The Challenge: Creating a common corporate culture, strategies to develop and place new and existing people, a common leadership development curriculum and language, and new processes and infrastructure to support growth.

The Solution: A customized leadership development and Training for Trainers process called Leadership Discovery was developed for over 60,000 frontline, mid-level, upper-level, and executive management employees.

The Results: Leaders are more open to change and innovation, and employee morale has improved. Excitement, enthusiasm, and energy have improved throughout the organization. Retention has increased as well.

Welcome to the end of banking as you once knew it, and welcome to First Union.

Founded in 1908 as Union National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina, First Union has grown from the nation’s 50th largest banking company with $7.3 billion in assets into one of the nation’s leading financial services organizations.

Its humble beginnings were in the lobby of Charlotte’s Buford Hotel, where H.M. Victor first sold stock from a rolltop desk to raise funds to start Union National Bank. It was here that First Union’s reputation for credit quality, strong financial performance, and excellent customer service was won. From that solid foundation, First Union has today become one of the United States’ leading and most respected financial institutions. With $253 billion in assets at year-end, the organization is ranked as the sixth largest banking company. Over the past five years, it has been transformed into the eighth largest securities business, based on revenue, and sixth largest broker-dealer, with 6,600 registered representatives. As a major asset manager, the company has $170 billion in assets under management (including $80 billion in mutual funds) and ranks as the fourth largest manager of discretionary personal trust assets, as well as a leading provider of insurance products such as annuities. From banking offices in 12 East Coast states and Washington, D.C., it serves the financial needs of nearly 16 million people worldwide. First Union also has nearly 3,400 ATMs in the U.S.

A significant part of First Union’s growth has been its acquisition of more than 80 different companies over the past decade—each bringing a different culture and philosophy into the corporate mix. When First Union acquired The Money Store, it faced the challenge of designing a leadership development process to unite the diverse cultures and behaviors of 73,000 employees nationwide.

“The Money Store had taken an off-the-shelf management training program and created a development process around it,” says Janice Thompson, former vice president in the Leadership College of First University West, the bank’s regional training site in Sacramento, California*. “First Union— having nothing like it—decided that we would use the curriculum as a launch pad to develop a leadership program.”

Situational Leadership II (SLII)—a training model designed by The Ken Blanchard Companies that introduces managers to four different leadership styles and helps them understand when to apply the principles to different work situations—was the underpinning of The Money Store’s management program.

Thompson suggested using SLII to help employees develop the key leadership competencies identified by First Union—a program that is now known as Leadership Discovery.

Having used SLII herself, Thompson understood how it improved managerial skills and offered a consistent leadership process. She believed it would enable the bank to develop leadership based on a common language. Thompson’s biggest challenge was that she had to implement the program within six weeks.

She and her colleagues in Charlotte turned to The Ken Blanchard Companies to help them customize the leadership course. And, within the six-week time frame, Blanchard not only customized the program but also was ready to launch a train-the-trainer workshop for facilitators.

Ray Snyder, a consulting partner for Blanchard in Charleston, S.C., explains that the two-day course offers participants the opportunity to learn new management and leadership skills while fortifying existing ones. “Everyone, from senior executives to frontline customer service providers, can understand it,” says Snyder. “It’s directly helped them enhance profitability and productivity.”

Thompson says that an exciting component of the program introduction was a satellite broadcast that was aired over the bank’s employee television network, featuring Ken Blanchard and three of the bank’s top executives.

“Ken talked about how Situational Leadership II could create a common language across First Union and provide a new culture of leadership…it was very impressive,” said Thompson.

Now the course consists of three levels and has become a strategic centerpiece for Leadership Discovery. The Blanchard partnership with Ninth House Network, which provides interactive computer-based learning, gives First Union the opportunity to provide Situational Leadership II training directly to desktops throughout the organization.

With Leadership Discovery operating at full speed, Thompson says that the company benefits in several ways. Leaders are open to change and receptive to innovative ideas, while employee morale has improved because managers have the tools needed to effectively supervise and communicate with staff.

“The excitement and energy surrounding this leadership development system is incredible,” Thompson says. “This is a powerful tool for attracting and retaining the best and brightest workforce, and that’s a big win for the organization!”