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Developing Leaders Who Bring New Ways to Look at Problems—and New Ways to Find Solutions

When it comes to navigating the complexities of a global environment and thriving in it, Cognizant’s understanding is second to none. Founded in 1994, the company has experienced tremendous growth—and success. Cognizant has consistently experienced nearly 20 percent year-over-year growth rates. With more than 178,000 employees and a presence in more than 40 countries, it has become a market-leading services provider, using innovative approaches and technology to help its clients become stronger, more agile, and more innovative.

A Best-in-Class Learning Organization Looks to Get Even BetterCognizant has long prized learning, and its efforts have been widely acclaimed. In 2013, the American Society for Training & Development (now ATD) ranked the company in first place among the 28 organizations it designated for awards for the top corporate universities worldwide. Training and Chief Learning Officer magazines have both recognized Cognizant’s training initiatives. Yet the company knew that, when it came to developing its next-in-line leaders, it needed to take an even stronger, more agile, and more innovative approach.

C L I E N T S U C C E S S S T O R Y

“Most of our clients are going through significant change and disruption in their industries. The challenge for our leaders is to help them see and understand this and craft a new path forward.” Hariraj Vijayakumar, Global Head, Learning & Development, Cognizant Technology Solutions

BUSINESS CHALLENGEPrepare emerging leaders by expanding their knowledge of structural changes in industries, corporate strategies, and business models

AUDIENCEAspiring client partners, market-facing leaders, and delivery directors

OFFERING AND SERVICES USEDLeadership Direct

IMPACTAmong the first cohort:

> 91% were observed to have made significant capability improvement

> 45% moved into target client partner roles within six months

> 100% were seen by managers as ready to assume their next role

A T A G L A N C E

COGNIZANT

UNITED STATES | EUROPE | INDIA | SINGAPORE

> For more information, visit: www.harvardbusiness.org

MOVING TO A VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

With a global footprint and more than 20,000 projects delivered in dozens of countries worldwide, Cognizant has employees who were used to working virtually and across multiple time zones. Yet the company’s leadership development programs had historically been conducted in a face-to-face environment. The transition to 100 percent virtual learning was initially met with some reluctance, as senior leaders expressed some skepticism about whether it would work. They were concerned that it was difficult enough to get participants to complete assignments in a face-to-face workshop, let alone when they were on their own. They wondered how virtual groups would work and whether virtual would come at a cost in terms of participants’ ability to forge strong network bonds.

What they found was that virtual learning was more engaging, more appealing to a wide range of learners (especially millennials), and—because it was so well integrated with work—more likely to stick.

UNITED STATES | EUROPE | INDIA | SINGAPORE

> For more information, visit: www.harvardbusiness.org

With its Emerging Partners Program, Cognizant focused on the aspiring leaders who would be stepping into key roles within the company’s “Two in a Box” delivery approach.

Two-in-a-Box Delivery for Each EngagementThis approach pairs a client partner and a delivery manager/director on each engagement. For business heads, the program would need to strengthen the bench of client-facing leaders worldwide and ensure that they excelled in multiple business areas. The aspiring leaders wanted to learn about industry best practices, placed in a Cognizant context. They wanted to build their networks and interact with senior Cognizant leaders—and do so in a way that would enable them to continue to meet their everyday job responsibilities.

Combining Best-in-Class Theories with Best-In-Class PracticesFor Cognizant, the program had to be grounded both in the latest business theories and in the actual practices that the company used to tackle the very real-world problems and challenges that its clients face. And Cognizant wanted to make sure that its aspiring leaders would come away with a problem-solving framework that went beyond any formulaic, one-size-fits-all approach. It found this in Harvard Business Publishing’s Leadership Direct.

Gaining a Dual Perspective Over TimeWith Leadership Direct, Cognizant’s aspiring leaders were offered a dual perspective. For each of the six key capabilities the Emerging Partners Program focused on, there was a fusion of Cognizant leadership sharing their experience and insights, placing learning within the Cognizant context, and Harvard Business Publishing’s industry and academic experts providing learning on industry practices and trends. By spreading the program over time—it was conducted over a seven-month period—participants were required to devote only three to four hours each week to lectures, discussion sessions, and applied projects. The program exceeded Cognizant’s learning effectiveness and quality benchmarks, and the company followed up with two additional cohorts.

C L I E N T S U C C E S S S T O R Y

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© 2014 Harvard Business School Publishing. Harvard Business Publishing is an affiliate of Harvard Business School.

“ This program has helped us set our strategy for accounts and for conversations with executive leadership.” Emerging Partners Program Participant

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