Field notes — method: structuring a executive leadership initiative in Fribourg over 90 days

A foundation director in Fribourg put it in one sentence: "It's not a tools problem, it's a courage problem." Hard to hear. Often right. A executive leadership transformation doesn't play out in two days or two years. Ninety days is the window in which an observable, measurable change can be produced without exhausting the organisation. Here is the sequenced method we use in Fribourg.

Days 1-15: diagnosis and framing

Five internal interviews, two field observations, one document review. Goal: produce a one-page framing that precisely names the target behaviour, the linked business stake and the responsible sponsor. Without this document, what follows drifts. A single metric is enough: how often the target behaviour is observed 90 days after the workshop.

Days 16-30: sponsor and collective alignment

The sponsor publicly states the stake to the team. Short (20 minutes) but the moment that legitimises everything that follows. We systematically prepare it together — message, tone, formulation of expectations.

Days 31-60: guided practice

Two 4-hour collective workshops three weeks apart, complemented by individual coaching for key profiles. The phase where executive leadership shifts from declared to practised.

Days 61-80: anchoring through rituals

We install the new behaviours into existing rituals: weekly team review, one-to-ones, steering committee. No new meeting — we transform meetings that already exist. That's what makes the change sustainable. (our executive and employee training programmes)

Days 81-90: impact review

Honest measurement: follow-up interviews, field observation, business indicators. We separate what genuinely changed from what stayed declarative. This review produces the next decision: extend, deepen, or stop.

One last thought

People often ask us where to start. The answer isn't the most brilliant one: with an honest conversation between three people. Not a kick-off, not a workshop — a conversation. The rest follows. To go further: explore the Executive Leadership training in Fribourg, or browse our executive and employee training programmes in Switzerland.

In pictures: Executive Leadership in Fribourg

• executive leadership
• Fribourg
• method
• training fribourg