In short:
- Sony SCSE first- and middle-line managers were young and motivated, but lacked structured leadership development and cross-country collaboration experience in a rapidly changing business environment.
- Sony was looking for a trusted partner capable of delivering a high-quality, culturally tailored leadership program across multiple countries, with real business and competency impact.
- DEVELOR designed and delivered a complex, international Leadership Academy that achieved outstanding satisfaction, measurable competency improvement, and led to the launch of a follow-up academy program.
Measurable Result of a Leadership Academy
The Business Challange
Sony’s 1st and 2nd line managers in the SCSE region were generally young, open, active, and had sufficient professional experience. Some of them had limited practical experience in people management, and they had diverse theoretical background. The expectation towards the middle management team at Sony has changed significantly over the past period of time while they did not have a chance to participate in any structured, comprehensive leadership skills development program before. The majority of the middle managers were not in daily work relation with each other. They work in various countries (Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece)
Sony wanted to improve and develop the basic leadership skills and competences of their young and enthusiastic first line and middle managers, while enhancing intra-business co-operation within the SCSE region. This is why Sony was seeking a partner that could handle a complex international development program with the highest quality and manage its operational challenges professionally.
“When we were looking for a partner three years ago to help us improve the leadership capability in our business, it was important for us to find an organization that is able:
- to deliver high-quality program across our major markets
- to work together with us in a flexible and business oriented manner so that we achieve real competency development rather than just deliver a training program
- to ensure that the content of the program and the way it is delivered provides tailored solution in line with our company culture and processes”
Imre Vadász
Regional HR-Director,
Sony Ltd, Central-South Europe
The results
Results are – no doubt – exemplary and outstanding. The team has shown improvement in all measured competences.
The program was closed at the highest satisfaction level of Sony’s talents, managers and HR professionals. After the first successful program a new academy was launched in 2012. “The project was extremely challenging since the participants represented different cultures, learning styles and they had different development objectives. The Insights Discovery reports helped us a lot to understand the talents’ preferences. The trainer team managed to deliver a program satisfying the highest needs with special attention to individual needs.” – said Adrienn Szerémi, Develor’s Project Manager.
The results of the program were measured in the final stage of the academy in a form of an Evaluating effectiveness event. This process made it possible to quantify the results of the development program. The event covered
- Knowledge test
- Participants presentations
- Results of 360˚ feedback reassessment
“We have been working together with Develor on Leadership Academy since 2009. Since we evaluated the first program as a success and a good investment into our business, we have started with a second group of leaders in 2012.”
Facts & figures
- participants from 8 businesses
- 8 modules in 1.5 years
- 6 trainers from 4 countries
Frequently asked questions about leadership academies and regional talent development
A leadership academy can support a regional talent pipeline by developing managers in a structured, consistent and business-relevant way across countries or business units. This is especially valuable when first-line and middle managers are young, motivated and professionally strong, but have different levels of people management experience. A regional program helps create shared leadership standards while also building cross-country collaboration and stronger internal networks. Participants can learn the same leadership language, practice key management behaviours and understand how their role connects to broader business goals. For HR and L&D professionals, a leadership academy is a practical way to turn talent development into a long-term capability-building journey.
An international leadership development program is effective when it combines high-quality content, cultural sensitivity and a strong connection to the company’s real business context. Participants from different countries may have different learning styles, leadership expectations and development needs, so the program should be flexible enough to reflect these differences. At the same time, it needs a clear structure, shared competency framework and experienced trainers who can create a consistent learning experience across markets. Tools such as 360-degree feedback, individual reflection, presentations and knowledge tests can help participants understand their strengths and progress. For L&D teams, the key is to design the program as a tailored development journey, not as a series of disconnected training modules.
HR can measure the impact of a leadership academy by combining participant feedback, competency development data and business-relevant outcomes. Satisfaction scores are useful, but they should be complemented by stronger indicators such as knowledge tests, participant presentations, manager feedback and 360-degree feedback reassessment. These tools help show whether participants have improved in the competencies the program was designed to develop. Measuring effectiveness at the final stage of the academy also gives HR a clearer picture of the program’s value and helps decide whether to continue or expand the initiative. For organizations, this kind of evaluation makes leadership development more credible because it connects learning activity to measurable development progress.
