What It Takes to Develop Future-fit Leaders

Leaders within an organization play a tremendously important role. It’s hard to overstate just how influential a role they play. But are today’s leaders ready for what’s coming tomorrow? 

That was the topic of discussion at Skillsoft’s annual event Perspectives. A panel of talent development leaders shared their insights and experiences with their peers, discussing their efforts to help leaders build critical skills for the future. 

The panel comprised leaders in insurance, technology and government:

• Chasity Green, Senior Manager of Leadership and Development, Asurion
• Steven Potts, Global Head of Talent Management & Learning, Diebold Nixdorf
• Patti Rowe, Director of Learning and Development, The City and County of Denver

Below, we summarize the panelists’ key points made throughout the discussion. Unless in quotes, the responses have been paraphrased, edited for length and clarity. 

To watch the session, gain access to Perspectives On-Demand today.

Potts: Collectively, Diebold Nixdorf is planning for the future and rolling out a strategic three to five-year plan. Talent development is a key part. It includes helping leaders build the core skills they will need to help usher the company into the future. As leaders refine their skill set, they support the business’s priorities and ongoing evolution.

Rowe: Reliable, steady leaders are in demand. That’s true for the city of Denver and organizations of all kinds. In developing leadership training, the team established a partnered with their talent acquisition peers at the city to learn which skills the city tries to hire for. Then, we developed a competency model to help leaders at all levels build those same skills internally. Today, it’s a formal leadership development program that accounts for what skills leaders will need in the future. 

Green: First-time managers may struggle with their transition into leadership. Before, they excelled in their roles as the person doing the work. But when they enter a leadership position, it’s more strategic. It’s a new skill set altogether, and that transition can be trying. 

To help, Asurion has added coaching into all of its development programs. Coaching helps complement training employees take, making it more relevant to their individual roles. “There’s such great value in helping people unpack answers for themselves and provide their own solutions… Coaching helps bring a lot of the learning we do to life.”

Rowe: Coming aboard, all leaders take a course titled “Leader as Coach.” Leaders set the tone and embody the culture at the city. And today, leaders embrace the responsibility of serving as a coach and developing others. In fact, many leaders teach the course and jump at opportunities to help. This is a cultural development over the past five years.  

Potts: Diebold Nixdorf employs 14,000 professionals globally. Many challenges relate to delivering training in 14 different languages, accounting for geographical and cultural nuances, and localization. However, there’s also an ongoing push to bolster compassion internally and invest more in employees’ development. 

Compassion, while not a prerequisite for employment, is a skill that all should demonstrate. Ongoing programs aim to train leaders to become more compassionate toward others, including those reporting to them. This effort is meant to promote psychological safety, which carries with it many benefits. The team measures the impact of these programs with platform data and engagement surveys. To date, progress is favorable. “I’m feeling wildly optimistic.”

Green: Many employees internally have spread the word about their experiences in different training sessions, whether it’s a course, webinar or coaching engagement. This, in turn, raises the collective awareness of teachings and helps people connect them to different parts of the organization. 

Potts: A combination of developmental assessments (DISC, Clifton Strengths, Skills Benchmarks) has been instrumental in helping the talent development team learn more about employees throughout the organization. By understanding employees — their skills, who they are as people — training can be tailored to them, which ultimately improves development outcomes. 

Rowe: We use several assessments too. One effective assessment is Emotional Intelligence 2.0, which helps provide an understanding of a person’s self-awareness. Other tools that complement assessments are two programs in Percipio. One relates to having difficult conversations with others, and the other is coaching. [CAISY] has impressed employees with its capability, and the quality and cost of the coaching program is unmatched. 

Green: Everyone wants to know what they’re investing in is fruitful. We’re looking at how our investments are paying dividends. We’re keeping an eye on how people move throughout the organization, whether they’ve been promoted or taken their skills to another part of the business. Evidence like this supports the learning programs. 

Potts: We’re starting to identify people who’ve taken training and their mobility through the organization too. We’re also using data from Percipio and the integration with our HCM to measure skill acquisition. This will be important for workforce planning and determining whether we have the skills needed for the future. 

Rowe: For the first time at the city, we’re working to show the return on investment, using the Phillips ROI Model: The 5 Levels of Training Evaluation. We get post-session data, telling whether the material was valuable and useful on the job. Then, we’ve gathered feedback from leaders on employees’ performance. Those who went through training estimate $7,000 more in productivity, 2.5 less in turnover, 4.6 more in engagement, and 7.5 more in promotion. We point to this when discussing the value of training and stakeholders are astonished.

Green: Differences in experience and expertise are helping drive our business forward, making our collective organization more agile and prepared for the future. When people can be themselves at work, you’d be amazed at how much they can accomplish.

Potts: To quote a colleague, failure doesn’t have to be negative. In fact, it can be thought of this way. F.A.I.L. could mean “first attempt in learning.” You have to give people space to try and learn. You have to lean into uncertainty and discomfort. Leaders who can work within that space will thrive.

Rowe: Leaders who want to bring their employees along, who demonstrate good character will be immensely valuable in the future. Good change management practices will be equally important. But this work takes time. Take it slow and be consistent. 

Access Perspectives On-Demand to Unlock the Full Session

Skillsoft’s annual event, Perspectives, plays host to insightful conversations between talent development experts, industry leaders, and analysts to discuss everything from triumphs and challenges. 

You can access to this full session and others like it by signing up for Perspectives On-Demand today.