This case study was originally authored by Dale Halm, Janelle Smith, and Susan Rudolph of Intel Corporation.
The Challenge: Developing Leaders at Intel's Fab 12
In 1997, senior staff at Intel Corporation’s Fab 12 manufacturing site identified leadership as a key concern. The majority of the site's middle-level managers had less than three years of experience at the company and little formal leadership training. Existing corporate courses focused on management practices (planning, budgeting, staffing) rather than leadership (setting direction, aligning constituents, inspiring others).
To meet aggressive technology and manufacturing demands, the plant manager challenged the Fab 12 Organization Development Team (ODT) in 1998 to create a site-specific leadership development program. The result was the Leadership Development Forum (LDF), an innovative, non-traditional program designed to be a learning process, not a training course.
A New Approach: Leadership as Self-Inquiry
The purpose of the LDF was to challenge participants' assumptions about leadership and significantly improve their ability to affect change. It was built on the premise that leadership is as much about who we are as it is about what we do. Instead of prescribing a list of skills, the LDF served as an "inquiry" into leadership, drawing on the principles of experts like John Kotter, Warren Bennis, and the Kouzes and Posner leadership model.
The program asked participants to operate as learners, focusing on shifting their paradigms, building relationships, and stepping out of their comfort zones. The ultimate goal was for participants to improve themselves, their circumstances, and the lives of those around them.
Core Design Principles of the LDF Program
The ODT adopted seven design strategies to develop the LDF:
- Anchor on Self-Discovery: Leadership is not taught; it is learned. The program was built as a process for the expression of who each participant is as a leader.
- Focus on Practices, Not Competencies: Rather than a long list of competencies, the LDF used Kouzes and Posner's’ five leadership practices (Challenging the Process, Inspiring a Shared Vision, Enabling Others to Act, Modeling the Way, and Encouraging the Heart) as a simple, powerful framework.
- Design "Just-in-Time": The ODT developed a high-level schedule but designed each session just before it occurred, allowing feedback from the previous session to be incorporated.
- Make it Voluntary: Candidates were nominated by their managers, but participation was voluntary, fostering genuine commitment from those who attended.
- Use Innovative Learning Methods: Following Warren Bennis’s principles, learning was active and imaginative. Every session included dialogue, feedback, and action learning to help participants learn from experience and each other.
- Deliver On-Site Over Time: The five-month, on-site program allowed participants to practice new behaviors over an extended period, embedding them into their daily work.
- Leverage Internal Facilitators as Coaches: ODT members served as facilitators and 1:1 coaches, acting as sounding boards to help participants self-reflect and solve their own problems.
LDF Program Structure and Key Tools
The five-month program was structured to foster accountability and real-world application.
Learning Groups and Coaching
Participants were placed in cross-functional learning groups of six, each assigned an ODT coach. These coaches conducted regular 1:1 sessions to provide confidential feedback, resources, and support. The coaching sessions were consistently described by participants as the most valuable part of the program.
Accountability and Recognition
At the start of each session, participants shared their progress and breakthroughs. Based on these updates, each learning group voted for a "Leadership Breakthrough Award" winner, who displayed a trophy on their desk until the next session. This created a cycle of accountability and peer recognition.
Core Application Tools
Participants used three key tools to guide their journey:
- WOW! Projects™: Each participant identified an audacious project linked to operational goals that required them to lead and enroll others. These projects demanded measurable results and a personal breakthrough.
- Leadership Action Plan (LAP): A one-page document used to track commitments and actions related to each of the five leadership practices.
- Leadership Autobiography: A one-page self-reflection tool completed over the course of the program to help participants clarify their personal values, vision, and leadership legacy.
Measuring the Impact of the LDF Program
The ODT used a mix of quantitative and qualitative measures to evaluate the program's success, guided by the principle: "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts."
Overall Program Results
- 47% of LDF graduates moved into new positions of greater responsibility.
- Self-assessment results showed a 68% average improvement in participants' ability to apply the five leadership practices.
- 89% of participants reported having a stronger, expanded network of interdepartmental peers.
- 100% of participants reported that LDF improved their ability to lead.
WOW! Project™ Example
A Finance Department Manager developed a new financial model to optimize how manufacturing equipment was allocated. By selling the hypothesis to key stakeholders and incorporating feedback, the manager's team proposed new supply strategies that increased Intel's margin by $59 million in one quarter.
Personal Testimonials
Letters from managers and participant feedback highlighted the program's transformative impact.
"I have been able to shift from an overwhelming goal pressured micro-manager needing all the details to a trusting, encouraging and inspiring contributor." - Manufacturing Shift Manager
"LDF has helped me understand the value of inspiring others. For too long, we've been losing sight of the human element in the factory. People have become a consumable resource. It's been my goal to make people feel valued by practicing techniques demonstrated in LDF." – Engineering Group Leader
Key Lessons for Organizational Development
- Don’t Wait for Corporate: A small, competent team that understands local needs can often move faster and more creatively than a centralized corporate effort. Develop a successful program locally, then share it more broadly.
- Continuously Redesign: The LDF was successful because it was never static. The ODT constantly revised sessions based on participant feedback and a relentless desire to improve the learning experience.
- Equate Leadership Development with Self-Reflection: True leadership development comes from within. Programs must be designed to help managers examine their own behaviors and mindsets through tools like video feedback, 360-assessments, and coaching.
- You Need Risk, Support, and Passion: Implementing an effective program requires a willingness to innovate (risk), support from key stakeholders, and passionate, knowledgeable resources dedicated to the program's success.
Conclusion: A Model for Transformational Leadership
The LDF program provided a comprehensive leadership development process that enabled Intel's Fab 12 to meet and exceed its factory goals. By focusing on self-reflection, action learning, and accountability, the program created a transformational experience for participants. Its success, sustained through continuous redesign and unwavering commitment to its core principles, established it as a premier leadership program within Intel and a model for other organizations.