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Sherpa Supervisor Development Program Study
Key Learnings Developing Frontline Leaders Over The Past 3 Years
Our Fastest Growing Solution? Front-line Leadership Development
Sherpa Frontline Leader Excellence™ is now our fastest growing program with over 300 participants from 2023 to 2025. We offer programs for leaders at all levels, but Sherpa sales have surpassed the others. Growing 10x in three years frame.
This trend indicates that organizations increasingly recognize Frontline leaders are essential to driving business results and employee engagement.
X Growth in 3 Years
Leaders
Clients & Counting
Who Were The Clients?
The 300+ Sherpa participants came from several different clients mostly in manufacturing but also industries such as:
- Construction materials
- Automotive Assembly
- Consumer Products
- Food & Pharma Chemicals / Ingredients
- Metal Processing & Machining
- Non-profit organization
Functions:
- Operations
- Quality Assurance
- Supply Chain
- Maintenance
- Other
We set out to study this trend closer:
Why did these companies invest? What were the specific business objectives?
What were the biggest development needs?
What are the biggest barriers for these leaders?
Client Business Objectives
Our clients want improved business results. They also understand the success of the organization relies heavily on the daily “employee experience.” They realize front-line leaders create the day-day experiences that drive engagement and development.
When clients were asked, “What does success look like for a Sherpa Program?” we heard:
- Improved Employee Experience
- A better “Employer Brand”
- Increased Retention
- Increased Engagement
- Improved Accountability
2 Key Common Needs Discovered
As we’ll discuss below, each Sherpa participant creates their own unique development plan based on their 360-degree multi-rater feedback. But we’ve found, through our self-discovery process and discussions, there are two common needs among these leaders.
#1 - Balancing Daily Production with Developing the Capability of the Team.
More than 75% of the Sherpa participants are spending most of their time doing the day-to-day work of their employees, which keeps them from developing and leading the team. This is a common paradox many Frontline leaders face – sometimes by their own subconscious choice, other times by necessity.
Our data reveals that 90% of front-line leaders need development in soft-skill areas key to employee engagement. Communication and Coaching are the two most common goals.
To fix this, we equip leaders with the delegation, feedback and accountability tools needed to shift from doing the work themselves to developing the capability of the team to do the work independently.
Daily Production Goals
Developing The Team
Areas Critical For Engagement
Communication
This is the foundation of trust and clarity in the workplace—when expectations, feedback, and goals are clearly communicated, employees feel more connected and aligned.
Developing Others
Show employees they are valued and have growth potential, which increases motivation, loyalty, and engagement.
Emotional Intelligence
Help leaders recognize and respond to the emotions of others, fostering stronger relationships and a more inclusive, supportive work culture.
Create a Culture of Accountability
Build a culture of ownership and trust—when people take responsibility for their work, it drives commitment and follow-through.
#2 - Understanding and Engaging the New Generation of Employees
At the beginning of the program, we ask each Frontline Leader in the group to share their program objective.
Without exception, the challenge of engaging today’s workforce and generation emerges as a common theme – often leading to a lot of complaining!
“...learning how to speak to millennials/younger generation.”
“Are we going to changes the beliefs of the current workforce?”
“Are your competitors facing the same challenge?”
“What are you going to do about it?”
Through this discussion we’re able to shift the narrative from complaining about today’s workforce to accepting the challenges and owning the fact that these leaders are the key to attracting, retaining, and engaging employees.
Frontline Leaders Value Development
Frontline Leaders embrace their leadership development... While many start the program eager to learn, some are skeptical. But by the end of the workshop, they all become enthusiastic and engaged in the development process.
95% of the program participants rated the program either as “Highly Relevant” (70%) or “Relevant” (25%) to their job needs.
96% of the program participants rated the program either as “Highly Recommend” (70%) or “Recommend” (26%).
An Investment That Works
The investment works. While some clients are just starting the program, longer-term clients are seeing the investment payoff in improved engagement scores, higher productivity, and increased employee retention.
One of our clients conducted an engagement survey before the program and then again three years later and the results were impressive:
- Mean scores increased for 30 out of 33 of the survey questions. 22 of the scores increased by over 100 basis points. Some divisions increased their scores by as much as 400 basis points. The largest increases occurred for the following elements:
- Manager understands importance work-life balance (260 basis points)
- Manager makes effort to know me personally (230)
- Celebrating success (210)
- Employees’ comfort in sharing opinions, encouraging new ideas (190)
- Considering leaving the company (down 160)
- Manager shares business plan and my impact; Manager gives me flexibility, Training, development, and opportunities (150)
One of the most significant results from the survey was the gain realized vs. 2020 for the employees with 0-2 Years of Service – the key group we were trying to improve for retention. This demographic group had the highest scores in 2023 and the largest score increase than the other YOS groups. The scores for this group improved on every question with increases ranging from 150 to 500 basis points.
Program Components
A Development Approach Focused on Success
Step 01
Behavioral Assessments
Each manager will complete a self-assessment to identify his/her strengths and development challenges:
- Likes/dislikes
- Strengths/challenges
- Reaction to conflict
- Relationship building
- Affinity for control
Step 02
1-2 Day Workshops
A high-impact immersion “Boot Camp” workshop provides the best-in-class tools for developing exceptional leadership behaviors and setting the stage for transformative Executive Coaching.
Step 03
Best-in-class Content
We use interactive touchpoints such as webinars, proprietary readings, coaching, mnemonic devices, and other interactions to make positive changes stick.
Step 04
Executive Coaching
Sherpa packages include option for an assigned coach and the participant to further develop.
Core Program Benefits:
Neuroscience Learning Fundamentals
This tool leverages core principles from neuroscience to enhance how leaders absorb, retain, and apply new skills. By aligning training methods with how the brain learns best—through repetition, emotional engagement, and real-world application—it boosts learning efficiency and long-term behavior change.
Setting Expectations
This tool equips leaders with a structured approach to clearly define performance goals, behaviors, and accountability standards. By setting consistent expectations, leaders drive alignment, improve team performance, and reduce misunderstandings on the front lines.
SBI - Effective Feedback
The SBI (Situation-Behavior-Impact) tool provides a simple, practical framework for delivering clear, specific, and constructive feedback. It helps leaders reinforce positive behaviors or correct issues by focusing on observable actions and their impact, not personal traits.
The GRO2W Coaching Process
The GRO2W Coaching Process is a step-by-step model that helps leaders guide meaningful development conversations by focusing on Goals, Reality, Options, Obstacles, and the Will to act. It empowers leaders to build accountability and problem-solving skills in their team members through structured, forward-focused dialogue.
Gaining Acceptance & Commitment
This tool teaches leaders how to gain buy-in by involving team members in decisions, addressing concerns, and reinforcing shared goals. It strengthens accountability and motivation by aligning individual commitment with team and organizational objectives.
Individual + Team Development Plans
Each participant + overall team will have created a personal development plan with clear objectives and action items to develop in one key leadership area.
The Performex Difference
Success Accelerated Stories
"The Frontline Supervisor program has paid off well for us. Engagement scores have increased 15% in several locations but, most importantly, retention has decreased drastically"
Barbara // Director of Human Resources
45-Year Track Record
Over 140 Clients
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Equip Frontline Managers with the Tools for Excellence
Through the program, participants will become outstanding coaches, building their coaching skills through team exercises. As handling difficult discussion with former peers is a very common challenge for frontline managers promoted from hourly positions, each manager will develop a comprehensive coaching plan for handling the most difficult discussing he/she faces in the workplace.