Centric Software® is a fast-growing software company focused on providing PLM, Planning, Pricing, Market Intelligence and PXM solutions to consumer goods brands, retailers and manufacturers around the world and operating across 65+ countries. Having experienced rapid and sustained growth, the business recognised that many of its leaders had progressed through the organisation on the strength of their technical expertise rather than formal leadership development.
There was clear appetite for development, and an opportunity to establish a leadership framework and shared language around what effective leadership looked like.
Centric Software® approached Knowledge Connections to design and deliver a leadership programme for a European cohort as a first step in building a more deliberate approach to leadership development. For the L&D team, this was an important opportunity to introduce structured learning and demonstrate the value of leadership development within the organisation.
The design focused on core elements of effective leadership: understanding personal impact, managing relationships, supporting development and leading high-performing teams. The intention was to introduce practical tools leaders could apply immediately in their day-to-day roles.
In order to ensure that the learning could be applied in real life examples, the final module was therefore focused on creating space for leaders to share successes, bring live challenges and support one another in working through them.
“The session was very interactive, explanations were very detailed and yet clear.”
The programme was delivered virtually across five modules, beginning with a European cohort. Leaders progressed through the modules together, applying learning between sessions and bringing real examples back into discussion.
As themes emerged in the programme, these were captured and factored into subsequent modules to ensure the learning was fit for purpose. For example, questions around commitment and accountability surfaced strongly in early sessions so these topics were introduced in later modules.
“Nick and Alison are amazing! They know how to engage the audience by adjusting the pace occasionally and encouraging interactivity.”
Following the success of the European cohort, Knowledge Connections was asked to deliver the programme in North America. While the core structure remained consistent, insights from the European cohort informed the ongoing refinement of the material.
One of the clearest signs of impact was the level of engagement in the sessions. Participation remained high across all modules, with energy and interaction building across the programme. Leaders shared real life examples from their teams and were able to practice the models in breakout sessions.
“The feedback models were really valuable and hearing about some of the other colleagues’ specific challenges was also very enriching. I really enjoyed the breakout rooms too!”
Feedback scores were consistently high, with ratings between four and five out of five. Participants highlighted the practicality of the programme and the usefulness of specific tools. Many commented that the frameworks helped them organise their thinking, structure one-to-one conversations more effectively and approach feedback with greater confidence.
For Centric Software®, the programme created a clear starting point for leadership development and introduced a consistent approach to leading people across the organisation.
