Cases

Selected programmes

Five examples of how I work with leaders, leadership teams and organisations – from talent development and leadership programmes to well-being, team development and difficult conversations.

These programmes were delivered in my work as a consultant at AS3 Transition, often together with skilled colleagues. Out of consideration for the clients, the cases have been anonymised.

Case 1 of 5Talent development
Case 01Talent development

From skilled specialist to leader

A talent programme for future leaders in the public sector, in which participants work on personal leadership, the complexity of the leadership task and leading through relationships – close to their own practice.

Client
Talent programme in the public sector
Target group
Specialists with leadership potential – and their managers
Format
3 residential modules, coaching, learning groups and a leadership placement
My role
Consultant and facilitator
The starting point

Many leaders in the public sector become leaders because they are professionally skilled. But the move from specialist to leader requires learning to deliver results through others – and letting go of some of what has made you good so far. The programme prepares promising employees for exactly that transition.

The goal

Participants should know their own strengths and pitfalls, gain a realistic picture of the leadership task and practise the skills it takes – with their own manager as an active partner.

The programme step by step

The journey through the talent programme

  • Module
  • Coaching / conversation
  • Learning group
  • Assessment / profile
  • Kick-off / close
Kick-offParticipants and managers
360° portraitInterviews and self-assessment
Module 1Personal leadership · 3 days
Coaching 1Individual
Learning group
Module 2The leadership task
Coaching 2Individual
Learning group
Module 3Leading through relationships
Three-way conversation
CloseFinal assignment
  1. Kick-offParticipants and managers
  2. 360° portraitInterviews and self-assessment
  3. Module 1Personal leadership · 3 days
  4. Coaching 1Individual
  5. Learning group
  6. Module 2The leadership task
  7. Coaching 2Individual
  8. Learning group
  9. Module 3Leading through relationships
  10. Three-way conversation
  11. CloseFinal assignment

Between modules: conversations with one’s own manager, individual coaching, learning groups and a leadership placement.

In the first module we used the Leadership Pipeline to make the change of role concrete: What do you need to learn – and what do you need to unlearn? An in-tray exercise under time pressure put prioritisation and working style to the test, and participants mapped their strengths and pitfalls.

A 360° portrait and a personality assessment gave each participant a nuanced picture of themselves as a leader, which they worked on further in fixed learning groups. Feedback and psychological safety were not just theory but the group’s own ground rules: What is said in the group stays in the group.

Key insight

The hardest part of the change of role is not learning new tools. It is learning to value leadership work – rather than merely tolerating it.

What I take with me
01

Involve the manager from the start

When participants’ managers take part from the kick-off and throughout, development becomes anchored in everyday work.

02

Train under realistic conditions

In-tray exercises and leadership placements make the dilemmas tangible before they become reality.

03

Build safe learning communities

Ground rules and fixed learning groups make it possible to be honest about doubts and areas for development.

End of case 01

↑ To the overview
Case 2 of 5Well-being and sickness absence
Case 02Well-being and sickness absence

Prevent stress before it turns into sickness absence

As sick leave, work pressure and stress took up more and more space, a medical technology company launched a joint initiative at three levels: management, the team and the individual employee.

Client
Danish division of an international medical technology company
Target group
The whole organisation – leaders and employees
Format
2 leadership seminars, 9 town halls, a toolkit and team follow-up
My role
Consultant in a project team of three
The starting point

The company was experiencing a high level of sick leave, and work pressure and stress were recurring challenges. HR wanted to strengthen the organisation’s ability to prevent stress, raise awareness of warning signs and equip leaders to act in time – not just react.

The goal

Everyone should share the same knowledge and a common language about well-being and stress. And leaders should have concrete tools for talking with their team and with individual employees.

The programme step by step

The initiative month by month

  • Leadership seminar
  • Town hall / team
  • 1:1
  • Measurement

March

Baseline measurementThe starting point
Leadership seminar 1Knowledge and tools · 1 day

April

9 town halls1 hour · 50–70 people each
Team follow-upUsing the toolkit

May

1:1 conversationsWell-being for each individual

Before summer

Leadership seminar 2Follow-up · ½ day
Follow-up measurementWhere are we now?

HR drove the initiative throughout, and it was framed by a well-being measurement before and after.

At the first leadership seminar we dispelled the most persistent myths: that stress is caused by private life, or that you are weak if it hits you. This helped remove the taboo around the topic.

Leaders were given a handful of highly practical tools – such as a green, yellow and red well-being barometer and a model of demands and resources – and chose the ones that suited their team. The day ended with a discussion of roles and responsibilities, so everyone went home with a plan for their own team meetings.

Key insight

Well-being is neither solely the individual’s nor solely the leader’s responsibility. Prevention works when every level knows its role.

What I take with me
01

Make stress something people talk about

Knowledge about symptoms and myths removes the taboo and makes it easier to react early.

02

Let leaders choose the tools

Ownership arises when leaders choose the tools that suit their own team.

03

Reach the whole organisation quickly

When everyone gets the same knowledge in a short time, a common language emerges that carries the initiative forward.

End of case 02

↑ To the overview
Case 3 of 5Leadership development programme
Case 03Leadership development programme

A strong leadership programme – made even stronger

An international biotech company wanted to develop its foundational leadership programme further. The task was not to build something new from scratch, but to adjust where it would add the most value.

Client
International biotech company
Target group
First-line leaders – around 20 per cohort
Format
4 days across 3 modules, peer groups and conversations with one’s own manager
My role
Consultant – programme design and facilitation
The starting point

The company’s leadership programme had run with ten cohorts and worked well, but was – in the company’s own words – a “teenager” with growing pains. Experience from several previous programmes was to be brought together in a single four-day programme that can run two to three times a year.

The goal

The programme should connect leaders with the company’s values and leadership behaviours, strengthen self-awareness and key skills – and make sure the learning is actually used in everyday work.

The recommended programme

From January to April

  • Module
  • Conversation with own manager
  • Peer group
  • Profile
  • Start / end
JanuaryFebruaryMarchApril
Kick-offAmbition and peer groups
1:1 with managerExpectations
DiSC profileReflection
Module 12 residential days
Peer group 1
Module 2Dialogue and feedback · 1 day
1:1 with managerInsights
Peer group 2
Module 3Well-being and motivation · 1 day
Development plan1:1 with manager
  1. January
  2. Kick-offAmbition and peer groups
  3. 1:1 with managerExpectations
  4. DiSC profileReflection
  5. February
  6. Module 12 residential days
  7. Peer group 1
  8. March
  9. Module 2Dialogue and feedback · 1 day
  10. 1:1 with managerInsights
  11. Peer group 2
  12. April
  13. Module 3Well-being and motivation · 1 day
  14. Development plan1:1 with manager

Between modules: peer group meetings and assignments in which the tools are tried out in practice.

We recommended four adjustments. Participants’ own managers would be involved through three structured conversations instead of one. The programme would be extended from two to four months, leaving time to try out new approaches between modules. Peer groups would be given a bigger role. And an evening exercise in the first module, in which each participant shares a good and a difficult experience that has shaped them, would build trust from the start.

Finally, we pointed out that fewer topics often lead to more learning than a densely packed programme.

Key insight

The music happens in the pauses between the notes. The same is true of leadership development: learning happens when leaders try out the new in their own everyday work.

What I take with me
01

Build on what works

A strong programme should not be torn down, but adjusted where it adds the most value.

02

Make the manager a partner

Structured conversations with one’s own manager are one of the most effective ways of bringing learning into everyday work.

03

Less is often more

Fewer topics and more time between modules lead to deeper learning.

End of case 03

↑ To the overview
Case 4 of 5Leadership team development
Case 04Leadership team development

A strong leadership team – even when the leader changes

A leadership team wanted to strengthen its collaboration and become a more cohesive team. Along the way, the task became even more pressing: the team’s leader was stepping down, and a new leader was taking over.

Client
Danish leadership team in an international industrial company
Target group
The leadership team
Format
3 modules over a year – the last one over two days with an evening programme
My role
Consultant and facilitator together with a colleague
The starting point

The programme was built around three modules focusing on trust, collaboration and shared results. Between the second and third module, what happens in most organisations happened: things changed. The leader who had headed the team was stepping down, and a new leader was taking over.

The goal

The leadership team needed to come through the change of leader well – and at the same time become sharper on how they hold each other accountable for shared results.

Module 3 step by step

Two residential days

  • Input
  • Dialogue
  • Team exercise
  • Personal
  • Start / close

Day 1 · morning

Check-inRecap of module 2
Change and transitionGallery walk and the mountain metaphor

Day 1 · afternoon

Fishbowl interviewOutgoing and new leader
FarewellThe team’s words to the leader
Team buildingExercise and debrief

Evening

Personal coat of armsStory and values

Day 2

You, Them and ItLeadership and management
Results and accountabilityLencioni’s five dysfunctions
CloseAgreements for everyday work

Across the modules: a shared feedback tool – situation, behaviour, effect and wish – for saying things directly without making them personal.

The change of leader was not treated as a practical detail, but as what it also is: a transition for everyone in the group. In the fishbowl interview, it was the team that formulated the questions for the new leader – about leadership style, expectations and the challenges ahead.

The farewell was given its own space. The team said what they wanted to give the outgoing leader to take with them, and the leader had the final word. Only then was there room to look ahead to results and accountability.

What I take with me
01

Take the farewell seriously

A change of leader is also a goodbye. When it is given its place, it becomes easier to embrace what is new.

02

Let the team ask the questions

When the team sets the agenda for the conversation with the new leader, the relationship starts with openness.

03

Accountability requires trust

Teams that dare to disagree are also the ones that can hold each other to their agreements.

End of case 04

↑ To the overview
Case 5 of 5Training in difficult conversations
Case 05Training in difficult conversations

Conversation is key when absence rises

A nationwide service company wanted to respond to rising sickness absence with early, honest conversations rather than control. Leaders needed training in having the conversations that are often postponed.

Client
Nationwide service company
Target group
Leaders across the country, in cohorts
Format
Preparation, training day, a real conversation and follow-up in learning groups
My role
Consultant and trainer
The starting point

The company had good absence data – but data alone changes nothing. Many leaders hesitated to have the conversation for fear of damaging the relationship. Conflict avoidance and misplaced consideration stood in the way of the care the conversation actually expresses.

The goal

Leaders should see the conversation as care rather than confrontation and become confident having it in time – with a clear structure for before, during and after.

The programme step by step

From preparation to the real conversation

  • Training day
  • Conversation / practice
  • Learning group
  • Preparation
BeforeThe training dayAfter
PodcastOn difficult conversations
Own caseA conversation you have not yet had
InputLeadership and the important conversations
ToolThe necessary conversation
Practice 1Fictional cases in trios
Practice 2Own case in trios
The real conversationCarried out in practice
Learning groupFollow-up with peers
  1. Before
  2. PodcastOn difficult conversations
  3. Own caseA conversation you have not yet had
  4. The training day
  5. InputLeadership and the important conversations
  6. ToolThe necessary conversation
  7. Practice 1Fictional cases in trios
  8. Practice 2Own case in trios
  9. After
  10. The real conversationCarried out in practice
  11. Learning groupFollow-up with peers

The training day was part of the company’s wider effort to meet absence with early and respectful dialogue.

At the heart of the training day was the tool “The necessary conversation”: thorough preparation, a short and clear message, and a conversation in which the leader is soft on the person and hard on the problem. Every participant took part, and feedback was given after each practice round.

According to the company, sickness absence fell noticeably in the teams where leaders actively used the tools. Today, the approach is a fixed part of leadership development.

Key insight

A difficult conversation is not a confrontation. It is care – in time.

What I take with me
01

Preparation is most of the work

A written-down message and some thought about the employee’s perspective make the conversation much easier to have.

02

Practise on your own cases

When leaders practise the very conversation they need to have, they can use the training straight away.

03

Follow up together

Learning groups after the training day make sure the conversations actually take place.

End of case 05

Rasmus Graucob, business psychologist

Facing something similar?

Every programme is designed around your situation. You are welcome to contact me, so together we can work out whether I am the right fit for you.

Send me a message
Contact