The Discovery Bank Leadership Development Program is designed to strengthen leadership effectiveness for mid- to senior-level people leaders with direct reports. It integrates neuroscience and psychometric insights into the financial services organization’s leadership training.
Participants are drawn from 12 strategically significant business units, including Risk Operations, Bank People, Systems, Servicing, Operations, Internal Audit, Design Engineering Lab, Legal & Compliance, Planning, Bank Executive, Finance, and Treasury.
Program Details
The program begins with comprehensive psychometric assessments, including the Personal Development Analysis (PDA) and Copas, providing participants with insights into their leadership style, cognitive preferences, and interpersonal dynamics. These results are unpacked in a one-on-one session with a corporate psychologist to develop a personalized leadership profile that informs participants’ growth journey.
The data-driven foundation enables leaders to understand how the brain influences behavior, decision-making, and stress response, equipping them to lead with greater self-awareness and empathy. Combined with practical, scenario-based modules and ongoing reinforcement through coaching circles and microlearning, the program delivers a future-focused, science-backed approach to strengthening leadership effectiveness and team engagement.
The learning journey focuses on six core modules, each addressing a critical aspect of leadership:
- Personal Development Analysis (PDA): Builds self-awareness and identifies natural leadership strengths and development areas.
- Understanding the Brain and Human Behavior: Explores cognitive science fundamentals to manage stress, change, and decision-making effectively.
- Coaching for Success: Develops a coaching leadership style to empower and motivate team members.
- The Art of Giving Feedback: Equips leaders to provide constructive, solution-focused feedback while maintaining psychological safety.
- The Art of Receiving Feedback: Encourages openness to feedback and models vulnerability to build trust and collaboration.
- Navigating Difficult Conversations: Provides techniques to handle high-stakes discussions with confidence, empathy, and clarity.
The program is delivered through live facilitated sessions at Discovery’s head office, supported by online pre-work and self-study. Cohorts are limited to 25 participants to ensure quality interaction and personalized coaching.
Evaluation is embedded throughout the journey: Participants complete pre- and post-program assessments, submit practical leadership action plans, and receive manager ratings. Eight weeks after completion, team members provide feedback through pulse surveys, measuring early behavioral shifts, leader approachability, and improvements in team engagement.
Short-term reinforcement includes:
- Practical leadership action plans: Participants develop actionable plans after each module, which are reviewed and discussed during performance conversations with their managers to ensure alignment and accountability.
- Manager coaching toolkits: Direct managers receive structured toolkits to guide follow-up discussions and reinforce participant development post-program.
- Pulse check-in surveys: Conducted six weeks post-completion with participants’ team members to measure early behavioral shifts and improvements in engagement.
Long-term reinforcement includes:
- Peer-led coaching circles: These began in September 2025, providing a collaborative space for participants to share progress, challenges, and best practices.
- Refresher microlearning: Participants are automatically enrolled in Degreed modules to revisit key leadership concepts and techniques over time.
- Performance integration: Departmental Human Resources business partners (HRBPs) track the application of leadership behaviors during ongoing performance reviews, ensuring lasting impact on team culture and engagement.
Results
- Engagement scores in participant-led teams increased by 17 percent, exceeding the 15 percent target. Improvements were observed across trust in leadership, quality of feedback, and psychological safety.
- 7 percent of managers’ team members reported increased comfort in approaching leaders with difficult issues, according to pulse surveys six weeks post-program.
- 83 percent of managers’ team members reported an improvement in delivery and reception of feedback within six weeks.
- Internal team conflict incidents decreased by 22 percent, according to HRBP reports and incident tracking, demonstrating better conflict management and leader intervention.
- The program Net Promoter Score (NPS) from business unit heads was +85, highlighting noticeable improvements in leadership presence, communication style, and accountability.
