Vistage International is a leading chief executive peer advisory organization. A vital source of Vistage’s corporate growth is the selection and development of new Vistage Chairs (former CEOs who are trained by Vistage to become leaders of executive peer advisory groups). In 2013, under new owners, Vistage doubled its annual target to recruit and develop new Chairs.
Learning & Development is central to new Chair growth. It owns the custom design and delivery of Foundations of Vistage Chairing, a four-part series of new Chair development that teaches aspiring Chairs to apply complex and proven processes that are vital to becoming a successful new Chair:
- Group facilitation
- Issue processing/problem solving
- Executive coaching
- New group build marketing
- Leadership
To reach the new goal, 450 out of 3,000 applicants (former CEOs) would have to be processed into the Foundations of Vistage Chairing program, assessed, developed, and, within nine months, successfully launched.
To more than double capacity while preserving learning quality and value, Learning & Development collaborated with internal business partners—Chair Recruitment, New Group Build, and Marketing—to develop plans and goals for the 90-day execution of a success plan. It also reached out to 20 U.S. Best Practice Chairs to gather input and restructure Foundations of Chairing for rapid growth and a new capacity for up to 75 graduates in eight separate tracks of learning over one year.
Program Details
Learning & Development took the following steps:
- Conducted a detailed review of instructional content, design, and methodologies.
- Pinpointed critical modules that required experiential and immersion learning in a live classroom environment in group facilitation: issue processing/problem solving, executive coaching, new group build marketing, and leadership.
- Re-mapped the core curriculum for the nine days of instructor-led workshops and 14 Webinars.
- Revised instructional designs, outlines, facilitator preparation, logistics, and learning processes and materials to offer General Sessions (for the large group) and numerous breakout sessions (led by Master Chair instructors) to ensure customized, personal development.
- Doubled U.S. Chair faculty, who serve as on-site instructors, from eight to 15.
- Retrained faculty in new methods and materials.
- Piloted the new methodology with the first 50 participants selected.
- Designed and executed a new two-part formative assessment for Foundations Part 1.
- Continued to gather formal participant and faculty evaluations to monitor instructional quality, relevance, and value to launch and lead new groups.
Results
Learning & Development successfully expanded its capacity to deliver Foundations of Vistage Chairing to 445 aspiring Chairs. Learning & Development has since used the methodology developed in the redesign process as a basis for other programs (Webinar program, mentor program, etc.). These models have been woven throughout the Chair Candidate experience over time, reinforcing the learner experience.
Learning & Development also influenced the attainment of record-breaking results for the 60-year-old organization:
- Foundations of Vistage Chairing graduates scored satisfaction and value ratings at 100 percent, saying the program was the most significant factor in helping them to launch a new group.
- The new group launch ratio for Foundations 1-2-3 leapt from 37 to 76 percent; and new Chair launches grew from 87 in fiscal year 2014 to 112 in FY’15, an all-time record for new Chairs.
