Case Study
5 min read
When a new CEO took the helm of a national gas distribution company, he inherited a business that was stable—but not exceptional. The company had a strong track record in technical and operational performance, but it wasn’t keeping pace with industry leaders, nor was it well positioned to evolve for the future. The CEO saw an opportunity to both strengthen day-to-day operations and push the company toward new growth areas, including alternative revenue streams. But he knew this would require more than incremental improvements—it would demand anew level of leadership across the organization.
Having partnered with JMW successfully in a previous role, the CEO brought in the firm again to uncover the hidden cultural behaviors that were holding the company back and to help mobilize the organization to perform in new ways unhindered by those behaviors. What emerged during the initial discovery was a pattern: many senior leaders were operating from a place of habit and relying on past experience and success instead of showing initiative in current projects. Silos were common, collaboration was limited, and accountability was uneven across business units.
Then, just four months into the engagement, the company faced a serious operational and safety incident that put its license to operate at risk and triggered intense public scrutiny. The crisis exposed deeper issues around leadership alignment, cross-functional coordination, and decision-making under pressure. The CEO and his executive team, with JMW’s guidance, committed to raising the bar by doubling down on operational excellence and leadership development to stabilize the business and prepare for the future.
The CEO understood that change couldn’t rest solely with the executive team. He needed to move fast—and the next level of leaders, particularly middle management, were best positioned to make that happen. These leaders were closest today-to-day operations. They saw how strategies played out in real time, where execution broke down, and what it would take to course correct. They held the practical levers for how work would actually get done to not only recover from the crisis but improve performance going forward. For change to take hold quickly, this group needed to understand the urgency of the moment and be committed to leading the initiatives that would turn the business around.
To equip this group to lead differently, JMW launched the Next Level Leaders Program, a development experience built specifically for an organization’s middle layer of leadership. The program is designed to help this often-overlooked tier take key strategic initiatives and put them into action. It focuses on shifting mindset, strengthening communication, improving collaboration, and sharpening planning skills—then immediately applying those capabilities to real business challenges. Most importantly, the program connects learning directly to impact by anchoring development in high-priority projects that address the company’s most pressing needs.
The program brought together 50 leaders, selected by the CEO from critical teams across the business. Split into two cohorts, they engaged in three immersive sessions over several months, with individual performance coaching between sessions. This format allowed for both deep learning and practical application. Participants began by identifying the habits and thinking that had previously limited their effectiveness. With support from JMW, they built practical leadership skills to better engage peers, teams, and superiors that shifted them from task-focused execution to broader accountability and ownership. A core focus was on conversational effectiveness—how they show up, how they collaborate, and how they lead.
Each leader also took on a “Leadership Project,” a real initiative developed in conversation with the CEO that addressed critical operational and cultural gaps exposed during the earlier crisis. These projects served as a proving ground for their new skills and a direct source of business impact. Throughout the program, JMW fostered a culture of transparency and trust, creating space for honest reflection and personal accountability. Leaders began to see themselves not just as problem-solvers, but as culture-shapers.
Within the first year, the impact of the Next Level Leaders Program was evident across both business performance and leadership behavior. Operationally, the company rebounded from crisis and posted significant gains in efficiency, responsiveness, and safety. Just as notably, the mindset and actions of its leaders began to shift in visible, measurable ways. Middle managers—once siloed and reactive—stepped forward with a renewed sense of ownership, accountability, and cohesion. The ripple effect of their leadership helped realign teams, rebuild trust, and reignite progress across the organization. What started as a targeted development effort became a catalyst for enterprise-wide transformation.
Operational Performance
The company saw measurable results within a year:
Leadership Impact
The transformation in mindset and behavior was just as significant:
Cultural Shift
These 50 leaders became the engine of a broader cultural transformation. They led by example, translated strategy into action, and inspired those around them to raise their game. What began as a crisis response became a movement—one that reshaped not just the company’s trajectory, but its culture from the inside out.
