How Takeda Developed Enterprise Leaders Across a 53,000-Person Global Biopharmaceutical Business
A structured, evidence-based leadership development programme for emerging leaders at Takeda UK & Ireland
Originally delivered by Talupp, a technology firm occasionally offering bespoke solutions, these projects are now part of Esendia’s distinct, consultancy-first approach, powered by Talupp’s Diagnostics platform.
Client: Takeda UK & Ireland (part of global business, 53,000 employees, 80 countries)
Challenge: Develop emerging leaders into enterprise-level leaders in a structured, deliberate way
Solution: Esendia's evidence-based leadership programme, assessment, stretch assignments, mentoring, action learning
Result: Enterprise thinking emerging across cohort; increased self-nomination for development and leadership roles
Spokesperson: Miguel Del Coso Sanchez, HR Director UK & Ireland, Takeda
Why Takeda Needed a More Structured Approach to Leadership Development
Takeda is a global biopharmaceutical company employing 53,000 people with a long history. Founded in Japan in 1781, the organisation now has operations in 80 countries and regions.
Miguel Del Coso Sanchez is the HR Director UK & Ireland for Takeda and engaged Esendia (formerly Talupp) for a very specific challenge – to develop the emerging leaders into the Takeda stars of the future. Miguel chose Esendia for its scientific and metric-driven approach, as he explains: “When I met Ines, I was captivated by the evidence base for the Esendia approach. Esendia's solutions are robust and structured. They’re not just about knowledge development, but about building capabilities too.”
Miguel was keen to ensure that talent development for Takeda’s cohort of emerging leaders was structured and deliberate. “I get the impression that too often talent development is not done in a structured way.” Miguel asserts. “If someone is lucky enough to have a good, experienced manager, then they may put something in place; otherwise, development is often just a plan on paper. I wanted to change that and ensure that more people had access to great leadership development. I wanted to set up a new set of leaders to be true enterprise leaders regardless of their manager or department.”
How Esendia Designed the Takeda Leadership Development Programme
Esendia worked with Miguel to establish a development programme that would enable these emerging leaders to develop the knowledge and skills they needed and set the standard at Takeda.
Critically, the development programme was focused on stretch assignments, reflection, mentoring and action learning groups. These were the aspects of leadership development that have been shown to be most effective.
Takeda selected 10 people for the initial Esendia programme. Each person completed an assessment to identify strengths and to help pinpoint critical areas for development. Development in the form of stretch assignments, reflection and mentoring was focused on creating enterprise leaders – people who could think big picture and beyond their own functional area of expertise.
Measurable Outcomes: Results at Takeda UK & Ireland
According to Miguel, the impact of the Esendia leadership development programme has been both direct and indirect, as he explains: “The first thing is that we’re already starting to see evidence of enterprise thinking – that’s the direct impact.
We’re also seeing people reflecting more on what they are doing and how they are developing.” “The indirect impact is that the rest of the organisation can see this group of leaders benefitting from the development. That gives others an interest in their own leadership development and to put themselves forward for development and leadership roles.”
Working with Esendia has been a very positive experience for Miguel.
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10 emerging leaders selected for and completed the initial programme
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Evidence of enterprise thinking, leaders thinking beyond their functional area, identified by HR Director
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Increased self-reflection among participants on their own development and behaviours
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Wider organisational interest in leadership development generated as a ripple effect
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Leaders self-nominating for development and leadership roles unprompted
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Elevated perception of HR within the organisation, from box-ticking to genuine development
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Platform-enabled access allowed leaders to develop at a time and place that suited them
Companies like Esendia understand your needs. They target the solution for you. With other companies, you have to adapt to them, but with Esendia you have the freedom to get exactly what you and the organisation wants.
— Miguel Del Coso Sanchez, HR Director UK & Ireland, Takeda
The Esendia Platform gives access to leadership development to more people than Takeda might otherwise have been able to develop. It also means that those taking part are able to develop at a time and place that suits them. “Many leaders in organisations accept HR because it’s a department that they need to have, rather than really believing in the importance of HR. With the old kind of development plan, HR would chase you to complete it and the leaders would do it just to tick a box.
This kind of offering from Esendia is exactly what emerging leaders need and while it’s helping them to develop, it’s also elevating the view of HR in the organisation as well.
— Miguel Del Coso Sanchez, HR Director UK & Ireland, Takeda
FAQ
What is Esendia's approach to leadership development for emerging leaders?
Esendia takes a diagnostic-first, evidence-based approach to leadership development. Rather than generic training, it combines individual assessment to identify strengths and development areas, stretch assignments, structured reflection, one-to-one mentoring and action learning groups, the methods shown by research to be most effective in building genuine leadership capability.
How did Esendia help Takeda develop enterprise leaders?
Esendia worked with Takeda UK & Ireland HR Director Miguel Del Coso Sanchez to design a structured leadership programme for 10 emerging leaders. Each participant completed an assessment to identify strengths and critical development areas, then engaged in stretch assignments, mentoring and action learning focused on building enterprise-level thinking beyond their own functional area.
What is enterprise leadership and why does it matter?
Enterprise leadership is the ability to think and act beyond one's own functional area, understanding the wider business, making decisions that serve the whole organisation and influencing across departments. Takeda's programme with Esendia was specifically designed to develop this capability in emerging leaders, enabling them to operate at a strategic level regardless of which department or manager they reported to.
What results did Takeda see from Esendia's leadership development programme?
Takeda's HR Director observed direct evidence of enterprise thinking emerging within the cohort, alongside increased self-reflection on development and behaviours. Indirectly, the programme generated wider organisational interest in leadership development, with colleagues self-nominating for development and leadership roles, and elevated the perception of HR from an administrative function to a genuine strategic partner.
Can Esendia's leadership development programme work for global pharmaceutical companies?
Yes. Esendia has worked with Takeda, a global biopharmaceutical company with 53,000 employees across 80 countries, as well as other organisations in regulated, complex operational environments. Esendia's platform-enabled approach means leaders can access development at a time and place that suits them, important for global businesses operating across time zones and shift patterns.