Case study: Primary Colours® toolkit – Hargreaves Lansdown
Using our assessment toolkit to develop leadership capability
The challenge
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) is a leading UK financial services company managing over £120 billion in assets for 1.5 million clients. It has experienced significant growth in recent years but recognised the need to strengthen its leadership capabilities to maintain success and uphold its reputation.
The aim was to develop leadership capability, to move away from specific known behaviours such as reactive, short-term focus, silo decision-making, and heroic top-down leadership towards more strategic long-term focus, collaboration and empowering, trusting and harnessing the wider team.
Working with Edgecumbe has been a highly collaborative partnership. Together we have creatively solved problems and executed solutions that have shifted the leadership capability at HL. Edgecumbe have challenged our ways of thinking and working, whilst listening to our goals and requirements and delivering over and above our expectations.
How the Primary Colours® Toolkit was used
- In collaboration with Edgecumbe, HL developed a tailored leadership model, “Leading the HL Way,” using the Primary Colours® Leadership Model to define required leadership behaviours. This model supported the development of a leadership assessment process to evaluate current capabilities and identify gaps.
- Psychometric reports included the Primary Colours® NEO Leadership Report and were completed alongside the HL 360 feedback measuring HL’s new model. These were coupled with an interview with a highly experienced and business-focussed psychologist to provide leaders with in-depth analysis of their current impact and opportunities for
development. - During the feedback process, the Leadership Strengths Matrix Report was then used to draw together the data collected from the Primary Colours® NEO Leadership Report and the HL 360 Feedback Report; to illustrate a leader’s relative leadership strengths by plotting personality data against 360 performance data. This helped the leaders to focus their development priorities where it would have the greatest impact.
The outcomes
The assessments revealed a need for improved coaching and collaboration among leaders, leading to the creation of Action Learning Sets for group coaching. The leadership model was integrated into HL’s recruitment and promotion processes, with ongoing leadership development support. Outcomes included:
- Diversity & inclusion: the data from assessments highlighted the lack of diversity, helping HL improve gender diversity within its leadership.
- Leadership effectiveness: a 3% overall increase in leadership effectiveness, particularly in areas like team collaboration and alignment.
- Employee engagement: increased employee engagement, particularly in manager coaching and feedback.
- Leadership development: 97% of leaders clarified their development focus, and over 90% had leadership development plans.
- Group coaching: positive impacts on internal networks, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.
The process led to significant leadership improvements, contributing to HL’s continued growth and success.
