After being postponed for more than a year because of lockdowns and travel restrictions, TP Aerospace could finally kick of the first module of their new global leadership program for all middle managers located in Europe. The first training module took place over two days, off-premises in Copenhagen, and was part of a three-module training program that will take place throughout the fall of 2021.

Within TP Aerospace, middle managers hold some of the most essential positions throughout the company as they are the tie between top management and employees and the center of cross-departmental and divisional collaboration. Therefore, continuous efforts are being made to ensure the success and development of their leadership skills, ultimately to support the constant well-being and growth of employees and the business.

The global leadership program is primarily facilitated by Julie Løkkegaard, Director of Strategy, People & Communication, and is designed to provide middle managers with a greater and unified perspective of the leadership role, and to create a common language and understanding of what it means to be a leader within TP Aerospace. During the first training module, emphasis was on understanding different psychological types by use of Jung Type Indicator (JTI), a tool that provides the participants with insight into themselves as people and leaders and builds awareness and understanding of how individual differences and preferences may influence collaboration and communication.

“It’s about the individual to us. Of course, a core element of the training program is to provide our managers with some tools that are instantly transferrable to their daily work life,” says Julie Løkkegaard, and continues “but it is fundamental that we build and increase the individual manager’s self-awareness and understanding so they understand their own patterns, talents and challenges as a leader.”

The training program was initially scheduled to take place in the fall of 2020, but as the past year and a half have been characterized by lockdowns and restrictions, it was not possible to bring people together before now. The training therefore also served an essential social purpose in the aftermaths of a challenging year:

“There is no doubt that we, like so many other international companies, have felt how the past year’s travel bans have impacted our global organization. So just being able to get people together for a beer after a long day of training is just so important for our continued strong collaboration across our different sites.” concludes Julie Løkkegaard. 

Once travel restrictions lift further, and an increasing level of international travel is possible, TP Aerospace aims at carrying out the training program for middle managers in the US and Asia as well.