Developing a team of team leaders with Tokio Marine

Since 2022 we have been working with team leaders from Tokio Marine HCC, based in Bridgend, to develop their leadership skills. As we release the first of 4 short films about the partnership (see below), we thought it would be a great opportunity to explain a bit more about the team leader programmes we have ran with Tokio Marine. 

In May 2022, Tokio Marine HCC Managing Director Ian Rowles, got in touch with our marketing lead Adam to enquire about our ILM Level 3 New Leaders programme for 8 new team leaders he had in his business. A few members of the Tokio Marine team had already completed our leadership pogrammes in 2020, so they had obviously passed on positive feedback. 

Our programmes had traditionally always been a mixture of individuals, from all levels, from different businesses and sectors. However, Tokio Marine wanted to run an 'in-house' leadership programme, as all 8 new team leaders were starting their roles at exactly the same time. After a meeting with Ian and other members of the management team at Tokio Marine to gain an understanding of their objectives, and the culture and values they are trying to embed across the organisation, we tailored our Level 3 programme to fit within their timelines, and meet their objectives.

Leadership programme kicks off

In September 2022 we held the overnight experiential at The Vale Resort near Cardiff. Within an hour of arriving, one of the delegates said 'I've just realised I don't know myself at all'. Now that's impact - after 1 hour!

Following 2 days of learning, laughter, fun, activities, as well as team bonding over dinner, further masterclasses took place between early October and early December at the Swansea University School of Management covering a variety of subjects including:

• exploring the required skills, behaviours and knowledge of a leader
• understanding and practicing reflective learning
• understanding different leadership styles, and their impact on others
• identifying their own leadership styles
• understanding emotional intelligence and how it influences leadership
• planning and implementing change
• developing effective teams
• leadership role models
• coaching
• employee engagement
• how to get the best out of your team  

And in mid-December the delegates were joined by Directors and members of the Tokio Marine management team, as well as Ceri Jones, Director of Research, Engagement and Innovation Services (REIS) at Swansea University, and members of the ION team, for their graduation ceremony, back at The Vale Resort -  where it had all began.

During the graduation the team leaders presented their 'real life' change projects to the management team, and we are delighted to hear that a number of the change projects which the delegates worked on as part of the programme have now been fully implemented into the business. 

It's all about impact! 

But most importantly, what was the impact of the programme on the delegates and Tokio Marine?

Chloe and Gavin, two of the team leaders are featured within the case study, as well as Managing Director Ian. You can watch the film below to hear what they had to say, but her is just a quick snippet:

• Chloe Buttle, Team Leader - "Before it was very much work orientated (conversations), and now I'm focusing on the people, because obviously you get more out of people when they are happy, and you know what's going on with them, and what they want to achieve".
• Gavin Howells, Team Leader - "Throughout the course I've learned that understanding the needs of the team is more important that leading them"
• Ian Rowles, Managing Director - "We've seen first hand an immediate improvement from our team. And the best thing about it is it's brought them together, they are now a team of team leaders, and they've bonded over the course".

Team leaders programme # 2

But the biggest sign of the programmes success was yet to come. Through their talent managment programme, Tokio Marine had identifed a further 9 team leaders.

So in April 2023 we started a second leadership programme with their next batch of team leaders, and they graduate next week. And who knows what the future holds - hopefully more leadership programmes, and we will continue to work with Tokio Marine to deliver extraordinary leaders.

So check out our latest case study film below (or watch it on our YouTube channel) and keep an eye on our website and socials over the coming weeks for 1-2-1 chats with Ian, Chloe and Gavin.

If you are interested in finding out more about how we can work with you and your business to develop the people within your team or organisation, get in touch with Adam Fairbank on ionleadership@swansea.ac.uk.