Case Study: How a Women in Leadership Accelerator Program Fueled Innovation and Strengthened the Succession Pipeline
Industry: Telecommunications
Client: A leading national telecom provider with over 10,000 employees.
The Challenge: A critical lack of gender diversity in senior leadership roles was creating a strategic vulnerability. Despite a nearly equal gender split at the entry level, the representation of women faded at each step up the ladder — resulting in a weak and non-diverse pipeline for succession planning.
The Challenge: A Leaky Pipeline and Stagnant Perspectives
The company recognized that its homogeneity at the top was a business risk, not just an HR issue. Their challenges were multifaceted:
- Visible Role Model Gap: The absence of visible women leaders made it difficult for junior and mid-career women to envision their own path to advancement.
- Unequal Access to Growth Levers: Women employees had less access to the informal coaching, high-visibility mentorship, and powerful sponsorship that are critical for career acceleration.
- Unintentionally Biased Culture: The leadership culture, while not overtly discriminatory, was unconsciously biased towards traditional, male-centric styles of communication and networking, creating barriers to inclusion.
- Business Innovation at Risk: Leadership knew that without diverse perspectives in the room where decisions are made, their ability to drive customer-centric innovation for a diverse customer base and attract top talent was stagnating.
The Excellential Solution: The Women in Leadership Accelerator
Excellential designed a holistic, year-long accelerator program focused on moving beyond awareness to actionable change. The program had three core components:
- Targeted Leadership Coaching: A cohort of high-potential women received personalized, one-on-one coaching focused on executive presence, strategic influence, and navigating organizational politics. This was about building individual capability and confidence.
- Strategic Sponsorship, Not Just Mentorship: We moved beyond casual mentoring by intentionally pairing participants with senior leaders (both male and female) who were empowered and accountable for advocating for their protégés’ promotion into key roles.
- Leadership Culture Workshops: To address the systemic cultural barriers, we conducted workshops for the entire senior leadership team on identifying unconscious bias, fostering inclusive meeting cultures, and redefining leadership competencies to value diverse styles.
The Results: A Transformed Pipeline and Business Outcomes
Within two years of launching the accelerator, the telecom company saw a dramatic shift in its leadership landscape and business health.
- 30% Increase in Women in Leadership Roles: The most direct result was a significant rise in the number of women in Director, VP, and SVP positions, fundamentally strengthening the succession plan.
- Breakthrough in Succession Planning: The company now had a robust, visible, and ready-now pipeline of diverse talent for its most critical roles.
- Enhanced Innovation and Engagement: Teams with graduates of the program reported higher levels of psychological safety and collaboration, leading to more innovative product ideas. Company-wide employee engagement scores, particularly among women, saw a marked improvement.
- Stronger Employer Brand: This telecom company became recognized as an employer of choice for top diverse talent in a competitive industry.
A quote from Vice President - People and Performance
The Excellential Accelerator fixed our system. By combining targeted support for high-potential women with a conscious effort to evolve our leadership culture, we unlocked a wave of talent we already had. This was a strategic investment that paid off in stronger leadership, better decision-making, and a more vibrant company culture.
Is your leadership pipeline as diverse as your customer base?
A lack of diverse perspectives at the top isn’t just a diversity issue—it’s a business innovation and risk issue. A targeted accelerator program can transform your talent pipeline and drive tangible results.
Ready to build a more inclusive and innovative leadership team?
Contact Excellential Today: support@excellential.com
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