Cultivating a DEI&B mindset in leadership

The Challenge

With years of transformation, the rapid evolution of conflict and humanitarian work, and the challenges facing a large, diverse organization, the ICRC needed support to increase engagement at a local level and provide visible development pathways for all employees to grow.

The ICRC wanted to prevent knowledge, communication, and expertise from being constrained in geographical and hierarchical siloes. It looked to transform the organization by leveraging staff diversity to better deal with complex humanitarian challenges, without compromising its 150-year rich history and organizational vision. 

Diverse participants and a drive for cultural change call for an engaging and stimulating learning experience to ensure employees can be the change-makers of tomorrow.

The learning needed to apply to people of different educational, cultural, and technical backgrounds, and different seniority levels; it also had to align with internal and external transformations. Hult EF was chosen as a partner due to their focus on the human, interpersonal, and reflective approaches to learning, teaching, and research, which aligns with the ICRC vision and goals.

In this case study, we look at how the HLMS program has broken down geographical and hierarchical siloes to unite people through a common leadership language, leading to wider organizational transformation in the ICRC.

The Solution

This three-module program aimed to develop strong and passionate leaders who manage, empower, and inspire a diverse and high-performance workforce. Participants need to complete all three modules, regardless of their experience or seniority, setting the perfect example for decentralized and effective leadership.

Pre-COVID, teaching was delivered in Kenya, Jordan, Thailand, Senegal, and Switzerland. Post-pandemic, the program has successfully transitioned online to become a truly global, blended program, with a positive virtual experience reported by participants.

Each module consists of separate phases, including:

• Distance learning – 20 hours of reading, assessed e-learning, and coaching

• Face-to-face – A five-day program of experiential learning, exchange, and reflection

• Action Learning Sets – conducted during the face-to-face week, participants work in smaller groups to discuss challenges and go through a peer coaching process

• Work-based Learning – 30 hours of applying the learned skills in a workplace setting