Designing a program that will engage and develop high potential leaders can be challenging, mainly when the group you are creating is exceptionally confident, geographically disbursed, and have very little time to devote to their development. In order to engage a group comprised of these individuals, programs cannot be “events” and must engage each member in a way that makes them want more.

In order to capitalize on the best practices that exist inherently within a group of high potentials and ensure that members of the cohort felt challenged and engaged in their development, a cohort was formed that would last a year. Over a year-long program, the cohort would be structured to provide meaningful individual growth as well as build trust among the group members. By introducing experiences that allowed for risk-taking, self-reflection, and sharing best practices, we were able to create a sense of belonging and a standard frame of reference that did not previously exist. In this case, the cohort approach resulted in higher retention and more substantial business results than previous years and when compared to high performers not involved in the cohort.

While this experience resulted in many positive outcomes, a few lessons were learned along the way. For future cohorts, we would expand the executive champions of the program to provide further exposure to the participants, identify specific and consistent business measures for the mentoring portion of the program, and increase the number of group learning experiences to shape the bond of the group further.