importance of leadership case study

The Proven Importance of Leadership Development: Lessons from Case Studies

July 9, 2024

Can You Measure the Importance of Leadership Development in an Organization?

Growing up, I’m sure you observed that some favorite family meals became staples. For special days in my family, it was a pork roast, mashed potatoes, and corn. For daily breakfasts, I ate oatmeal with sliced bananas and brown sugar.

In hindsight, three things are clear:

• We liked these meals, so they met an important objective.
• They were simple to prepare. Long hours were not spent fixing them.
• The outcome was extremely predictable and consistent.

Objectives that Display The Importance of Leadership Development

Those same elements apply as organizations consider their overall leadership development initiatives. Ideally, there would be an extremely tangible outcome. Many organizations engage in leadership development with a giant leap of faith, hoping that positive outcomes will emerge.

It would help if executives understood that the goal could be to have all leaders in the organization adopt more positive behavior. Rather than having a leadership team exhibiting average performance (compared to others), what if they behaved in a manner equivalent to the upper quartile of leaders in the best companies in the world? What if your firm’s leaders also had compelling data about the high correlations between better leadership behavior and business outcomes such as customer satisfaction, employee retention, productivity, innovation, and employee engagement?

The second objective should be simplicity. Simple solutions invariably work better than more complex ones.

One of the more popular recipes from the NY Times in recent years has been an artisan bread recipe that calls for three ingredients: all-purpose flour, Kosher salt, and dry yeast. (Well, it also requires some warm water. Does water count as an ingredient?)

We submit that the ingredients of effective leadership development are similarly simple. It requires:

• A learning methodology capable of changing behavior. There are several of these that we will describe later.
• The involvement of a significant number of participants. The late Peter Drucker believed that was a third to a half of the leadership population.
• A multi-year, sustained implementation. The longer it lasts, the better the result.

  Put those three ingredients together, and the outcome is assured.

A Deeper Dive into the Three Ingredients

1. Powerful learning methodologies. Fortunately, there are several from which to choose.

• 360-degree feedback
• Simulations
• Action learning projects
• Mentoring/Coaching
• Deliberate rotational assignments
• Participation in task forces, SWAT teams

What these all have in common is that they move from being cerebral to becoming more visceral. They contrast with sessions dominated by lectures and passive reading. We recommend those in which people are involved. Each one includes accountability and sustained feedback. They are active rather than passive.

Each has its plusses and minuses. Some are simpler to administer. Some are far more economical. Some engage the immediate manager in a more streamlined way. But all emphasize the importance of leadership development.

2. Involving a significant number of participants. Frankly, we are a bit amused by behemoth organizations that proudly proclaim their internal leadership development program, which each year has thirty participants who come together for a two-day experience. Yes, this is better than doing nothing, but to expect that this will move the needle on the overall effectiveness level of their entire leadership team is not reasonable.

In contrast, organizations that involve a significant portion of a leadership group have shown that over time, involving a larger number is one of the factors that causes a contagious, extending effect of the improved leadership development practiced by all leaders. Not only does the improved behavior trickle down to the immediate direct reports of those involved, but it also goes far beyond that. It permeates the entire body of leaders.

3. Sustained development over time. We have two notable case examples for which we have long-term data. It is fascinating to see the impact of time in each case.

Case Study 1: Importance of Leadership Development

First, the data on a large insurance firm with seven thousand employees comes from 360-degree feedback scores conducted with 837 participants over a nine-year period.

This firm’s development process entailed an initial 360-degree feedback assessment. Participants then analyzed their data and developed an individualized development plan.

We aggregated nine years of data into three-year periods. In the first three-year period, we tabulated the participant’s overall leadership effectiveness score, which was a summation of the instrument’s fifty-two items. The average of the participants’ overall scores was at the 56 th percentile as they entered the process.

Participants in the next three-year period followed the same pattern. Their initial incoming overall leadership effectiveness scores were at the 62 nd percentile. Finally, the participants in the third three-year period had incoming scores at the 70 th percentile. These differences between the overall leadership effectiveness scores from one period to the next were highly statistically significant.

The firm was not engaged in other cultural change initiatives or development processes. We can find no other explanation for these significant improvements other than the pervasive, contagious effect of the leaders who had been developed earlier. We are convinced that their interactions with others produced this decided change in the leadership behavior of those around them.

Case Study 2: Importance of Leadership Development

We replicated this research with a prestigious Ivy League university’s leaders. Using the same technique, the same 360-degree feedback instrument, and the identical process for individuals developing a personal development plan, we measured gains over a 16-year period. In this case, we used 4-year periods. Initial scores in the first 4 years were at the 57 th percentile, the next 4 years at the 60 th , then at the 64 th , and finally the last 4 years’ entering participants were at the 73 rd percentile. Again, these differences are statistically, significantly different.

Progress that Shows the Importance of Leadership Development Over Time

Is it possible to separate the impact of time from the impact of an increasing number of developed people operating in their system? Whichever causal effect it is, time or larger numbers, the outcome is a positive one for the organization.

The essentials of an effective leadership development plan aren’t shrouded in complexity or exclusivity. Just like preparing a beloved family meal, the ingredients for success in leadership development are straightforward and impactful. It’s about creating a culture of continuous improvement and engagement. By implementing proven methodologies, involving a significant portion of your leaders, and committing to sustained development, organizations can achieve remarkable results. These aren’t quick fixes, but long-term investments in the future of leadership.

These case studies from the large insurance firm and the Ivy League university showcase just how transformative these principles can be when applied consistently over time. Leadership isn’t just about the individual; it’s about raising the bar for everyone. And that’s what makes the difference—developing leaders who aren’t just going through the motions, but who are genuinely evolving and, in turn, elevating those around them. That’s the recipe for a thriving organizational culture.

—Jack Zenger

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Leadership Case Studies

Here is a sample of three case studies from the book, Leadership Case Studies, that are most instructive and impactful to developing leadership skills.

For the past 30 years, I have conducted seminars and workshops and taught college classes on leadership.

I used a variety of teaching aids including books, articles, case studies, role-plays, and videos.

I recently created a book, Leadership Case Studies that includes some of the case studies and role-plays that I found to be most instructive and impactful.

Here is a sample of three case studies.

Peter Weaver Case Study

Peter Weaver doesn’t like to follow the crowd. He thinks groupthink is a common problem in many organizations. This former director of marketing for a consumer products company believes differences of opinion should be heard and appreciated. As Weaver states, “I have always believed I should speak for what I believe to be true.”

He demonstrated his belief in being direct and candid throughout his career. On one occasion, he was assigned to market Paul’s spaghetti-sauce products. During the brand review, the company president said, “Our spaghetti sauce is losing out to price-cutting competitors. We need to cut our prices!”

Peter found the courage to say he disagreed with the president. He then explained the product line needed more variety and a larger advertising budget. Prices should not be cut. The president accepted Weaver’s reasoning. Later, his supervisor approached him and said, “I wanted to say that, but I just didn’t have the courage to challenge the president.”

On another occasion, the president sent Weaver and 16 other executives to a weeklong seminar on strategic planning. Weaver soon concluded the consultants were off base and going down the wrong path. Between sessions, most of the other executives indicated they didn’t think the consultants were on the right path. The consultants heard about the dissent and dramatically asked participants whether they were in or out. Those who said “Out” had to leave immediately.

As the consultants went around the room, every executive who privately grumbled about the session said “In.” Weaver was fourth from last. When it was his turn, he said “Out” and left the room.

All leaders spend time in reflection and self-examination to identify what they truly believe and value. Their beliefs are tested and fine-tuned over time. True leaders can tell you, without hesitation, what they believe and why. They don’t need a teleprompter to remind them of their core beliefs. And, they find the courage to speak up even when they know others will disagree.

• What leadership traits did Weaver exhibit?
• If you were in Weaver’s shoes, what would you have done?
• Where does courage come from?
• List your three most important values.

Dealing with a Crisis Case Study

Assume you are the VP of Sales and Marketing for a large insurance company. Once a year your company rewards and recognizes the top 100 sales agents by taking them to a luxury resort for a four-day conference. Business presentation meetings are held during the morning. Afternoons are free time. Agents and spouses can choose from an assortment of activities including golf, tennis, boating, fishing, shopping, swimming, etc.

On day 2 at 3:00 p.m., you are at the gym working out on the treadmill, when you see Sue your administrative assistant rushing towards you. She says, “I need to talk to you immediately.”

You get off the treadmill and say, “What’s up?” Sue states, “We’ve had a tragedy. Several agents went boating and swimming at the lake. Randy, our agent from California died while swimming.”

(Background information – Randy is 28 years old. His wife did not come on the trip. She is home in California with their three children).

• Explain what you would communicate to the following people.
• Your Human Resources Department
• The local police
• The attendees at the conference (Would you continue the conference?)
• How will you notify Randy’s wife?
• If Randy’s wife and a few family members want to visit the location of Randy’s death, what would you do?
• What are some “guiding principles” that leaders need to follow in a crisis situation?

 Arsenic and Old Lace Case Study

Review the YouTube video, “ I’ll show them who is boss Arsenic and Old Lace.”   

Background Information

The Vernon Road Bleaching and Dyeing Company is a British lace dyeing business. It was purchased in bankruptcy by the father/son team of Henry and Richard Chaplin. Richard has been acting as “Managing Director” which is the same as a general manager or president of a company.

The company has had 50-to-150 employees with 35-to-100 being shop floor, production employees. The company produces and sells various dyed fabrics to the garment industry.

Gerry Robinson is a consultant who was asked to help transform methods of conducting business to save the company.

Jeff is the factory manager.

• What are Richard’s strengths and weaknesses as a leader?
• What could Richard have done to make the problems of quality and unhappy customers more visible to the workforce?
• What do you think Richard’s top three priorities should be for the next 12 months?
• What could Richard have done to motivate the workforce?
• Evaluate Jeff’s approach and effectiveness as a leader.

The book contains 16 case studies, four role-plays, and six articles. I hope you find some of the content useful and helpful in your efforts to teach leadership.

Click for additional leadership case studies and resources .

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The Importance of Professionalism in Leadership: A Case Study

Culture Enabler

In every workplace, leadership sets the tone for professionalism, morale, and productivity. However, what happens when a team leader's behaviour veers off course, blurring the lines of professionalism? How does management’s response, or lack thereof, impact the fabric of the workplace? Let's delve into a hypothetical scenario where a customer service team leader's actions raise eyebrows and challenge workplace norms.

Picture this: the face of your workplace — the Customer Service Team Lead strolls into the office wearing thongs, not the sturdy footwear one typically associates with leadership. As if that wasn't eyebrow-raising enough, this leader proceeds to give themselves a foot massage at their desk, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding professional environment.

At first glance, one might chuckle or shrug it off as harmless eccentricity. After all, everyone has their quirks, right? However, delve deeper, and you'll uncover a fundamental issue: the erosion of professionalism.

In any workplace, especially one where customer interactions are paramount, the image projected by leadership carries immense weight. Team leaders are not just individuals; they embody the values and standards of the organisation. When a leader flaunts norms, it sends a message to the entire team, potentially breeding confusion, resentment, and a lack of respect for established protocols.

Imagine being a customer seeking assistance and encountering a team leader clad in thongs, casually massaging their feet. Would you feel confident in their ability to address your concerns? Would you trust in the professionalism of the organisation they represent? Likely not. This scenario not only jeopardizes customer trust but also undermines the professionalism of the entire organisation.

Building on this understanding, the ripple effects extend beyond external perceptions. Within the team, morale may suffer as employees question the legitimacy of leadership and the seriousness with which they approach their roles. Productivity could decline as the focus shifts from serving customers to observing and discussing the leader’s unconventional behaviour.

The most troubling aspect of this scenario arises if management chooses to remain silent in response to the team leader’s behaviour. Inaction in the face of such behaviour can signal to employees that such conduct is acceptable or even endorsed by the organisation. This lack of intervention not only perpetuates the issue but also undermines the authority and effectiveness of management in maintaining workplace standards.

Employees may interpret management’s silence as indifference or a failure to uphold the values and expectations of the organisation. This can erode trust and confidence in leadership, leading to decreased morale and engagement among the team. Furthermore, it sets a dangerous precedent, potentially emboldening others to flout professional norms and standards.

From a customer standpoint, the implications are equally dire. Silence from management implies a lack of concern for the customer experience, eroding confidence in the organisation’s ability to deliver on its promises. Customers expect professionalism and reliability when interacting with a company, and the behaviour of its representatives directly influences their perception of the brand. In an age where reputation is paramount, the consequences of such indifference can be swift and severe, resulting in lost business and damaged relationships.

Charting a Course Forward

In the face of these challenges, it becomes imperative for organisations to confront issues of professionalism head-on. Research underscores the profound impact of leadership behaviour on organisational culture and employee engagement. Studies have shown that leaders who exhibit professionalism and integrity not only inspire greater trust and loyalty among their teams but also foster a more positive work environment conducive to productivity and innovation. Conversely, leaders who demonstrate unprofessional behaviour risk eroding trust, damaging morale, and undermining the overall effectiveness of the organisation.

Addressing lapses in professionalism is not solely about enforcing rules and regulations but also about nurturing a culture of accountability and continuous improvement. The way organisations and management respond to instances of unprofessional behaviour, particularly among leaders, can have far-reaching implications for the workplace environment, employee morale, customer perceptions, and overall organisational success.

While individuality and personality are important in the workplace, they must be balanced with a commitment to professionalism and respect for organisational standards. Leaders, as the face of the workplace, bear a particular responsibility in upholding these principles.

Written by Culture Enabler

🌟Passionate about Workplace Culture 🌟Employee Empowerment 🌟 Positive Work Environments 🌟 Sharing Experiences, Insights & Strategies

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7 Reasons Why You Should Study Leadership

• 21 Mar 2023

At its core, leadership is about unleashing others’ potential—providing them with the environment, resources, motivation, and strategy to succeed and reach their goals. Yet before you can bring out the best in your employees, you need to do the same for yourself.

Transitioning from an individual contributor to a leader requires different skills, perspectives, and frameworks.

“All individuals who are asked to take on leadership responsibility find themselves on a path of personal development ,” says Harvard Business School Professor Joshua Margolis in the online course Leadership Principles , “learning how to conduct themselves in new ways to enable those they’re leading to thrive and get their work done.”

While learning as you go is an option, strong leadership requires working in advance to set yourself and your team up for success. Studying leadership can prepare you with actionable frameworks, perspectives, and foresight to be the leader you want to be.

Access your free e-book today.

How to Study Leadership

There are several ways to study leadership, each with its own benefits and drawbacks, including:

1. One-time leadership sessions:

Attending trainings and talks by senior leaders within your organization or field can be an effective way to glean key insights, often for free. The downside of these offerings is that they only cover so much within their given time constraints and typically don’t come with credentials.

2. Master of business administration (MBA) or master of leadership degree programs:

Although a bigger investment of time and money, an MBA program can provide a holistic understanding of business and how to lead across geographies and departments. For a similar experience with a greater focus on leadership, consider a master of leadership degree program.

3. Leadership certificate courses:

If you want to gain deep expertise that aligns with your leadership goals on a relatively short timeline, a certificate course could be the right fit. Although still an investment of time and money, certificate courses can provide the skills you need for various facets of leadership and bolster your resume.

While the method you select depends on your goals, budget, and time constraints, studying leadership can position you for increased responsibility. Here are seven reasons to pursue it.

Related: How Leadership Training Can Help You Transform Your Organization

Why Study Leadership? 7 Reasons

1. identify your leadership style.

A critical part of preparing for leadership is introspection. Purposeful self-reflection can help you identify your strengths, areas for improvement, and how you’d like to shape your personal leadership style .

In the online course Leadership Principles , HBS professors Anthony Mayo and Joshua Margolis prompt learners to reflect using three frameworks:

• Imprint: How the people you lead experience you
• Function: The method by which you provide structure, direction, support, and development to your team
• Motivation: The desires, stimuli, and incentives that drive you to pursue a specific course of action

Each framework has several components that invite further reflection. What’s your current leadership style ? Which areas do you want to change or strengthen? Leadership Principles also provides self-assessments and opportunities to receive peer feedback on your developing style.

A leadership course can guide you through the reflection process and provide real-world examples of leaders with varying styles to help you decide the kind you want to be.

2. Make Decisions to Lead and Manage Change

While leadership and management aren’t the same , the most effective managers are also leaders. If you manage a team, knowing how to lead and manage organizational change is imperative.

In the course Management Essentials , leading change is likened to being the architect who designs a building and managing change to being the builder who constructs it. In some roles, you must be both, making critical decisions that impact your team or organization.

“For modern business, change and instability have become the new normal,” says HBS Professor David Garvin in Management Essentials. “Today, companies are evolving and industries are changing more quickly than ever before.”

He adds, “To succeed in this type of environment, managers today not only need skills in execution, they must also learn to initiate and manage change.”

A leadership and management course can give you the skills to design, direct, and implement organizational change .

3. Leverage Power and Influence within Your Organization

To be an effective leader , you must understand how power and influence work and use both to make positive change within your organization.

In the online course Power and Influence for Positive Impact , power is defined as the ability to influence a person or group’s behaviors—whether through persuasion or coercion. As a leader, you must influence your team members’ mindsets and behaviors using persuasion and motivate them to do their best work.

The power associated with a leadership title—called positional power—only extends so far. To gain the hearts and minds of your team, you need to cultivate and leverage personal and relational power, too. A leadership course can provide a framework for thinking about power and tools to cultivate it for leadership success.

4. Remain Agile and Create Value in Negotiations

As a leader, you likely need to negotiate on behalf of your team or organization. Negotiations can be stress-inducing and have devastating results if approached incorrectly.

The online course Negotiation Mastery provides analytical tools for approaching negotiations and simulation exercises to test your skills with fellow learners.

Equipping yourself with the mindset, tools, and tactics to negotiate successfully can help you be a more effective leader.

Related: 6 Characteristics of an Effective Leader

5. Navigate Ethically Challenging Situations

Your responsibilities shift when transitioning to a new leadership role, as do the stakeholders you answer to. Those responsibilities include ethical, legal, and economic demands that impact investors, customers, suppliers, employees, and society.

“Business leaders often need to navigate the gray area where responsibilities conflict, pressure is real, and there’s no one right answer,” says HBS Professor Nien-hê Hsieh in a video for Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability . “What’s best for an organization’s bottom line could cause legal complications or raise ethical considerations.”

Studying leadership can provide an understanding of those responsibilities and a roadmap for navigating them when they conflict.

6. Establish an Environment for Successful Strategy Execution

“Implementation is the fundamental job of management and one of the hardest to do well,” Garvin says in Management Essentials . “When I speak with managers, they usually cite strategy execution as the biggest challenge they face.”

As a leader and manager, you’re responsible for creating an environment in which your team can successfully execute your organization’s strategy.

In the online course Strategy Execution , HBS Professor Robert Simons teaches you how to evaluate roadblocks and tensions surrounding your organization’s strategy execution, design effective measurement systems, and empower employees using proprietary frameworks and tools.

Creating an environment designed for smooth, communicative , measured, and purposeful processes can help you lead your team through strategy implementation.

7. Broaden Your Leadership Scope and Scale

Leadership studies aren’t reserved for those new to the field. If you want to become a higher-level leader, you can benefit from a leadership course.

If you’re an experienced leader, Organizational Leadership can prepare you to broaden your scope and scale.

“What do we mean by scale and scope?” Mayo says in the course. “Scale refers to the sheer size and magnitude of what you’re leading—how many people, how large a budget, and how many teams, locations, and operations you oversee. Scope refers to the range and diversity of what you’re responsible for—people, teams, business lines, locations, operations, and facilities.”

Because leadership’s phases come with different challenges and opportunities, taking leadership courses specific to each can help you gain the skills and confidence to face them.

Finding the Best Leadership Course for You

If you’re considering a leadership certificate course, the number of options can be overwhelming. To find the best course for you, ask:

• What are my leadership goals, and will this course help me reach them?
• Which format works best for me: in-person or online?
• Is the course taught by instructors with high levels of expertise?
• Is the content presented in an engaging manner?
• Will I have the opportunity to connect and network with peers?

Selecting a course that aligns with your goals, experience level, and learning style can position you for leadership success.

Are you interested in elevating your leadership skills? Explore our online leadership and management courses . Download our free flowchart to find the best fit.

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Case Study: Emotional Intelligence for People-First Leadership at FedEx Express

by Joshua Freedman | Jan 14, 2014 | EQ Business | 26 comments

Integrating emotional intelligence assessment and development into a six-month process for new managers world-wide, the FedEx Express team at their Global Learning Institute is building the skills and expertise for people-first leadership. 

The program is yielding an 8-11% increase in core leadership competencies, with over half the participants experiencing very large (10-50%) improvements in certain key emotional intelligence skills and leadership outcomes:  72% of the program participants experience very large increases in decision making; 60% in Quality of Life, and 58% show major improvements in Influence.

By Joshua Freedman and Jimmy Daniel

While founder Fred Smith was focused on logistics and speed, from the start he believed that people were the key to business, and that leadership is about continuous growth: “Leaders get out in front and stay there by raising the standards by which they judge themselves – and by which they are willing to be judged.”   This vision has translated to the “PSP Philosophy” – People-Service-Profit – which drives FedEx Express today.

The company sees that the people-side of leadership has grown more complex, and looking to the future, is committed to developing leadership capabilities to manage the changing workforce.  The goal is leaders who are better at influence, make decisions that are both quick and accurate, and are able to build a culture where people feel the dedication and drive for exceptional performance in a way that’s sustainable and creates real value for all stakeholders.

To measure leadership performance, FedEx Express administers “SFA,” an annual survey where every employee can provide feedback about managers.  SFA themes include respect, fairness, listening, and trust – leadership responsibilities that are all about relationships and emotions.  This commitment to people-first leadership created an interest in “emotional intelligence” as a learnable skillset that would equip managers to deliver the FedEx way.

Implementation

Even though the leadership training was state of the art — among the top ten in the world – the FedEx Global Leadership Institute is charged with continuously updating and innovating in keeping with that Fred Smith call for continuously “raising the standards.”  Located near the company’s primary hub in Memphis, TN, the Global Leadership Institute, GLI, serves as the leadership university for FedEx Express.

In 2005, GLI implemented a new training program for managers to consider the impact they wished to have as leaders – the legacy they were creating.  A core component of the LEGACY course was a module on emotional intelligence using the Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Assessment, the SEI. [2]   LEGACY results were very positive, in part because of the effectiveness of the Six Seconds Model as an actionable process.

Action-Based Emotional Intelligence

Know Yourself – increase self-awareness of emotions and reactions (competencies:  Enhance Emotional Literacy and Recognize Patterns).

Choose Yourself – shift from unconscious reaction to intentional response (competencies: Apply Consequential Thinking, Navigate Emotions, Engage Intrinsic Motivation, and Exercise Optimism).

Give Yourself – align the moment-to-moment decisions with a larger sense of purpose (competencies:  Increase Empathy and Pursue Noble Goals). [3]

Reviewing data from LEGACY in 2009 and 2010, the GLI team identified that a few key EQ competencies were essential to strengthen “bench strength” and build the leaders who will move up the chain.  Without revealing confidential details, the FedEx culture has focused on speed — which is a key part of the company’s success.  As leaders move up in the organization, the need for speed has to be balanced with a more careful, collaborative decision-making process to achieve sustainable success.

Blended Training & Coaching

A team of eight GLI experts was certified in the Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Assessment (SEI) through a mix of on-site and virtual training delivered by Six Seconds. Some team members undertook additional trainer-training in Six Seconds’ methodology to ensure that the implementation would go deeply into what drives people performance. [4]

GLI Senior Management Facilitators Jimmy Daniel and Pamela Williams became certified as a SEI Master Trainer to deliver SEI Certification internally within L&D team in US and globally.

The six month coaching process begins with a one-to-one debrief of the participant’s SEI profile as a framework for goal setting.  The new manager identifies specific competencies to improve, as well as strengths to leverage, and how these can be employed to improve people-leadership.  The coaching process is “specific customized,” meaning that while all participants are working within a shared framework of concepts and goals, each coach and participant work in partnership to develop personalized goals that can be made actionable.  Part of the effectiveness of the coaching is that the coaches all now have several years of experience with emotional intelligence themselves, giving them added insight into what drives people.

At the end of the coaching process, participants re-take the SEI to clearly identify areas of progress, to set next goals, and provide accountability for the program.

At present, over 100 facilitators have been, or are being, trained to provide the SEI assessment and coaching, and to run LEAD1 worldwide.

Initial responses to the program are extremely positive.  LEAD1 trained managers are showing increased ability to push the FedEx strategy and the “People First” leadership philosophy. In the words of a program participant, one of FedEx’s senior widebody captains,

“I began the week realizing that I was limiting myself with a single leadership style and an emotional intelligence level that was preventing me from reaching my full potential, particularly in stressful situations.

I learned how to apply different leadership styles to meet specific situations, apply consequential thinking, and continue to improve my emotional intelligence. i am already applying this new found knowledge in my day to day work environment as well as my personal life.”.

Quantitative Results

Another measure of success is through analysis of the SEI assessments given at the start and end of the six-month program.  Based on comparisons of eight LEAD1 cohorts, 106 individuals (on pre-tests), the group experienced a median increase of 8% to 11% in EQ competencies.  A paired t-test of individuals’ pre-test and post-test comparisons shows P < 0.0001, indicating that statistically, the change is extremely significant.

In all the competencies of EQ (as measured by the SEI), there were a very substantial number of participants with major increases. In any group, some participants will be more fully engaged in the process; 44% of the participants experienced very large increases (10-50% improvements).  The largest numbers of these were the areas of “Apply Consequential Thinking” with 54% of the participants are in this group of large increases, and “Exercise Optimism” with 57% of the participants improving from 10-50%.

The SEI measures eight competencies of emotional intelligence as well as six outcomes:  Effectiveness, Influence, Decision-Making, Relationships, Quality of Life, and Health. Statistically, we know that variation in EQ predicts from 55-65% of the variation in these outcomes. [6]   This correlation was confirmed in this sample population, where 59.8% of the variation in outcome scores can be predicted by EQ scores:

Like the EQ scores, participants’ outcome scores increased significantly.  Group average improvements range from 6-10%:

Again, the question arises, “What part of the group made serious improvements?”  The largest major improvements were in:

Decision Making where 72% made major improvements.

Quality of life 60% made major improvements., influence 58% made major improvements., qualitative results.

While the data are impressive, the human stories are compelling.  Behind a 20% increase in relationships, we heard the story of a leader rebuilding trust with her team, or a marriage staying together.  Behind a 15% increase in Quality of Life, we heard the story of someone finding meaning and recommitting to stay sober.  That 10% increase in Decision Making is a story of a new manager finally “getting it” that people are what create value and changing the way he treats people.

The results of LEAD1 have gone far beyond the workplace.  Participants have shared numerous stories of using the EQ tools to cope with loss, reunite with family members, step up to become better parents, and even make dramatic changes to improve health and wellbeing.  By supporting new managers in this way, FedEx gains by having more competent leaders – and also by showing its people that the company puts its values into action.  In turn, this role models the kind of people-centered leadership that FedEx expects from all managers.

As a result of initial success, LEAD1 has expanded to FedEx regional globally – Asia-Pacific (APAC), Latin America/Caribbean (LAC) and Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA). There are now certified SEI Coaches around the world providing one on one “specific customized” coaching for managers to begin this phase of their careers with the insight and skills for people-first leadership.

The success of the project at FedEx offers several insights for other companies looking to gain value from emotional intelligence:

Link to what matters.  

At FedEx, concepts like “discretionary effort” and the leadership requirements from the annual SFA survey create an internal “case” for emotional intelligence.  The champions of this project have helped leaders see that the learnable skills of emotional intelligence are building blocks to create the kind of people-first leadership the company wants – which, in turn, increases economic value.  This recognition has built support of the initiative at very senior levels.

Build internal capacity.  

By developing an internal team of emotional intelligence practitioners, the company has been able to assimilate the concepts and skills of EQ and “translate” them to work within the company culture.  Having a large, strong team of emotional intelligence coaches and trainers means this program can be delivered at a large scale, creating a new “strand of DNA” to support the desired organizational culture.

Walk the Talk.  

The company tells supervisors to put people first, so the company puts people first.  By supporting new managers to be good people, and investing in their growth right at the start of their management careers, FedEx senior leadership is providing a powerful role model.

One of the basic principles of Six Seconds’ work in business is:

Emotions drive people, people drive performance. 

This simple formula makes sense at FedEx where there is a very strong recognition that productivity is created by people – and leaders need the skills to understand what makes people really work: Emotional intelligence.

Jimmy Daniels is a leadership consultant at Six Seconds.  Previously, he was part of the team that designed and delivered LEAD1 as Senior Management Facilitator for the FedEx Express Global Leadership Institute (GLI).  He joined GLI after 24 years in FedEx operations, where he launched tens of thousands of airplanes as a Director of Flight Operations.  Jimmy now delivers training and consulting for leaders and teams to build productivity through people.  Contact: [email protected]

Joshua Freedman is one of the founders of Six Seconds, where he serves as global CEO.  He is co-author of the Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Assessment , and author of At the Heart of Leadership: How to Get Results With Emotional Intelligence , as well as six other psychometric assessments and several books and management programs.  For more information, visit www.6seconds.org.

[1] http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/most-admired/

[2]   Ghini, Freedman, Jensen (2004), Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Test , Six Seconds. 

[3] Anabel Jensen and Joshua Freedman (2001). Six Seconds EQ Certification Manual , Six Seconds.  Joshua Freedman (2007), At the Heart of Leadership , Six Seconds.

[4] The Six Seconds EQ Certification and Advanced Trainer Certification programs ( www.6seconds.org/certification ).

[6] Joshua Freedman, Massimiliano Ghini and Carina Fiedeldey-Van Dijk (2006), Emotional Intelligence and Performance , www.6seconds.org. Joshua Freedman, Jayne Morrison, Andreas Olsson (2009), Leadership Success and Emotional Intelligence In The Middle East , www.6seconds.org/tools/sei/research

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thank you for keeping us posted for the case studies in work place

I would like to know more about EQ.

Thank you for your interest, Linda. Our team in South Africa will reach out soon to connect.

Thank you very much. I will really love to be part of this course.

Thank you for providing these proven results which was very informative

Thanks for sharing this interesting article. The concept of putting people first makes good business sense yet as we know its not always practiced.

Thank you very much for this enormous subject which enlightens emotional senses.

Thank you for providing these proven results of SEI.

Hi Joshua, if you have a look on http://www.ltsglobal.com you will see an instrument which is globally researched and validated to enable an organisation to switch on the 16 enablers to ensure learning is transferred into performance; the Learning Transfer Systems Inventory. It is evidenced based so you could take your cohorts and find out what is enabling them to transfer their learning against the 16 validated enablers. Whilst 360 pre and post gives you information of change the 16 enablers will show you what really enables them to sustain their behavioural change. Good luck

this is an extremely thorough and very exciting project. I wonder if you are considering the evaluation of the project and whether the culture has a whole has been enabled to deliver the transfer of learning into work performance

Hi Mike – yes, ultimately that is the goal. In an org w/ 290k employees, it’s a long road… but they’re on the right track!

Thnx. This made grt rdg..shall share it eith my students..

Great information, I think that if more people would read this the world would be a better place.

Great insight, infectious smile and enthusiasm. The concept will change the world positively

Very interesting! Thank you for sharing! I have two questions: 1) what is the best way to get a quality copy of this article (for future reference/sharing with colleagues), and 2) what is the preferred way to reference this article? Thank you!

Hi Tuck – feel free to email me and I can share a PDF. [email protected] Reference depends on style you’re using… perhaps, Freedman & Daniels (2014) Emotional Intelligence for People-First Leadership at FedEx Express, Six Seconds.

Thank you very much Josh for share this history about change the human part of the world in this case in a wanderfull company.

Thank you for taking the time to document what we know to be true- supporting EQ development in the workplace has a long lasting and powerful ripple effect

Thanks for sharing one more powerful evidence on the role of EQ in performance and leadership-a breakthrough in this direction. All the best with One Billion taget!

It is always a pleasure to read about the work of emotional intelligence. Thank you for sharing!

Thank you for sharing.It was a great reminder that something like decision making is not just cognitive but is influenced enormously by the affective.

Thanks for sharing, it makes a lot of sence. I am gald to see the circle: Know your self, Choose your self and Give your self.

I believe strongley in Self-awareness as the foundation for and change or development.

Josh, We need to build a team SEI facilitators in India to bring about a change in organisational culture. It is not a job of a single coach. Ebe

Thank you. It’s intresting.

Thank you Jimmy and Josh for sharing this terrific example of what does it mean to be a leader!

Josh, Thank you for keeping us posted with the latest evidences of EQ in the market place.

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The Role of Leaders: The Importance of Leadership

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Analysing leadership is more like looking through the lens of a kaleidoscope rather than that of a microscope because with each turn it changes shape and colour and hue. And as leadership theory evolves, it embraces an ever-increasing range of concepts from behavioural to attitudinal, from social-cognitive to contingency, from social exchange to team. There is no shortage of material for those wishing to understand leaders, leadership, and organisational performance; but those seeking best practice will come away from the subject with conditions, sub-clauses and riders. It is important for the leader in any organisation to be clear about the expectations of the position they hold, expectations on the part of the organisation, and expectations on the part of the followers. They will need to understand their own strengths and weaknesses against these expectations and what they need to do to achieve the objectives in their specific organisational context. One way to gain an understanding of the answers to these questions is by personal reflection and insight . The leader of the future is a person with a high level of emotional intelligence who understands their capabilities. L eaders will also need credibility to enable followers to trust and accept the decisions of those in leadership positions and to act accordingly. And finally, leaders know their way around organisational dynamics to ensure that these decisions are successfully implemented.

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Turner, P. (2019). The Role of Leaders: The Importance of Leadership. In: Leadership in Healthcare. Organizational Behaviour in Healthcare. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04387-2_3

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What is leadership?

All leaders, to a certain degree, do the same thing. Whether you’re talking about an executive, manager, sports coach, or schoolteacher, leadership is about guiding and impacting outcomes, enabling groups of people to work together to accomplish what they couldn’t do working individually. In this sense, leadership is something you do, not something you are. Some people in formal leadership positions are poor leaders, and many people exercising leadership have no formal authority. It is their actions, not their words, that inspire trust and energy.

Get to know and directly engage with senior McKinsey experts on leadership

Aaron De Smet is a senior partner in McKinsey’s New Jersey office, Carolyn Dewar is a senior partner in the Bay Area office, Scott Keller is a senior partner in the Southern California office, and Vik Malhotra and Ramesh Srinivasan are senior partners in the New York office.

What’s more, leadership is not something people are born with—it is a skill you can learn. At the core are mindsets, which are expressed through observable behaviors , which then lead to measurable outcomes. Is a leader communicating effectively or engaging others by being a good listener? Focusing on behaviors lets us be more objective when assessing leadership effectiveness. The key to unlocking shifts in behavior is focusing on mindsets, becoming more conscious about our thoughts and beliefs, and showing up with integrity as our full authentic selves.

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There are many contexts and ways in which leadership is exercised. But, according to McKinsey analysis of academic literature as well as a survey of nearly 200,000 people in 81 organizations all over the world, there are four types of behavior that account for 89 percent of leadership effectiveness :

• being supportive
• operating with a strong results orientation
• seeking different perspectives
• solving problems effectively

Effective leaders know that what works in one situation will not necessarily work every time. Leadership strategies must reflect each organization’s context and stage of evolution. One important lens is organizational health, a holistic set of factors that enable organizations to grow and succeed over time. A situational approach  enables leaders to focus on the behaviors that are most relevant as an organization becomes healthier.

Senior leaders must develop a broad range of skills to guide organizations. Ten timeless topics are important for leading nearly any organization, from attracting and retaining talent  to making culture a competitive advantage. A 2017 McKinsey book, Leading Organizations: Ten Timeless Truths (Bloomsbury, 2017), goes deep on each aspect.

How is leadership evolving?

In the past, leadership was called “management,” with an emphasis on providing technical expertise and direction. The context was the traditional industrial economy command-and-control organization, where leaders focused exclusively on maximizing value for shareholders. In these organizations, leaders had three roles: planners (who develop strategy, then translate that strategy into concrete steps), directors (who assign responsibilities), or controllers (who ensure people do what they’ve been assigned and plans are adhered to).

What are the limits of traditional management styles?

Traditional management was revolutionary in its day and enormously effective in building large-scale global enterprises that have materially improved lives over the past 200 years. However, with the advent of the 21st century, this approach is reaching its limits.

For one thing, this approach doesn’t guarantee happy or loyal managers or workers. Indeed, a large portion of American workers—56 percent— claim their boss is mildly or highly toxic , while 75 percent say dealing with their manager is the most stressful part of their workday.

For 21st-century organizations operating in today’s complex business environment, a fundamentally new and more effective approach to leadership is emerging. Leaders today are beginning to focus on building agile, human-centered, and digitally enabled organizations able to thrive in today’s unprecedented environment and meet the needs of a broader range of stakeholders (customers, employees, suppliers, and communities, in addition to investors).

What is the emerging new approach to leadership?

This new approach to leadership is sometimes described as “ servant leadership .” While there has been some criticism of the nomenclature, the idea itself is simple: rather than being a manager directing and controlling people, a more effective approach is for leaders to be in service of the people they lead. The focus is on how leaders can make the lives of their team members easier—physically, cognitively, and emotionally. Research suggests this mentality can enhance both team performance and satisfaction.

In this new approach, leaders practice empathy, compassion, vulnerability, gratitude, self-awareness, and self-care. They provide appreciation and support, creating psychological safety so their employees are able to collaborate, innovate, and raise issues as appropriate. This includes celebrating achieving the small steps on the way to reaching big goals and enhancing people’s well-being through better human connections. These conditions have been shown to allow for a team’s best performance.

More broadly, developing this new approach to leadership can be expressed as making five key shifts that include, build on, and extend beyond traditional approaches:

• beyond executive to visionary, shaping a clear purpose that resonates with and generates holistic impact for all stakeholders
• beyond planner to architect, reimagining industries and innovating business systems that are able to create new levels of value
• beyond director to catalyst, engaging people to collaborate in open, empowered networks
• beyond controller to coach, enabling the organization to constantly evolve through rapid learning, and enabling colleagues to build new mindsets, knowledge, and skills
• beyond boss to human, showing up as one’s whole, authentic self

Together, these shifts can help a leader expand their repertoire and create a new level of value for an organization’s stakeholders. The last shift is the most important, as it is based on developing a new level of consciousness and awareness of our inner state. Leaders who look inward  and take a journey of genuine self-discovery make profound shifts in themselves and their lives; this means they are better able to benefit their organization. That involves developing “profile awareness” (a combination of a person’s habits of thought, emotions, hopes, and behavior in different circumstances) and “state awareness” (the recognition of what’s driving a person to take action). Combining individual, inward-looking work with outward-facing actions can help create lasting change.

Looking for direct answers to other complex questions?

Leaders must learn to make these five shifts at three levels : transforming and evolving personal mindsets and behaviors; transforming teams to work in new ways; and transforming the broader organization by building new levels of agility, human-centeredness, and value creation into the entire enterprise’s design and culture.

An example from the COVID-19 era offers a useful illustration of this new approach to leadership. In pursuit of a vaccine breakthrough, at the start of the pandemic Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel increased the frequency of executive meetings  from once a month to twice a week. The company implemented a decentralized model enabling teams to work independently and deliver on the bold goal of providing 100 million doses of vaccines in 12 months. “The pace was unprecedented,” Bancel said.

What is the impact of this new approach to leadership?

This new approach to leadership is far more effective. While the dynamics are complex, countless studies show empirical links among effective leadership, employee satisfaction, customer loyalty, and profitability.

How can leaders empower employees?

Empowering employees , surprisingly enough, might mean taking a more hands-on leadership approach. Organizations whose leaders successfully empower others through coaching are nearly four times more likely to make swift, good decisions and outperform other companies . But this type of coaching isn’t always natural for those with a more controlling or autocratic style.

Here are five tips to get started  if you’re a leader looking to empower others:

• Provide clear rules, for example, by providing guardrails for what success looks like and communicating who makes which decisions. Clarity and boundary structures like role remits and responsibilities help to contain any anxiety associated with work and help teams stay focused on their primary tasks.
• Establish clear roles, say, by assigning one person the authority to make certain decisions.
• Avoid being a complicit manager—for instance, if you’ve delegated a decision to a team, don’t step in and solve the problem for them.
• Address culture and skills, for instance, by helping employees learn how to have difficult conversations.
• Begin soliciting personal feedback from others, at all levels of your organization, on how you are experienced as a leader.

How can leaders communicate effectively?

Good, clear communication is a leadership hallmark. Fundamental tools of effective communication  include:

• defining and pointing to long-term goals
• listening to and understanding stakeholders
• creating openings for dialogue
• communicating proactively

And in times of uncertainty, these things are important for crisis communicators :

• give people what they need, when they need it
• communicate clearly, simply, and frequently
• choose candor over charisma
• revitalize a spirit of resilience
• distill meaning from chaos
• support people, teams, and organizations to build the capability for self-sufficiency

Learn more about our People & Organizational Performance Practice .

Is leadership different in a hybrid workplace?

A leader’s role may look slightly different in remote or hybrid workplace settings . Rather than walking around a physical site, these leaders might instead model what hybrid looks like, or orchestrate work based on tasks, interactions, or purpose. Being communicative and radiating positivity  can go a long way. Leaders need to find other ways to be present and accessible, for example, via virtual drop-in sessions, regular company podcasts, or virtual townhalls. Leaders in these settings may also need to find new ways to get authentic feedback. These tactics can include pulse surveys or learning to ask thoughtful follow-up questions that reveal useful management insights.

Additional considerations, such as making sure that in-person work and togetherness has a purpose, are important. Keeping an eye on inclusivity in hybrid work  is also crucial. Listening to what employees want, with an eye to their lived experience, will be vital to leaders in these settings. And a focus on output, outcomes, results, and impact—rather than arbitrary norms about time spent in offices— may be a necessary adaptation in the hybrid era .

How should CEOs lead in this new world?

Just as for leadership more broadly, today’s environment requires CEOs to lead very differently. Recent research indicates that one-third to one-half of new CEOs fail within 18 months.

What helps top performers thrive today? To find out, McKinsey led a research effort to identify the CEOs who achieved breakaway success. We examined 20 years’ worth of data on 7,800 CEOs—from 3,500 public companies across 70 countries and 24 industries. The result is the McKinsey book CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest (Scribner, March 2022). Watch an interview with the authors for more on what separates the best CEOs from the rest .

Getting perspective on leadership from CEOs themselves is enlightening—and illustrates the nuanced ways in which the new approach to leadership described above can be implemented in practice. Here are a few quotes drawn from McKinsey’s interviews with these top-level leaders :

• “I think the fundamental role of a leader is to look for ways to shape the decades ahead, not just react to the present, and to help others accept the discomfort of disruptions to the status quo.” — Indra Nooyi , former chairman and CEO of PepsiCo
• “The single most important thing I have to do as CEO is ensure that our brand continues to be relevant.” — Chris Kempczinski , CEO of McDonald’s
• “Leaders of other enterprises often define themselves as captains of the ship, but I think I’m more the ship’s architect or designer. That’s different from a captain’s role, in which the route is often fixed and the destination defined.” — Zhang Ruimin , CEO of Haier
• “I think my leadership style [can be called] ‘collaborative command.’ You bring different opinions into the room, you allow for a really great debate, but you understand that, at the end of the day, a decision has to be made quickly.” — Adena Friedman , CEO of Nasdaq
• “We need an urgent refoundation of business and capitalism around purpose and humanity. To find new ways for all of us to lead so that we can create a better future, a more sustainable future.” — Hubert Joly , former chairman and CEO of Best Buy

What is leadership development?

Leaders aren’t born; they learn to lead over time. Neuroplasticity refers to the power of the brain to form new pathways and connections through exposure to novel, unfamiliar experiences. This allows adults to adapt, grow, and learn new practices throughout our lifetimes.

When it comes to leadership within organizations, this is often referred to as leadership development. Programs, books, and courses on leadership development abound, but results vary.

Leadership development efforts fail for a variety of reasons. Some overlook context; in those cases, asking a simple question (something like “What, precisely, is this program for?”) can help. Others separate reflections on leadership from real work, or they shortchange the role of adjusting leaders’ mindsets, feelings, assumptions, and beliefs, or they fail to measure results.

So what’s needed for successful leadership development? Generally, developing leaders is about creating contexts where there is sufficient psychological safety in combination with enough novelty and unfamiliarity to cultivate new leadership practices in response to stimuli. Leadership programs that successfully cultivate leaders are also built around “placescapes”—these are novel experiences, like exploring wilderness trails, practicing performing arts, or writing poetry.

When crafting a leadership development program, there are six ingredients to incorporate  that lead to true organizational impact:

• Set up for success:
• Focus your leadership transformation on driving strategic objectives and initiatives.
• Commit the people and resources needed.
• Be clear about focus:
• Engage a critical mass of leaders to reach a tipping point for sustained impact.
• Zero in on the leadership shifts that drive the greatest value.
• Execute well:
• Architect experiential journeys to maximize shifts in mindsets, capabilities, and practices.
• Measure for holistic impact.

A well-designed and executed leadership development program can help organizations build leaders’ capabilities broadly, at scale. And these programs can be built around coaching, mentoring, and having people try to solve challenging problems—learning skills by applying them in real time to real work.

What are mentorship, sponsorship, and apprenticeship?

Mentorship, sponsorship, and apprenticeship can also be part of leadership development efforts. What are they? Mentorship refers to trusted counselors offering guidance and support on various professional issues, such as career progression. Sponsorship is used to describe senior leaders who create opportunities to help junior colleagues succeed. These roles are typically held by more senior colleagues, whereas apprenticeship could be more distributed. Apprenticeship  describes the way any colleague with domain expertise might teach others, model behaviors, or transfer skills. These approaches can be useful not only for developing leaders but also for helping your company upskill or reskill employees quickly and at scale.

For more in-depth exploration of these topics, see McKinsey’s insights on People & Organizational Performance . Learn more about McKinsey’s Leadership & Management  work—and check out job opportunities if you’re interested in working at McKinsey.

Articles referenced include:

• “ Author Talks: What separates the best CEOs from the rest? ,” December 15, 2021, Carolyn Dewar , Scott Keller , and Vik Malhotra
• “ From the great attrition to the great adaptation ,” November 3, 2021, Aaron De Smet  and Bill Schaninger
• “ The boss factor: Making the world a better place through workplace relationships ,” September 22, 2020, Tera Allas  and Bill Schaninger
• " Leading agile transformation: The new capabilities leaders need to build 21st century organizations ," October 1, 2018, Aaron De Smet , Michael Lurie, and Andrew St. George
• " Leading Organizations: Ten Timeless Truths ," 2017, Scott Keller  and Mary Meaney
• “ Leadership in context ,” January 1, 2016, Michael Bazigos, Chris Gagnon, and Bill Schaninger
• “ Decoding leadership: What really matters ,” January 1, 2015, Claudio Feser, Fernanda Mayol, and Ramesh Srinivasan

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CEO Excellence

Theoretical Gap and Delimitation of Engineering Leadership in the Malaysian Construction Industry

• Alim Maktar
• Khairun Nisa Khairuddin
• Ummi Naiemah Saraih

18 In the context of the Malaysian construction industry, effective leadership remains pivotal for navigating the complexities inherent in engineering projects. Past studies have consistently identified leadership as one of the critical factors in ensuring the success of construction projects. Effective leadership has been linked to project performance, timely completion, and team coordination. Despite the recognized importance of leadership in construction project success, there remains a lack of a clear definition of engineering leadership. This ambiguity poses challenges for the development of robust frameworks to guide and cultivate engineering leaders. This article addresses the theoretical gaps and delimitations remarked in current studies on leadership within engineering sector, specifically in construction industry. A comprehensive review of leadership theories reveals a progression from foundational concepts such as Trait Theory to contemporary frameworks including Transformational and Servant Leadership. While these theories have enriched our understanding of leadership dynamics, there exists a discernible stagnation in the development of new theoretical frameworks. Many studies predominantly focus on validating existing models rather than pioneering innovative perspectives tailored to the unique challenges of the Malaysian construction ecosystem. This review highlights the need for future research to explore and articulate imperative insights that can effectively guide leadership practices within Malaysia's construction sector, fostering project outcomes and sustainable industry development.  

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The University of Chicago The Law School

Federal criminal justice clinic—significant achievements for 2023-24.

The Federal Criminal Justice Clinic is the nation’s first legal clinic devoted to representing indigent clients charged with federal felonies, pursuing impact litigation through criminal cases in federal court, and spearheading systemic change within the federal criminal system to combat racial, economic, and other inequities. Professor Alison Siegler, the Clinic’s Founding Director, and Professor Judith Miller work together with students to advocate in these areas.

Freedom Denied Systemic Reform Project

Students working with Professor Siegler on the FCJC’s Freedom Denied Project have continued to drive systemic change nationally in the area of federal pretrial jailing and detention, building on the Clinic’s study, Freedom Denied: How the Culture of Detention Created a Federal Jailing Crisis (2022). In this report, the FCJC identified a federal jailing crisis and presented hard data to judges and other stakeholders about various ways in which people’s rights are violated during federal bail hearings. Since then, the FCJC has been pulling every possible lever to address this crisis, reduce federal jailing rates, and reduce the accompanying racial disparities.

In ten of the federal courts where the FCJC engaged in district-specific interventions, federal jailing rates decreased by fifteen percent on average. Over the five years since our work began, federal jailing rates have decreased by five percent nationwide. While it is difficult to know what part of the decrease is attributable to the Clinic’s efforts, many judges and policymakers have informed Professor Siegler that the Clinic’s work is fundamentally reshaping how the federal system addresses pretrial detention and release.

This year, the FCJC distributed a bound hard copy of our 300-page Freedom Denied report to 700 federal judges, including every Chief US District Court Judge and every US Magistrate Judge in the country who makes pretrial jailing decisions. We received many letters and emails from judges nationwide, thanking us and reflecting on our report as an excellent and practical resource for the judiciary. (The printing, binding, and mailing of the report was made possible by an additional and very generous gift from the Astor Street Foundation.)

In our report, the FCJC was the first to identify a massive access-to-justice problem, and our interventions on that issue are creating monumental change. Specifically, our investigation revealed that in one-quarter of the federal courts in this country, judges regularly detain people in jail without lawyers. This is a clear violation of federal laws that require the appointment of counsel during the first court hearing, known as the initial appearance.

The FCJC advocated to the Department of Justice and the Judicial Conference of the United States, and they responded by working with us to rectify the access-to-counsel problem. In 2023, the DOJ issued a new directive requiring federal prosecutors to recognize the statutory right to counsel. After that, FCJC students and Professor Siegler conducted an extensive additional investigation to identify the federal courts where the right-to-counsel crisis is most acute, and approached the Judicial Conference with our findings. In response, Judicial Conference committees ultimately issued a directive in March 2024 requiring federal judges to appoint counsel to represent every indigent defendant during their initial appearance hearing, stating: “Courts that do not currently ensure that every defendant has active representation by counsel during the initial appearance must comply with the governing statute and rules.” This is an enormous milestone.

While awaiting this directive, Professor Siegler published an op-ed in USA Today to further educate stakeholders about the crisis and spread nationwide attention and awareness, explaining: “Our [Clinic’s] findings document the shocking number of people denied public defenders at their first bail hearing, which virtually guarantees that they will be jailed rather than released home to their families.” In the wake of these changes, we have been heartened to learn that federal courts that for decades had an entrenched practice of locking defendants in jail without lawyers are now regularly appointing counsel.

The Clinic engaged in additional systemic change efforts to address the broader federal jailing crisis this year, including:

• Widely distributing the Clinic’s template motions for pretrial release via the Westlaw Forms database to ensure that federal criminal defense attorneys have access to effective legal tools.
• The centerpiece of this year’s trainings was a presentation at the Seventh Circuit Judicial Conference, an upcoming panel at the Tenth Circuit Judicial Conference, and a multi-day national bail workshop for Federal Public Defenders.
• Additional speeches included presentations at the National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies 50 th Annual Conference and Training, a presentation at the annual national conference of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and a speech at a conference organized by the Honorable Salvador Mendoza of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Retroactivity Project

Under Professor Judith Miller’s leadership, FCJC student teams represented four incarcerated clients in motions to have their sentences reduced under the newly passed Amendment 821 to the Sentencing Guidelines. The Sentencing Commission issued the retroactive Amendment in light of new data showing that two components of the Guidelines overstated certain individuals’ risk of recidivism. Under this Amendment, incarcerated individuals can ask the court to reduce their sentences to the low-end of their new, amended Guideline range. Once the court determines that the individual is eligible for a reduction, it applies the usual factors under the sentencing statute, 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), to determine whether a reduction is warranted.

The FCJC recognized that the Clinic could play an important role by representing clients who might be eligible for release after the change in the law. In this project, Clinic students used their outstanding research, writing, and investigation skills to help individuals in need of counsel push novel legal and factual issues posed by the new Amendment. As of early July 2024, one client has been released, one client’s sentence has been reduced, and two cases are still pending.

Two of the Clinic’s four cases were ultimately uncontested. Of the uncontested cases, our released client is now home with her family, after receiving a twenty-one-month sentence reduction. This was an especially sweet victory as the Clinic had previously represented this client at trial in 2019. In the second case, student advocacy persuaded the government to agree to the reduction. If granted, the motion will reduce our client’s sentence by nearly a year, to his mandatory minimum sentence.

As for the two contested pending cases, both present fascinating and important legal issues. In the first, students successfully persuaded the Court to grant the client an eighteen-month sentence reduction. This victory was an uphill battle. Both Probation and the government initially concluded that the client was ineligible for relief. Students nonetheless persuaded Probation to change its position, and the government then conceded eligibility after reading the students’ motion.

The student team argued that our client’s sentence should be reduced to account for dramatic changes in sentencing law that robbed him of the benefit of his earlier bargain, among other things. Years before we began representing him, our client received an agreed 150-month sentence in exchange for the government dropping additional charges that could have led to a thirty-year mandatory minimum sentence. The student team argued that our client was eligible for relief under a recent Supreme Court case, contrary to the government’s claims. Clinic students extensively researched the legal issues, documented our client’s post-sentencing success in prison, worked closely with our Clinic’s social worker, delved into the social science of age and recidivism, and drafted the motion.

After reading the Clinic’s briefing, the Court quickly concluded that our client deserved a sentence reduction, highlighting the same points the students raised in their briefing. Among other things, the Court observed that our client had obtained jobs requiring “technical expertise and trust,” and “demonstrate[d] a strong network of family and friends who vouch for his character.” The team looks forward to celebrating our client’s freedom once he is released.

The second contested case raises a circuit split over our client’s eligibility for relief in the first place. Our motion argues that Seventh Circuit case law conclusively entitles our client to relief. The § 3553(a) factors likewise support reducing our client’s grossly unfair sentence—he was sentenced twice for the very same conduct. The original federal judge intended for our client to serve a 196-month sentence, but a subsequent state sentence added an unexpected twenty-four months on top of that. Clinic students investigated and documented the double-sentencing, strategized over how to frame the issue, researched the circuit split, and drafted the motion. If the Clinic’s motion is granted, our client will receive a twenty-five-month sentence reduction.

Advocacy in Stash House Cases

FCJC students under Professor Siegler’s supervision partnered with a team led by Professor Erica Zunkel and students in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Clinic in filing a motion for compassionate release on behalf of a client currently serving a thirty-five-year sentence in a fake stash house case. This case builds on the Clinic’s prior federal impact litigation alleging unconstitutional racial discrimination in stash house cases in the Chicago area. The FCJC previously co-counseled cases on behalf of forty-three clients, nearly all of whom were released with time-served sentences. Additional people ensnared in the Chicago stash house operations were subsequently released thanks to compassionate release litigation led by Professor Zunkel.

Given these prior successes, the Clinics’ current client is one of just two people still serving a decades-long sentence for the stash house operation, which the federal government has now repudiated. He has already served seventeen years in federal prison. We are requesting his immediate release.

The Drugs on the Docket Podcast recently featured two episodes about the FCJC’s contributions to the stash house litigation. In Episode one , Professor Siegler discusses the Clinic’s pretrial litigation and how we ultimately helped shut down this racially discriminatory policing tactic nationwide. In Episode two , Professor Zunkel discusses the subsequent compassionate release litigation she led, which convinced judges to release eight other clients, most of whom were serving twenty-five-year sentences, sparing each approximately ten additional years in prison.

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Former UTV Broadcaster shares blood cancer story to highlight importance of medical research in Northern Ireland

Giving hope for 60 years: Leukaemia & Lymphoma NI's legacy in the fight against blood cancer - As we celebrate 60 years of Leukaemia & Lymphoma NI's tireless work in the fight against blood cancer, we are honoured to share the powerful stories of those who have been directly touched by this disease. Through a series of compelling case studies, patients, family members and researchers open up about their personal journeys, offering a poignant look at the challenges they’ve faced, the resilience they’ve shown and the hope that continues to drive them forward.

• 18:13, 1 SEP 2024
• Updated 13:06, 2 SEP 2024

A former UTV broadcaster has been sharing the story of his battle with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, a type of blood cancer, to highlight the importance of supporting local medical research funded by Leukaemia & Lymphoma NI.

Ken Reid joined UTV in 1994 and climbed the ranks to become Political Editor, a position he held until his retirement in 2021. After developing pain in his foot in 2016, Ken visited his doctor and was referred to Antrim Area Hospital.

"I thought it was perhaps an infection," Ken said.

READ MORE: MLA opens up about husband's battle with rare blood cancer

READ MORE: NI man's tribute to father who died from rare blood cancer

"But everything changed in an instant, when the very professional and caring young doctor there broke the news to me that I did, in fact, have Leukaemia."

After receiving his diagnosis, Ken agreed to take part in a clinical trial, testing the efficacy of a new drug treatment.

He added: "The trial opened my eyes to a world of medical science which I was not previously aware of. I was regularly monitored through appointments at Belfast City Hospital, but the trial was being conducted through partnerships with other cancer centres, the lead facility being in Leeds.

"It wasn’t always easy. Whilst the drugs I was taking did improve the prognosis on my Leukaemia, I experienced some strong side effects which took a toll. Last year I was in hospital for a two-month period, developed an infection and at one stage, caught coronavirus .

"But I’m glad to say that eight years on from my original diagnosis, I am feeling better than I have in a long time. That’s thanks to the cutting-edge treatment I’ve received."

Ken established strong links with Leukaemia & Lymphoma NI through the team of medical professionals with whom he was meeting regularly.

"What you begin to realise is that the Patrick G Johnston Centre at Queen’s University is part of a global network of research institutes, all devoted to establishing better outcomes for patients like me," he continued.

"We have a world-class facility in Belfast punching well above its weight in terms of the levels of research being conducted. I felt very strongly I needed to lend my support to the charity."

Throughout his treatment, and now acting as patron of the blood cancer charity, Ken has seen first hand how research funded by LLNI impacts the lives of people in Northern Ireland.

"When you regularly visit the Bridgewater Suite for cancer patients at City Hospital like I have, you get to know the doctors, nurses and your fellow patients. I’ve seen people have their conditions turned around thanks to treatments that were not available as recently as five or ten years ago.

"Leukaemia & Lymphoma NI are funding research and trials which are quite literally life changing. It’s work that deserves our support because the statistics around blood cancer in Northern Ireland are alarming, but the track record of research shows that our brilliant medical scientists, clinicians, doctors and nurses are finding solutions."

Leukaemia and Lymphoma NI recently announced a special programme of activities to mark the 60th year of the charity and raise funds for the fight against blood cancer. Alongside this, the charity is calling for those who have experienced Leukaemia, Lymphoma or Myeloma and their loved ones to share their experiences online via the LLNI website.

The photos and extended captions gathered will form part of a special online canvas presented online where members of the public can read the stories of people affected by blood cancer across the region.

On September 1, LLNI will kick off a series of fundraising activities with a Reflections evening walk around Hillsborough Forest Park lake for anyone affected directly or indirectly by blood cancer. The programme will culminate in the charity hosting a Black Tie & Diamonds Gala Ball at Titanic Belfast, where the winner of an ongoing raffle for a diamond pendant necklace will be selected at random.

Members of the public can share their story, make a donation or buy tickets for the diamond necklace raffle on the Leukaemia & Lymphoma NI website here.

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https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/09/02/how-to-claim-15-hours-free-childcare-code/

Hundreds of thousands of parents can now access 15 hours free childcare for 9-month-olds – how to apply

Hundreds of thousands of eligible working parents can now access 15 hours government-funded early education for children aged 9-months-old and older after new rules kicked in from 1 September 2024.

Those who are eligible to take advantage of the scheme this term should have already received their code and secured a childcare place.

Also, from today, eligible working parents who plan to take up a funded place from January 2025 can now apply for a code. If they’re starting a new job or returning from parental leave this may affect when they’re eligible - more information on this below.

It's worth noting that some providers may charge for extra services, such as providing lunch and nappies, or optional extras such as trips, in addition to the government funded childcare . Visit  childcarechoices.gov.uk  for further information.

When can I apply and how do I get my code? 

Applications are open for eligible working parents whose children will be aged at least 9-months-old on or before 31 December 2024.

This can be combined with the universal 15 hours to make 30 hours childcare when your child turns 3 or 4.

When you apply, you’ll receive a code to give to your childcare provider.

It’s important to remember that  codes need to be renewed every three months . To do this, you’ll need to remember to login to your childcare account to check when your reconfirmation dates are, so that you can renew your code on time. If you don’t renew it on time, you will need to reapply.

You can claim your place the term after your child turns the relevant age. This gives local authorities and childcare providers enough time to prepare.

There is no limit on the number of codes available. However, if you’re applying for childcare to start in January 2025, we recommend that you reach out to your preferred provider  as soon as possible  to check when they will need your code.

We know that it may be difficult at this stage to secure your first-place provider. If you are struggling to find a place you should contact your local authority, who will be able to help source a local provider offering the entitlements.

How do I apply?  

You apply online here on  gov.uk  once you have checked our  eligibility criteria .

You’ll need to make sure you have the following information to hand before starting the application:

• your national insurance number (or unique taxpayer reference if you are self-employed)
• the date you started or are due to start work
• details of any government support or benefits you receive
• the UK birth certificate reference number (if you have one) for your child.

You may find out if you’re eligible straight away, but it can take up to 7 days.

Once your application has been approved, you’ll get a code to give to your childcare provider.

Eligible parents are also able to access tax-free childcare through the same application system. You can apply for tax-free childcare at any time.

However, you don't need to apply for tax-free childcare to be eligible to apply for the 15 hours childcare scheme.

Can I apply for government-funded childcare if I’m on parental leave?

Yes, you can.

If you’re applying for childcare for an older child, who is not the reason for your parental leave, you can continue to apply in the usual way.

For parents applying for funded childcare for the child who is the reason for your parental leave, you can apply for a childcare code at the same time as everyone else as long as you plan to return to work from parental leave or start a new job by the end of January 2024.

Parents on parental leave will need to apply online. They may be told their application is ‘pending’ if it is more than 31 days before they return to work, but they will still receive a letter in the post within 1 to 2 weeks so they can access their childcare entitlement.

Parents starting new work before 31 January can call HMRC on 0300 123 4097 to receive a code.

What if I’m on parental leave and returning to work after 1 February 2025? 

Parents who plan to start or return to work on or before 31 January 2025 can apply for a code from 1 September 2024 to use from 1 January 2025.

For parents starting or returning to work on or after 1 February 2025, the following dates will apply:

For the purposes of accessing the entitlement, taking annual leave after the end of your parental leave counts as having returned to work.

It is important to remember that if you are applying for childcare for an older child who is not the reason for your parental leave, you can apply regardless of your return-to-work date.

What happens once I receive my code? 

Once you receive your code, you’ll need to take it to your childcare provider, along with your National Insurance number and your child’s date of birth.

Your childcare provider will process the code to provide your place.

Your local authority can provide support for finding a government-funded place in your area. You can find out who your local authority is  here .

If I receive a code in a letter from HMRC, does this make my code on my Childcare Account invalid? 

No. Both codes will be valid.

If you have two codes, one from your letter beginning with 11 and one from the website beginning with 50, please give your provider the code from the website, as this is the permanent digital code for your child.

If you only have one code (beginning with 11) then you can use this code to start using your government-funded hours.

Please remember that once your reconfirmation window opens, you will still need to reconfirm your eligibility through your Childcare Account and share the digital code you receive with your provider.

Do I need to wait for my reconfirmation window to add another child to my account? 

A parent who is already using the childcare service for another child can add a new child to their account at any time.

Your reconfirmation cycle for your current Tax-Free Childcare won’t affect this.

What happens if I’m using an entitlement for my 2-year-old when they become 3?

Parents are able to access the universal 15 hours childcare support from the term after the child’s third birthday through to when they start school.

If your child is accessing the 15 hours entitlement for 2-year-olds and you remain eligible, your child will automatically be moved onto 30 hours (universal 15 hours + 15 hours for working parents) from the term after your child turns 3.

You will just need to keep reconfirming your code as normal, and it will become usable to claim 30 hours.

You should also speak to your provider to let them know you intend to take up 30 hours.

If you are accessing disadvantaged entitlement childcare for, you will also able to access the universal entitlement from the term after your child turns 3.

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Tags: 15 hours free childcare , Applying for 15 hours free childcare , Childcare , Free childcare 2024 , Free childcare eligibility , tax-free childcare , When to apply for 15 hour free childcare

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