Instant Finance, a leading New Zealand finance provider, identified a critical need to develop purposeful and consistent leadership across its 25 branches. The company faced challenges in ensuring uniform and collaborative leadership practices and while maintaining and even further enhancing their positive work culture.

There were pockets of strong leadership within the organisation, but inconsistency in leadership styles and communication across the branches hindered operational effectiveness due to an old model of operating in silos which they were moving away from.

Instant Finance sought to provide their leaders with the tools and frameworks to not only excel in their current roles but to develop future leaders within the organisation. Additionally, there was a desire to create a culture where employees felt valued, empowered to speak up, and had the confidence to take ownership of their roles.

The primary goals were to:
• Create consistent leadership across all branches
• Encourage open communication and courage to speak up within the team
• Improve leadership skills, mindset, and confidence
• Identify and support emerging leaders
• Provide non-monetary value to staff, enhancing their personal and professional growth

Instant Finance partnered with Mantle to design a bespoke leadership development program that aligned with the company’s vision and objectives. 

The program aimed to empower leaders at all levels, from branch managers to regional managers, by enabling personal leadership growth, improving team collaboration, increased business acumen, and enhancing communication within the branches.

The program was structured around practical leadership development, focusing on real-world challenges and business problems. Key elements of the program included:

• Engagement with the Executive Leadership Team to define what an Instant Finance Leader looks like and how they behave. This informed the entire programme and allowed for targeted development and ongoing discussions during and after the programme. 
• Learning through work: Facilitated ideation and problem-solving sessions, allowing leaders to address actual business challenges while developing leadership competencies.
• Strong Executive Team sponsorship, with members of the team attending all sessions and acting as sponsors for project-based learning.
• Building leadership networks by bringing leaders together across branches and the rest of the business, encouraging peer support, better cross-functional decisions, and sharing best practices.
• Confidence-building exercises to help leaders speak up, make decisions, and take ownership of their roles.

Focus on practical skill development that had immediate application meant changes were seen quickly across the business, creating momentum and sustained change.

The leadership development program led to significant improvements across multiple areas:

• Enhanced leadership consistency across all 25 branches, resulting in improved operational coherence and a stronger sense of alignment and connection within the company.
• Improved communication and collaboration: Leaders now engage in open dialogue and share insights, promoting a more cohesive work environment and strengthening relationships across branches.
• Increased confidence and ownership: Participants developed greater self-confidence and were more comfortable taking ownership of decisions, which contributed to improved team morale and productivity.
• Identification and development of emerging leaders: Several leaders from within the program were identified as high-potential future leaders, with one example being a leader who was quickly promoted to a higher-level management role after completing the program.
• Stronger network connections: The cross-branch leadership network enabled collaboration and knowledge-sharing, creating a sense of community and better cross-pollination.
• Greater knowledge of the business: Siloism was reduced and better integration between the branch network and support functions was achieved because of the cross-functional projects teams worked on.  

Instant Finance also reported improvements in employee engagement and retention, with staff feeling more supported and valued as a result of the leadership investment.