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Autotrader.com launched a 3-year initiative to identify high potential managers from across every division and function and provide them with a common core of problem solving, interpersonal, and communication skills. Kenning was their partner from the early stages of design through program delivery.

Each year, roughly 30 nominated managers were grouped into cross-functional teams tasked with solving real business problems. After a one-week bootcamp focused either on strategic  or operational problem solving, teams worked their problems for 4 months before presenting recommendations to a c-suite steering committee. Kenning provided real-time coaching to teams and individual as well as providing advanced workshops on executive communication and collaborative sense-making.

“[The Kenning] network of consultants brought a depth to our leadership programs that challenged our leaders in unexpected ways. Deep experience and knowledge in strategy, collaboration and systems thinking inform [their] work. All of this is positioned within real business problems. If you want meaty, in-depth training and coaching that pushes learners to think in new ways, I recommend … Kenning Associates.”

Participant feedback was overwhelmingly positive, but the real legacy of the initiative was the enterprise-wide impact of the dozens of projects whose recommendations were enacted and the cadre of nearly 100 managers who became the heart of Autotrader.com’s leadership bench for years after the NextGen Leaders Initiative’s conclusion.

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