Johnson & Johnson partnered with Impel Talent to strengthen leadership, career development and human skills across its global organisation, including Global Procurement, Global Finance and the Women’s Leadership Initiative in Switzerland.

Through a bespoke, level-specific development programme delivered to Analysts, Managers and Senior Managers/Directors, Impel Talent helped approximately 2,000 employees strengthen executive presence, take greater ownership of their careers, develop constructive feedback skills and collaborate more effectively across cultures.

This case study focuses on the programme delivered across Johnson & Johnson’s Global Finance organisation, where leadership and career development were delivered at significant scale across a geographically dispersed workforce.

Client Overview

Johnson & Johnson is one of the world’s largest healthcare organisations, operating across complex, highly regulated and rapidly evolving global markets.

Its Global Finance function brings together Analysts, Managers and senior leaders who work across the organisation to support business performance, governance and strategic decision-making.

Within an environment where strong technical and financial expertise is fundamental, Johnson & Johnson recognised that human capabilities such as self-awareness, communication, feedback, executive presence and cross-cultural collaboration are equally important to long-term career development and effective leadership.

Working closely with Johnson & Johnson’s Talent Development teams, Impel Talent designed a programme aligned with the organisation’s broader Talent Development Agenda and competency-based approach.

The programme needed to provide a consistent development experience while remaining relevant to employees at different stages of their careers, from Analysts through to Senior Managers and Directors.

The Challenge

Johnson & Johnson wanted to accelerate the development of its people by giving employees practical human and leadership skills that could support both career progression and stronger organisational performance.

Many talented professionals had developed strong careers through their technical and functional expertise.

The next stage of development required helping them translate that expertise into more visible and effective leadership.

Employees needed to strengthen their ability to:

• Build executive presence and communicate their value with confidence
• Develop a clear and authentic personal leadership brand
• Take ownership of their careers and create realistic development plans
• Navigate internal and external career opportunities
• Prepare effectively for interviews and career conversations
• Give, ask for and receive constructive feedback
• Build stronger professional relationships
• Work effectively across cultures and geographical boundaries
• Apply Emotional Intelligence in everyday interactions and decisions
• Identify and engage mentors and sponsors who could support career development

There was also a significant delivery challenge.

The programme needed to provide a consistent, high-quality and engaging experience at scale across a geographically dispersed Global Finance population, different organisational levels and multiple time zones, while being delivered virtually.

Our Approach

Impel Talent designed a bespoke, level-specific development programme built around the four core capabilities of Emotional Intelligence:

• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Management

Content was tailored to the development needs of Analysts, Managers and Senior Managers/Directors, ensuring that employees received learning appropriate to their level of experience and career stage.

Interactive 90-minute virtual workshops were delivered across several interconnected development themes.

Building Executive Presence

Managers and Directors explored how to identify their Unique Value Proposition, develop a stronger personal leadership brand and communicate with greater authenticity and confidence.

The programme encouraged delegates to understand how they were perceived by others and how they could show up more intentionally as leaders.

Executing a Development Plan

Analysts were supported in conducting skills-gap analyses and developing realistic career plans aligned with both organisational objectives and individual purpose.

Rather than treating career development as something owned by the organisation alone, employees were encouraged to take greater responsibility for defining and pursuing their own development.

Career Progression & Interview Skills

Participants across different levels received practical tools to navigate both internal and external career opportunities.

This included:

• Preparing effectively for interviews
• Using techniques such as STAR
• Addressing imposter syndrome
• Identifying mentors and sponsors
• Strengthening CVs and career narratives
• Communicating strengths and achievements more confidently

Radical Candor & Constructive Feedback

Participants were introduced to practical frameworks for giving, asking for and receiving constructive feedback.

Viewed through the lens of Emotional Intelligence, feedback was positioned as an important development tool rather than something to avoid.

Employees explored how difficult conversations could remain productive for both the individual and the organisation.

Cultural Intelligence

With participants working within a global organisation, Cultural Intelligence formed an important part of the programme.

Delegates explored how differences in culture can influence communication, trust, leadership, feedback and decision-making.

The programme helped participants develop greater awareness of the perspectives and behaviours required to collaborate effectively across borders.

Learn, Reflect, Do

Rather than delivering the workshops as isolated training sessions, Impel Talent structured the programme around a three-stage approach designed to translate learning into practical behaviour.

Learn: Coaching-Style Workbooks

Ahead of each session, delegates received customised coaching-style workbooks.

These introduced the topic, encouraged participants to reflect on their current behaviours and ensured they arrived at workshops ready to engage more deeply with the material.

Reflect: Personal Application

Workshops combined structured learning with reflection and discussion.

Participants were encouraged to connect concepts such as executive presence, Cultural Intelligence and feedback directly to their own careers, relationships and working environments.

This transformed broad leadership concepts into personal goals and specific development priorities.

Do: Accountability & Action

Every workshop concluded with a specific action for participants to apply within their roles.

Follow-up with line managers was recommended to reinforce accountability and ensure learning continued beyond the workshop environment.

Topics were deliberately connected across the programme so that each development experience built upon the previous one.

The Impact

The programme was delivered at significant scale across Johnson & Johnson’s Global Finance organisation.

It was designed for approximately 2,000 delegates, spanning Analysts, Managers and Senior Managers/Directors, with 28 workshop sessions delivered per topic.

Feedback across the programme demonstrated consistently strong engagement and satisfaction.

Reported outcomes included:

• 92% of delegates extremely or very satisfied with the learning outcomes
• 0% dissatisfied
• 8.76/10 likelihood to recommend the workshops to a colleague
• 4.2/5 for how well workshops met delegate expectations
• 100% of delegates rating the workshops as well organised
• 92% reporting that the workshop length was appropriate
• 80% attendance, supported by a structured reminder and engagement cadence
• Approximately 2,000 delegates reached across the Global Finance population

Participants also highlighted the elements of the experience they found most valuable.

84% valued how easy it was to engage with the coach, while 71% highlighted the relevance of the content and the value of the small-group format. A further 63% valued the interactive nature of the sessions.

For 69% of participants, the programme represented their first experience of an Impel Talent event, helping create further momentum and interest in professional development across the Finance community.

Importantly, the programme translated learning into practical action.

Delegates left workshops identifying tangible next steps such as:

• Updating their CVs
• Applying the STAR interview method
• Seeking mentors and sponsors
• Developing stronger personal brands
• Reframing imposter syndrome
• Asking for feedback more intentionally
• Giving constructive feedback with greater confidence
• Taking greater ownership of career development

These actions demonstrated that participants were not simply absorbing content but applying learning directly to their careers and day-to-day work.

Project Highlights

• 🌍 Global partnership spanning Global Procurement, Global Finance and the Women’s Leadership Initiative in Switzerland
• 💰 Large-scale delivery across Johnson & Johnson’s Global Finance organisation
• 👥 Approximately 2,000 delegates reached
• 🧠 Programme built around the four core capabilities of Emotional Intelligence
• 🎤 Development across Executive Presence, Career Planning, Interview Skills, Radical Candor and Cultural Intelligence
• ⭐ 92% extremely or very satisfied with programme learning outcomes
• ✅ 0% dissatisfied
• 👍 8.76/10 likelihood to recommend
• 📅 100% rated the workshops as well organised
• 📈 80% attendance supported by a structured engagement cadence
• 🌐 Virtual delivery supporting employees across organisational levels, geographies and time zones
• 🔄 Coaching-style workbooks and a Learn, Reflect, Do methodology supporting practical application and accountability

Client Testimonial

“I would like to share how much I enjoyed the workshops. You did a fantastic job in how you approached the content and interacted with the participants to drive engagement. Thank you for that!”

— Nadja Olsson, Head of Training Team (Proceed), Johnson & Johnson

Our Expertise in Action

This partnership demonstrates Impel Talent’s ability to develop human and leadership capability at scale within large, complex and globally distributed organisations.

Our strengths include:

• Emotional Intelligence Development: Building self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management into practical workplace behaviours.
• Executive Presence & Personal Brand: Helping professionals understand their Unique Value Proposition and communicate their expertise with greater confidence and authenticity.
• Career Ownership & Development: Giving employees practical tools to assess their capabilities, define career objectives and take greater responsibility for their professional growth.
• Career Progression & Interview Skills: Supporting professionals in navigating career opportunities, communicating their achievements and approaching interviews with confidence.
• Constructive Feedback Cultures: Embedding frameworks such as Radical Candor to help employees give, request and receive feedback more effectively.
• Cross-Cultural Leadership: Developing the awareness and Cultural Intelligence required to communicate, build trust and influence effectively across borders.
• Engaging Virtual Delivery at Scale: Delivering consistent global development programmes while keeping sessions interactive, personal and coach-led.
• Learning Through Action: Using coaching-style workbooks, guided reflection and clear accountability to ensure development translates into practical workplace behaviour.

Through the partnership, Johnson & Johnson strengthened the leadership and human capabilities of its Global Finance community at significant scale.

By combining Emotional Intelligence, career development, practical leadership tools and highly interactive delivery, Impel Talent helped employees build greater confidence, take ownership of their development and work more effectively across cultures.

The programme demonstrated that even within a global population of approximately 2,000 employees, leadership development can remain personal, practical and highly engaging when learning is designed around the people it is intended to serve.