Client story

Accelerating Senior Leader readiness at an ASX-listed retail organisation

Delivering measurable leadership readiness through personalised talent assessment and development.

An ASX-listed Australian retail organisation recognised an opportunity to accelerate the development of a group of talented Finance leaders to reduce the time to readiness to move into more senior roles and reduce the need to recruit for these roles externally. With 14 high-potential professionals identified for advancement, the organisation needed a sophisticated approach that went beyond traditional development methods.

To ensure the highest standards in design, delivery and evaluation of this critical talent assessment and development initiative, the organisation chose to engage Inkling. They needed a data-driven method to assess readiness levels, identify development priorities, and create personalised pathways that would deliver measurable results while building a robust internal succession pipeline.

We combined rigorous assessment with targeted development to unlock leadership potential.

Inkling designed a targeted talent acceleration program that combined robust assessment with personalised development pathways. It began with multi-modal assessments—including leadership evaluations, cognitive testing, 360-degree feedback, and work sampling—to create a well-rounded view of leadership readiness. This was supported by individual coaching and in-depth interviews to explore aspirations, concerns, and career goals, while providing real-time support through workplace challenges. Participants progressed through a three-tiered development framework, offering differentiated pathways based on readiness, including stretch assignments and cross-functional experiences. Each leader received a tailored development roadmap, aligning their potential with performance gaps and integrating learning into day-to-day work. The program moved beyond a one-size-fits-all approach, providing support tailored to each leader’s unique stage of growth, and showing that learning embedded in real work challenges leads to lasting capability and immediate performance impact.

Tangible results our client achieved across individual growth and organisational capability:

90%

of participants became more confident advocating for career growth and business leadership
80%

of participants developed broader networks across the organisation
75%

of participants achieved promotion, new role, or significant stretch opportunity within 12 months
70%

of participants elevated their visibility and profile throughout the business
40%

of participants developed clearer advancement plans within the company
40%

of participants broadened their understanding of the wider business operations

"The program had some really quantifiable achievements for our talent including leadership training, technical upskilling, mentorship opportunities and personalised coaching. Combined with the "Sponsorship" program, it empowered leaders with how best to support, sponsor and position the current talent pipeline for success and importantly, how to embrace talent diversity when thinking about future teams and structures."

- Program Sponsor

"The program was the most comprehensive learning experience I have experienced in my career, and I am very grateful to have participated. The program has challenged my thinking, provided me clarity on my purpose, goals and a path to achieve these. The program provided me valuable opportunities to build my network with talented leaders across our organisation, a wonderful sponsorship experience, and transformative coaching. The positive impact of this program will guide me for years to come."

- Program Participant

" Its very simple: This was a program that helped me face myself and think - its a program that created the space and provided me with the tools to be able to look back and join the dots in my career. Once that picture formed, I was able to have a deep understanding of what has helped me be successful to date in my career, what was holding me back and more importantly, what I needed to acquire/develop (leadership skills wise) in order to take my career forward."

- Program Participant

What you can learn from our work on this project:

Experiential learning accelerates capability transfer. When participants practice new leadership skills within their actual work context rather than artificial training environments, they retain and apply learning more effectively and immediately.
Multi-modal assessment drives better decisions. Combining leadership assessments, cognitive evaluations, 360 feedback, and individual coaching conversations provides the nuanced understanding needed for effective succession planning and personalised development.
Coaching amplifies capability building. When structured learning is combined with individual coaching and real-world application opportunities, participants don't just acquire new skills – they gain the confidence and networks to apply them immediately in their roles.

Ready to accelerate the development of your high-potential, senior talent? Get in touch to learn how Inkling can help build your leadership pipeline.

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