Establish a leadership toolkit

ABOUT YT Industries

YT Industries, founded in 2008, is a leading provider of competitive dirt jump bikes. Driven by passion, their mission is to make high-quality bikes accessible to talented riders worldwide at fair prices. With a dedicated global team of over 300 employees, YT Industries has achieved exceptional success in the industry.

THE CHALLENGE

YT Industries faced a challenge in creating a sustainable leadership development environment within the company. Initially, the organization did not recognize the need for an official leadership development program–emerging leaders were on their own in navigating their roles without formal guidance. While these leaders were actively seeking and participating in training opportunities, the impact on their skills and the business was limited due to the theoretical nature of the training events they attended.

Internal surveys revealed that employees lacked clarity regarding their roles and objectives and felt unsupported by their line managers. Emerging leaders, in particular, desired interaction with senior management and felt they lacked the necessary skills to lead effectively. This leadership gap resulted in declining motivation, frustration, and disrupted team dynamics.

"Our leaders managed mostly based on their intuition, but did not have the right toolkit at hand to truly master their day-to-day challenges in their role. For example, some managers didn’t have regular structured one-on-one meetings." - Manuel Grundt, Director People & Culture.

SOLUTION

To address YT Industries' leadership challenges, the company partnered with Junto, a renowned provider of leadership development services. Junto's approach offered a comprehensive and continuous learning experience that empowered YT's emerging leaders to reflect on their learning and apply practical leadership skills. YT chose Junto for several reasons:

Tailored Leadership Development: Junto provided practical learning experiences facilitated by instructors with extensive real-world leadership experience. YT's leaders underwent an initial skill assessment, revealing challenges such as the lack of recurring and structured one-on-one meetings. Junto tailored the leadership development program to address these specific areas of improvement.

Interactive Sessions: A 6-week cohort-based program allowed YT's emerging leaders to engage in interactive sessions with peers from other organizations, promoting knowledge sharing and enriching their learning experience.

Ongoing Learning: Following the cohort program, YT managers embarked on a flexible learning journey as part of their year-long membership with Junto. They gained access to a range of courses and in-depth sessions, enabling them to deepen their leadership skills and apply their knowledge in practical situations. Collaborating with Junto's Learning & Development experts, YT managers crafted personalized learning paths to ensure ongoing support and targeted deep dives into specific leadership challenges.

IMPACT

YT managers responded enthusiastically to the Junto experience, resulting in a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 92 and a perfect leadership behavior improvement score of 94% based on the leaders’ self-assessment after three months. The implementation of regular and structured one-on-one meetings addressed the earlier identified challenge, enhancing goal alignment and task delegation within teams. This shift fostered a culture of open and constructive feedback, enabling transparent communication and mutual growth.

YT Industries witnessed a significant decrease in HR complaints related to leadership struggles, indicating a positive transformation in the organization's leadership dynamics. The Junto program not only elevated leadership skills but also cultivated a collaborative and supportive organizational culture. Encouraged by these results, YT Industries plans to continue its partnership with Junto, driving further transformational change and nurturing the next generation of leaders.