Inspiring Participative Leadership

Blue Ocean Thinking for L&D

NATO partnered with The Blue Ocean Company because of its unusual approach to leadership development. Using its innovative Impact by Design process, The Blue Ocean Company worked together with the NATO team to come up with breakthrough design elements that were fully focused on igniting leaders to adopt and implement new behaviours on the job.

Dr Eric Welch, the programme sponsor and Former NATO Head, Talent Management and Organisational Development, explains:

“We chose The Blue Ocean Company not only because of their innovative design and top-notch facilitators, but also because of their partnership approach, co-designing the entire three-year journey with me and my team.”

Real-World Challenges 

A cornerstone of the design was that participants worked on their own real-world challenges rather than generic case studies. Before each workshop, participants identified a pressing issue aligned to the workshop topic. 

This meant that when participants entered the room, they weren’t just learning about abstract models. They were solving problems that mattered directly to them, with tools they could take back immediately. Workshops became an extension of their work, not a distraction from it.

“I will be applying what I learned to my own team. I’m currently mapping out who is in my core team and who our key external stakeholders are.” – Programme participant

‘Sticky’ Learning

The programme also stood out for its use of high-impact experiential activities that made learning memorable and “sticky.”

Participants learned to juggle— a metaphor for how to coach direct reports, step by step, when they faced a seemingly impossible task. Each participant left with their own set of juggling balls as a reminder of how this coaching skill could lead to better performance.

Also, African drumming brought the group together into one rhythm, demonstrating how alignment and collective energy can power organisational change more effectively than individual effort alone.

“The juggling session showed me that what feels impossible at first becomes doable when broken down step by step—exactly what coaching others is about.” – Programme participant

Ownership

Another innovative feature was the level of ownership given to participants. From the start, they were encouraged to shape the journey themselves.

• Each participant chose a “buddy”—a peer to reflect with, exchange feedback and hold one another accountable during and after the programme.

• Participants chose leadership topics most relevant to their context, which were then prepared and discussed during virtual Leadership Forums facilitated by Blue Ocean facilitators.

Putting the participants in the driver’s seat built engagement and relevancy to the participants’ real work.

“My take-away was how powerful it is to ‘lead from behind’—to step back and let others take the initiative.” – Programme participant

Lasting Impact

Across the eight-month journey, leaders completed a 360-degree assessment, received five individual coaching sessions, attended four in-person workshops and participated in live facilitated virtual forums. Evaluations averaged 4.6 out of 5.0, but the true impact was seen in changed behaviour.

Participants reported using a coaching style more often in daily conversations, engaging their teams differently, and collaborating more closely with internal and external stakeholders.

Dr Eric Welch reflects:

“This special partnership exceeded our requirements: a fresh and unusual approach to leadership development so that our senior leaders remained engaged and committed to the journey.”