Top 10: Leadership Development Programmes

Effective leadership is one of the most important factors when it comes to building business competitiveness, but many companies are not investing in developing clear talent pipelines. 

Those that do, however, can help to ensure business continuity, drive a more positive culture and enhance the wider employee experience – all while preparing the next generation of executives and managers. 

This list highlights 10 of the most impactful and innovative leadership development programmes across a range of industries that are helping to build up future leaders and facilitate employee development. 

10. BlackRock

Global Head of Human Resources: Caroline Heller

Revenue: US$25.64bn

Programme: Leadership and Management Academy

According to BlackRock, the company’s Leadership and Management Academy – available to all employees – provides staff with access to “world-class content,” to help employees of all levels develop leadership skills and behaviours. 

Designed to help cultivate leaders at all levels of the firm, the Academy is part of a larger focus on professional development at BlackRock. Internal mobility is encouraged, with employees supported through career shifts, while mentoring and virtual coaching services are also offered to staff.

9. Schneider Electric

CHRO: Charise Le 

Revenue: US$45.43bn

Programme: Cross-Functional Leadership Development Programme

Schneider Electric’s Cross-Functional Leadership Development Programme is a three-year rotational programme, which allows employees to work within different business units. 

Employees on the programme are provided with mentorship, high-impact exposure to company projects and networking opportunities to prepare future leaders, allow employees to be more involved in operations and help them gain a better understanding of the company’s culture. 

The programme can often accelerate career growth for new graduates, leading to more senior leadership roles within the organisation.

8. Goldman Sachs

Global Head of Human Capital Management: Jacqueline Arthur

Revenue: US$60.45bn

Programme: Pine Street

Pine Street, Goldman Sachs’s “world-class” leadership development organisation, has been designed to prepare partners and select managing directors to lead the firm’s next generation of people and businesses and advance the company’s culture.

Through Pine Street, Goldman Sachs meets future leaders at key points in their development to accelerate their growth and improve their ability to capitalise on important opportunities for the teams they lead and the overall business. 

The company is also supporting a diverse talent pipeline with Pine Street, through programmes such as its Black Analyst and Associate Initiatives and a reverse mentoring programme, where senior leaders meet with and learn from a diverse group of employees. 

7. American Express

Chief Colleague Experience Officer: Monique Herena

Revenue: US$82.41bn

Programme: American Express Leadership Academy

Having run for more than a decade, the American Express Leadership Academy is built to help improve leadership capacity in the non-profit sector.

Through this programme, non-profit leaders from a range of specialities and organisations are offered the opportunity to learn from peers and explore current and future challenges in the sector – as well as gaining insight from key leaders in other industries. 

Leaders are also offered a series of one-on-one coaching sessions and opportunities to improve personal resilience – with 92% of participants reporting that the initiative improved their confidence in their role as leader.

6. Procter & Gamble

Chief Human Resources Officer: Bala Purushothaman

Revenue: US$84.3bn

Programme: P&G Leadership Academy

The P&G Leadership Academy has been developed for Procter & Gamble employees at all career stages, and offers opportunities to help staff build up a broad range of skills and further their leadership capabilities. 

Procter & Gamble has long since prioritised internal mobility, claiming on its website that it creates more future senior corporate leaders “than any other company in the world,” through training and development opportunities such as this and a ‘Build from Within’ culture that focuses on hiring early career talent.  

5. Siemens

Chief People and Sustainability Officer: Judith Wiese

Revenue: US$87.33bn

Programme: XPS leadership Programme

Siemens’ two-year leadership programme has been created to help participants “immerse,” themselves in real-world company challenges and gain key leadership skills on a global scale. 

Those on the programme are offered mentorship opportunities to discuss their personal career development, training to learn the skills, tools and habits used by business leaders and global networking opportunities. 

The programme focuses on digitalisation and sustainability leadership, as the company looks to build up a workforce of capable employees who can provide a fresh perspective as it evolves. 

4. Johnson & Johnson

Chief Human Resources Officer: Kristen Mulholland

Revenue: US$96.36bn

Programme: Global Operations Leadership Development Programme

On the Johnson & Johnson Global Operations Leadership Development Programme – or GOLD – participants have a combination of work rotations and classroom and online training over the course of two and a half years.

Over the course of these two years, those on the programme develop both leadership skills and knowledge and insight into end-to-end global supply chain functions to hone experience within the industry. 

Participants are also given access to networking and mentorship opportunities as they collaborate with teammates around the world. 

3. NVIDIA

CEO: Jensen Huang

Revenue: US$215.94bn

Programme: Fellowship Programme

NVIDIA’s Fellowship Programme has run for more than 25 years, and was founded to support innovation in academia and “introduce NVIDIA to the future leaders of our industry”. 

PhD students who are researching topics such as AI, robotics, autonomous vehicles, or other topics that will lead to “major advances” in accelerated computing are invited to submit their research projects for consideration. Those selected are given the opportunity to work closely with NVIDIA products and technology, as well as collaboration with those within the organisation. 

The fellowship also includes an in-person summer internship, where participants work across NVIDIA projects. 

2. Google

Chief People Officer: Fiona Cicconi

Revenue: US$404.84bn

Programme: Project Aristotle

Google’s Project Aristotle is a long-running approach to building and leading successful teams, which still shapes the company’s approach to leadership despite significant operational changes. 

Project Aristotle followed earlier research from Google on management – with the initial Project Oxygen finding that high-quality management improves performance and employee retention. 

Research from these projects directly informs the way Google trains its future leaders – with an emphasis on psychological safety, developing clear roles and building trust and reliability. Future leaders at Google are trained on creating safe environments for their employees, fostering open communication and building a team where employees understand how their work contributes to wider organisational goals. 

1. Walmart

Chief People Officer: Donna Morris

Revenue: US$713.16bn

Programme: Walmart Academy

Led by Chief People Officer Donna Morris, Walmart provides the largest training programme in the US through its Walmart Academy, with a US$1bn investment in career-driven training and education for staff. 

This training programme is designed to build and advance skills for employees at all stages of their career – with emphasis on upskilling for new technologies, developing on-the-job expertise and building up compassionate leadership.  

Initiatives such as this within Walmart have helped many employees progress in their careers – with 75% of US salaried store, club and supply chain managers at Walmart beginning their Walmart careers as hourly associates.