TLA 4: Firing the starting gun

You now have suitable objectives and success criteria, you know how you are going to measure progress, and you have suitable candidates. 

It’s time to launch your thought leadership programme.

And ‘launch’ is the right word. You need to start your programme with a bang, not a whimper. A formal programme kick-off is important. 

Bringing each cohort of candidates together helps them identify themselves as a community. This will enable them to support each other, both during the first few weeks when they are learning especially fast, and into the longer term.

Your launch event will certainly need to involve all the candidates. It is also a good idea to involve their line managers, and if possible some senior managers to demonstrate commitment. 

The launch event should:

• Outline the objectives of the thought leadership programme;
• Remind everyone of the time commitment required;
• Explain the coaching approach, tools and resources available;
• Describe the milestones, deliverables and metrics; and
• Give the candidates the opportunity to network and get to know each other.

It is worth making a splash with your launch event, to ensure that everyone knows that the programme has started. Now the hard work begins…