into broader and more critical roles. Many managers were technically strong but hesitant to move beyond functional expertise and as a result, career paths often remained siloed. The organization wanted to build confidence, enterprise perspective and readiness for greater responsibility.
The Journey
Emerging World designed Discovery, a nine-month leadership journey centred on a 4-5 week individual assignment in Southern India. The journey of participants comprised of three stages: (1) Preparation: Clarifying development goals and prepared for immersive work in a new cultural and operational context. (2) Immersive Assignment: Each leader working independently with NGOs and social enterprises on live organizational challenges. (3) Integration: Follow-up coaching and reflection to support integration back into the organization.
Operating outside familiar environments required leaders to build credibility quickly, navigate ambiguity and deliver results with limited resources. The Indian context also aligned with Lloyds’ offshoring operations, reinforcing enterprise relevance.
The Transformation
Participants returned with broader enterprise perspective and increased confidence pursuing complex roles.
- 73% changed roles within 12 months.
- Participants were nearly twice as likely to be promoted as peers.
The programme became embedded within the corporate university talent portfolio. Stretch assignments turned potential into visible readiness for critical roles.
Participants returned with broader enterprise perspective, greater willingness to take calculated risks and increased confidence to pursue more complex roles.
For Lloyds, the programme strengthened succession pipelines and accelerated the progression of leaders ready to contribute at a higher level.
