Companies want scalable leadership development. Here’s how to do it right.

Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning recently surveyed leaders and L&D professionals about what they’re looking for in a leadership development program. At the top of the list? Scalability. 

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One of my passions—and one of the reasons my company developed our own learning platform—is expanding access to leadership development, so it’s exciting to see companies recognizing how important scalability is. At the same time; however, I know that making scalability work at your organization can be a tall order. 

For a long time, scalability and quality have seemed at odds in leadership development. An organization could spend its budget on highly effective, but expensive options like coaching for fewer people. Or it could bring leadership development to more employees, but settle for cookie-cutter programs. 

But that conundrum is becoming a thing of the past. Scalability and quality can go together in leadership development—no matter the size of your training budget. To get both, though, you have to embrace an approach that’s both high-tech and high-touch. 

Why is scalability so important? 

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of scaling quality leadership development, let’s talk about why it’s such a big deal right now.

For starters, there’s a real gap in leadership pipelines. Only 20% of companies feel confident that they have strong future leaders lined up, and this is something we hear from clients all the time.

At the same time, companies are starting to recognize the power of informal leaders—the people who don’t have a leadership title but still play a huge role in driving teams forward. A recent Harvard Business Publishing report highlights how organizations are shifting toward flatter structures and more cross-functional collaboration. That means people who used to simply carry out tasks are now expected to influence stakeholders, make strategic decisions, and communicate business impact—in other words, to lead, even without a formal title.

With leadership expectations evolving, the challenge isn’t just developing leaders—it’s making sure leadership skills reach everyone who needs them.

With tech, think beyond AI 

That brings us back to the question of how to make leadership development more scalable while maintaining quality. With just about any issue in business, people seem to rush to AI as the answer. While exciting things are going on, AI isn’t a magic-bullet solution for leadership development yet. The lingering problem is getting people (and teams) to actually use and benefit from them. But AI can be part of your scalability solution. In the Harvard survey, 60% of respondents said they’re incorporating AI into their development programs. (As my own company trains an AI coach, we’re focusing on making sure that using the coach will fit into people’s busy schedules.) 

However, don’t let AI overshadow other useful technologies. Micro-learning platforms are another huge trend right now, with nine out of 10 L&D professionals saying that the employees they serve prefer them. I’ve seen firsthand with our own platform how busy professionals embrace using “snackable content” to get leadership insights when and where they need them. 

Technology can also extend the reach of other leadership development tools. If you’re used to thinking in terms of using a single leadership development program at your organization, this may require a shift in mindset. But there’s lots of potential. For example, my company is very excited right now about the potential of combining our learning platform with our coaching services to help companies stretch their budgets farther. 

Enlist your current leaders for development 

 As I touched on earlier, technology is only part of the story when it comes to scaling leadership development. Leaders will always need to learn from other leaders, no matter how advanced AI and other high-tech tools become. I’ve also found that most organizations haven’t fully tapped into the knowledge their own people have. Unleashing this knowledge makes it a whole lot easier to scale leadership development. 

One strategy I always recommend is teaching your current leaders (including the informal ones) how they can help develop others. Ensure that the development they receive includes both coaching and delegation skills. Employees whose managers are adept coaches are eight times more engaged. And delegation gives employees a chance to grow “in the flow of work”—I’ve seen firsthand that this approach amplifies engagement, innovation, and customer satisfaction. 

Another way to enlist current leaders in scaling development is creating a mentoring program or updating your current one. Some of your employees may already have mentors or mentees, but formalizing mentorship programs makes them more powerful. Mentorship doesn’t just impart the information your people need to develop as leaders. It also ensures that information is relevant—the “touchstone” of an effective leadership development program—and it helps build the relationships your future leaders need. 

What’s next? 

I’m optimistic about scalable leadership development and the possibilities it holds. Making leadership development available to more employees will affect productivity—and even small shifts in productivity across a large population of employees can lead to big results. So how do you want to get the ball rolling to integrate scalability into your organization’s approach? 

This article was originally published by Neena Newberry in Fast Company.

Why an ‘affordable’ leadership program may be the most expensive mistake you make

A low-cost library might not yield results, while premium coaching could spark a game-changing ripple effect across your entire organization.

If you’re in charge of selecting a leadership development solution for your organization, your budget might feel dwarfed by the goals and needs the program must address. And while the money you have to spend is limited, the options you have to choose from—coaching, learning platforms, content libraries and more—are not. 

Image by Tung Lam from Pixabay

 All of those factors can make it difficult to identify the option that will deliver the best ROI.

An “affordable” subscription to a vast digital library of leadership videos and courses is no bargain if it doesn’t deliver the results you need. On the other hand, premium coaching for a few key executives might feel extravagant at first but ultimately create a huge ripple effect across the organization. 

It’s not that content libraries are “bad,” and coaching is “good.” The right solution for one company could be a waste of time and money in another. So how do you make the best choice based on your goals and your budget? 

Before you contact a single provider or even start reviewing the options available to you, consider the questions below. As a CEO focused on transforming leadership development through technology, I can tell you that the organizations that are clear on their answers get the best results from leadership development, no matter what their budget is or the specific programs they choose. 

What are your specific goals? 

Leadership development is too expensive (U.S. companies spend more than $81 billion on it per year) to be merely a feel-good purchase or a box to check for the year. Your investment in a program will pay off only when you know exactly what you want it to achieve. So think about your company’s priorities right now. A few examples: 

• Does your CEO want to create a coaching culture? 

• Has low performance by new managers surfaced as a problem? 

• Is innovation one of your priorities this year? 

• Is your organization worried about the state of your leadership pipeline? 

If your goals seem way out of alignment with your budget, you may have to determine which goals need immediate attention and which ones can be acted on later. For instance, if your mid-level managers are jumping ship to your competitors, developing your current leadership bench needs attention right away. On the other hand, a broader initiative to build leadership capabilities across all departments could wait. 

How many people do you need to target? 

Is a company-wide program necessary to achieve your goals? Or would it be more effective to focus on a particular department or type of employee, such as first-time managers or a new executive team?

Your answer can help you start narrowing down options. For example, if your top priority is developing a new executive team, coaching could be the right choice. It’s highly customized and effective. But your focus is on a larger group—like new managers—coaching might be out of your budget, and a digital learning platform could be a better fit. Similarly, perhaps you can send all first-time managers to a conference or bring in a facilitator for a weeklong program, but you can’t afford these options for every employee who’s interested in leadership development. 

What’s going on right now with the employees you want to develop? 

The capacity of the participants is often overlooked as a key factor in whether a leadership development solution succeeds. So, once you’ve identified the employees who’ll be part of your program, think about what might be affecting their current bandwidth to learn, grow and change. 

Let’s say you’re considering a program that would bring in a facilitator for a week of daylong classes with your managers. That might sound like an amazing development opportunity, and for some organizations, it is. But if your managers are already overextended with their workloads, this “opportunity” could become just another source of stress. Instead of paying attention and learning from the facilitator, the managers might be covertly multitasking through sessions just to stay afloat. And what if program participants don’t work onsite full time? Will a fully remote employee get the same experience as in-person participants? Will hybrid employees resent an extra day in the office?

In such cases, a program that empowers your managers to learn on their own schedule might be a better solution. You could provide them with a micro-learning app or access to a learning library. (With those options, just be sure to also give them customized learning paths. Busy, stressed managers don’t have time to sort through piles of content to figure out what they need, either.) 

Thinking through these questions will help you zero in on what your company really needs from leadership development and the type of program that best fulfills those needs. I know the vast array of options out there can seem dizzying, but this variety also means that you have a better chance of finding a program that truly aligns with what you need and can afford. The more clarity you can bring into the selection process, the more likely you are to avoid costly mistakes and choose a leadership development program that delivers the results you need. 

This article was originally published by Neena Newberry in Fast Company.

20% of managers want out. This is how to handle the rise of the accidental manager.

A question for you, managers: Do you want to do this job? Or are you an accidental manager?

In a recent survey, Gartner found that one in five managers “would prefer not being people managers, given a choice.” 

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko

Since I’m an executive coach and learning platform creator, you might expect me to declare that these unhappy managers just need more training and leadership development. 

However, it’s not that simple. 

Yes, additional development can help managers who don’t really want to be in that role. Some might even come to embrace being a manager. But others simply should not be managers. 

So how did we get so many accidental managers? And what can your organization do to ensure that employees who move into management actually want to make the leap and are prepared for it? 

Rise of the Accidental Manager 

You might wonder how 20% of managers have ended up in roles they don’t want. Based on my work with companies across a variety of industries, I believe many of them are accidental managers: They were promoted based on organizational needs, not because of their own desire or readiness for management. 

Other unhappy managers seek these roles but quickly realize they aren’t prepared. Then, once faced with the often overwhelming demands of the job, they find themselves treading water with no time to catch up on their development. Is it any surprise that people want to escape jobs like this? 

Opting Out Is a Win, Too 

As I thought about Gartner’s findings, I realized we already have a solution: opening up leadership development to more employees earlier in their careers. I’m already a big proponent of this strategy. But Gartner has given us more evidence that it’s an idea whose time has come. 

Expanding access to development fills leadership pipelines and, over time, can even diversify your senior leadership. However, leadership development training can also help employees realize they don’t want to be managers before they end up leading a team. If an employee decides they don’t want to move “up the ladder,” that’s just as much of a win as an overlooked employee realizing they have leadership potential. 

My thinking is in line with Gartner’s. They recommend that companies “encourage aspiring managers to self-discover if management is right for them by exposing them to the toughest parts of the role early.” When managers have the space to self-discover their fit for the role, they’re more than twice as likely to feel up to the demands of their job, Gartner reports. 

Training Doesn’t Go to Waste  

Some would argue that it’s useless to provide leadership development training to employees who don’t eventually become managers. But this investment does not go to waste. 

That’s because power and influence are not necessarily tied to job title. I bet you can quickly name the “informal leaders” in your team or organization. They’re not officially managers, but they hold great credibility because they’ve been at your company a long time, or they’re phenomenally good at their jobs, or they seem to know everyone. Even if they didn’t want a managerial title, they’re still doing a lot of leading—whether they realize it or not. Investing in these employees can pay off just as much as investing in your managers with titles. 

Also, consider the human and financial toll of an ineffective manager. When a manager is disengaged, so is their team. Retention suffers because employees feel less committed to the company. A bad boss can even affect employees’ mental health. If worse comes to worse and you need to replace the manager, that could cost your company from 1.25 to 4 times the manager’s salary. 

Companies flourish when all employees are empowered to contribute to their full potential, whether that means being a manager or not. By offering leadership development opportunities earlier and more broadly, you can create a culture of self-awareness and intentional career growth throughout your organization.

This article was originally published by Neena Newberry in Fast Company.

3 ways to fix the ‘broken rung’ on the career ladder

I was disappointed, but not surprised when I opened the most recent Women in the Workplace report from McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org. Why? Well, just read this: 

For every 100 men promoted to manager in 2018, 79 women were promoted. And this year, just 81 women were. As a result of this “broken rung,” men significantly outnumber women at the manager level, which makes it nearly impossible for companies to support sustained progress at more senior levels. 

Image by geir fløde from Pixabay

What’s stopping us from fixing the broken rung? I often think about this question since my company focuses on high-performing women leaders. Based on our experiences, here are some recommendations for companies to get more women moving up over the broken rung on the leadership ladder. 

Rethink What a Leader Looks Like 

In organizations that have always had predominantly male leaders, a bias against women (whether conscious or subconscious) can emerge. It’s easy to see how this might happen: We base our ideas about what a leader should be based on the leaders we know. So, we may be predisposed to identify men as high performers who should receive leadership development.

You might think that the solution here is redefining what high performance is at your organization. But I’m advocating an even bigger shift: What if we dropped the whole idea that leadership development is reserved only for “stars”? That approach simply wasn’t feasible in the past due to budgetary concerns. However, the tech revolution in learning and development has created scalable solutions that open opportunities up to more potential leaders. 

Choose Development Options That Fit Packed Schedules 

Do you know a woman who isn’t busy? On average, women in the U.S. actually spend a few hours less per week on their jobs than men do. However, they spend more time than men do on household tasks, parenting, and caregiving for older family members.

Fitting leadership development into the middle of all of this isn’t easy. That’s why I believe that micro-learning opportunities are especially important for women. At my company, we’ve seen women embrace the quick lessons (think two to seven minutes) that our learning platform provides. 

Give More (and More Useful) Feedback 

Researchers have found that women receive less actionable feedback than men do. Additionally, feedback given to men encourages them to focus on big-picture, strategic issues while women get more guidance to focus on details and delivery. It’s not hard to see how the feedback that men get does more to shape them into future leaders. This is an issue to address both collectively and individually.

As an organization, what is your feedback culture like? Do you need to change policies to ensure that all employees get feedback that prepares them to lead? If you deliver feedback yourself, pay attention to whether you treat men and women differently. You have an opportunity to really help women own their abilities as leaders and demonstrate them to others. For example, after a meeting, give your report positive feedback for voicing her ideas, plus some strategies on what to do the next time she gets interrupted.  

I want to leave you with another sobering fact from the Women in the Workplace report: 

At the current pace of progress, it will take 22 years to reach parity for white women—and more than twice as long for women of color. Put another way, it will take 48 years for the representation of white women and women of color in senior leadership to reflect their share of the U.S. population. 

That’s hard to read, but it also motivates me to do even more to help women reach parity faster. I hope you’ll join me, both by taking action yourself and by pushing for discussions about leadership parity at your organization. Let’s make sure the next Women in the Workplace report has better news to share.       

This article was originally published by Neena Newberry in Fast Company.

Meaning And Purpose: The Overlooked Keys To Employee Well-Being

The good news? Companies are finally taking employee well-being seriously. Today, more than half say well-being is a top priority. The bad news? Almost 60% of employees say they are struggling. And less than a quarter of them strongly agree that their employers care about their well-being.

Photo by fauxels

If your company has a goal to improve employee well-being in 2025, those stats might be discouraging to read. There’s no single, magical solution to this crisis. But as an executive coach and creator of a learning platform, I believe there are two factors in employee well-being that tend to get overlooked: meaning and purpose.

In turbulent times like the ones we’re experiencing, having a sense of meaning and purpose can carry us through difficulties and obstacles. So how can you create an environment where employees feel this way? Here are some strategies I’ve seen companies successfully use.

1. Get to know them.

Meaning and purpose are deeply personal things. What lights you up at work might not be what resonates with your team members. That’s why it’s important to talk regularly with them about what they’re passionate about.

Maybe you can find a meaningful project that can excite them. Since many of us are working remotely, you may have to be more deliberate about planning these conversations instead of waiting for them to spontaneously happen in the hallway or break room.

2. Bring the big picture into focus.

We all want to be part of something bigger than ourselves. You may understand exactly how important your employee’s particular talents are to your company’s mission, but they may have lost sight of this themselves, especially if your organization has gone through rapid change recently.

When you give feedback, remember to make these big-picture connections for your employees. Here’s an example of what that might sound like: “Because you are so great at identifying potential obstacles and how to overcome them, we were able to launch our mentorship program for new employees early.”

3. Help them focus.

How much energy do you feel when you’re using your skills and gifts on a project you really care about? And how does that compare to your energy levels when you’re at a purposeless meeting or working your way through your email?

I always advise my clients to figure out their “Big 3”: the top 3 areas where they should focus to have the biggest impact on the business, given their role and strengths. This is a great conversation to have with your team members. After you help them identify their Big 3, see if their calendar actually reflects these priorities.

4. Provide opportunities to serve others.

Research backs up what we all intuitively know: Helping other people makes us feel good, mentally and physically. If you have a volunteer program at your workplace, you’ve probably seen this firsthand. But doing something that benefits your colleagues has the same positive effects. (It also helps build relationships across the organization.)

If you don’t have a mentoring or peer coaching program, consider starting one. The employees who teach or advise will get as much from the program as the colleagues who receive their wisdom.

5. Create learning opportunities.

We all love the feeling of making progress or moving forward. Perhaps that’s why employees so deeply value learning and development. Learning programs are a huge factor in employee retention. It’s especially important to note that Gen-Z, who are expected to become the largest contingent in the workforce, craves learning even more than older generations.

Next Steps

Creating an environment where employees find meaning and purpose isn't a "nice to have"—it's essential for their well-being. As you plan for 2025, consider these next steps:

• Schedule one-on-ones focused on understanding what’s meaningful to each of your team members.

• Talk with team members about whether their most important work has the most room on their calendar. If it doesn’t, help them find ways to reclaim some time.

• Identify one opportunity each quarter for team members to mentor or teach others.

• Review your learning and development offerings. Are they accessible and aligned with what truly matters to your employees?

When employees find purpose at work, everyone wins. They're more engaged and resilient. Your organization gets its best work. And you build the kind of workplace culture that attracts and retains top talent.

This article was originally published by Neena Newberry in Forbes.

3 Ways Cohort Learning Can Drive Business Goals

Are your organization’s learning programs in sync with your business goals? Creating this alignment is the highest priority of L&D professionals, according to LinkedIn's Workplace Learning Report 2024. But ensuring that training drives business results should also be top of mind for executives, department heads and even individual contributors looking to advance their careers.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

As a longtime leader, leadership coach, facilitator and now a learning platform creator, I’ve found that one tool gets overlooked when it comes to using L&D to advance business priorities: cohort learning.

And what a versatile tool it is. No matter what you want your organization to achieve, empowering your employees to learn with and from each other will help you get there faster. Here are three areas where I’ve seen cohort learning deliver big payoffs.

1. Breaking Down Silos

It’s all too easy to get so focused on the success of your own department or function area that you lose sight of the bigger picture. Silos can pop quickly, bringing a passel of problems with them. They hamper innovation, reduce efficiency and damage morale and engagement.

Once silos have appeared, they can be quite challenging to remove. Perhaps you’ve seen this for yourself at cross-functional meetings, where it can feel like different teams are speaking different languages. If one of your organization’s goals is breaking down silos, you’ll need to take things a step further than just having different departments meet together.

That step could be creating a cohort of leaders or rising leaders from across the organization to go through a development program together. This is a very different setting than a meeting where key decisions are being made.

When they’re learning together, participants from different departments feel safer dropping their guard. They stop focusing on who’s "winning" and start actually hearing each other and understanding others’ viewpoints. They learn from each other—not just from the content of the development program. And when that happens, all sorts of positive change can flower. They may identify inefficiencies, share best practices and build on one another’s ideas.

2. Advancing Underrepresented Groups

Despite some high-profile backlash to DEI programs, most companies are maintaining their commitment. No matter what the climate is at your own organization, creating opportunities for cohort learning can be a powerful way to support and increase diversity.

To understand why this is the case, we need to back up for a moment and talk about discrepancies in promotion rates. Women make up less than one-third of C-Suite positions, according to the Women in the Workplace 2024 report from McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org. But the problems start far below the executive level. The report also found that men outnumber women at every stage of the leadership pipeline. Racial or ethnic minorities have even less representation in the C-Suites, holding just over 12% of those positions.

But analysis by speaker, educator and consultant Rob Cross found that a focus on building relationships early in an employee’s tenure at a company can close the gap in promotion rates. With this in mind, you can shape your organization’s cohort learning programs to encourage relationship building. This is another reason it’s valuable to combine employees from different departments into the same learning cohort.

You can also look for ways to bring employees together with their more senior colleagues for learning. For example, members of an ERG could use a learning platform together, with veteran employees adding context and insight for newer employees.

3. Addressing Manager Burnout

If protecting your managers’ well-being isn’t a corporate priority right now, it should be. After the past few turbulent years, managers are burning out at alarming rates. More than two-thirds said they’re overwhelmed by their workloads. This may be because most new managers are not prepared for the challenges of their new roles.

A cohort learning program for managers can be a much-needed place for them to give and receive support, as well as a chance to share experiences and advice without the pressure of deadlines. It can even foster a sense of shared purpose, which is one of the best remedies for burnout.

Final Thoughts

Cohort learning is one of the most effective ways to ensure that learning and development programs align with business priorities and deliver the ROI your organization is looking for. By bringing employees together to learn, grow and reflect, you create opportunities for cross-pollination of ideas, relationship building and better understanding across departments. This approach doesn't just impart knowledge; it fosters the kind of collaborative problem-solving and innovation that can transform your organization.

This article was originally published by Neena Newberry in Forbes.

7 Ways to Develop Leaders in a Hybrid World

For some, returning to work after the holidays meant returning to the office five days a week. But a whole lot of other people are still working at home at least part of the time. Policies on remote and hybrid work vary by industry, but 80% of companies offer some form of remote work, and more than a third of workers perform some or all of their job at home. While some companies will continue to shift policies, hybrid work isn’t going away. It’s just too important to employees, with two-thirds citing opportunities for remote work as the most important aspect of a job. 

Image by Arivle One from Pixabay

Research is starting to show what employees have been saying all along: Remote work supports productivity. But as we embrace the positives of this new environment, we also have to address the challenges. As an executive coach and the creator of the New Lens® learning platform, the challenge that’s most on my mind is developing employees in the hybrid world. A survey by McKinsey & Co. found that remote and hybrid employees were much more likely than fully in-office employees to report “an inability to learn new skills to meet changing expectations.” We’re also seeing a skills gap with younger employees, who may have started their careers working remotely during the pandemic. They’re having trouble with “human skills” like communication and collaboration that older employees learned through their years in the office.

Increasing and improving development opportunities for remote and hybrid workers must be top of mind for leaders in 2025. Accomplishing this goal doesn’t require huge amounts of time or money. But it does take intention. Here are a few of my favorite strategies:

1. Schedule Office Days Strategically

When it comes to employee development, the important factor isn’t just having your people in the office. It’s having them there with colleagues they can learn from. If your hybrid work policy is relatively loose, consider adding some structure. For example, instead of simply saying that everyone needs to be in the office one day per week, establish that Team A works in person on Tuesdays, Team B on Wednesdays, etc.

2. Create Networking Opportunities

Your employees also need strong relationships outside their teams. So, in addition to team co-working days, look for ways to help your team members connect with other departments in your company. I’ve seen great results from development programs that bring together employees from across an organization, such as a cohort of high-potential women.

3. Combat Managers’ Proximity Bias

For some managers, remote workers are “out of sight, out of mind.” As a consequence, they may be more likely to perceive the people they see more often as high performers and recommend them for development opportunities. Companies can address proximity bias by revisiting performance metrics to make sure they are fair to remote workers.

4. Start a Mentorship Program

Having a mentor can be especially useful for younger employees who are still trying to figure out the unwritten rules of your organization.

5. Don’t Forget About Feedback

As a longtime executive coach, I can tell you that plenty of managers tended to put off giving feedback well before the rise of remote work. With less face time with their reports, procrastination gets even easier. My advice on feedback is the same as it’s always been: Deliver it in the moment, be specific, focus on the effects of the employee’s actions. In the hybrid environment, though, you have to get deliberate about seizing those opportunities.

6. Tap into Learning Technology

Work happens everywhere now. And the same should be true of development opportunities. As our experiences with New Lens have shown us, people are open to learning they can access anytime, anywhere. If your company’s development opportunities all require in-person participation, it’s time to consider high-tech options that are more accessible to remote workers.

7. Remember the Fundamentals

When you think about employee training, does your mind first go to technology skills like AI? Tech training is important, of course. But, as I mentioned earlier, human skills are the biggest shortcoming of many young employees. And remote work won’t make that any less true. In fact, skills like communication, adaptability and relationship-building are even more important now that we see our colleagues less often.

Learning Anywhere, Anytime

Reimagining your approach to learning and development will help your organization give employees the flexibility they want now while also ensuring that you’re creating leaders for the future. Just as we all tapped into our powers of adaptability when the pandemic closed offices, we can now reinvent learning and development in ways that benefit both companies and employees.

As you make L&D plans for 2025, we invite you to explore New Lens, our leadership development platform. It focuses on the leadership capabilities that truly drive success at all levels – from strategic thinking to impactful communication to relationship building.

We help leaders develop these capabilities through a combination of:

• Practical, relevant content that can be immediately applied.

• Peer and expert coaching that reinforces learning.

• Connection with others to build lasting networks and support systems.

To learn more, visit www.newlensleadership.com or contact us at info@newlensleadership.com. 

4 Questions to Guide Your 2025 Leadership Development Strategy

As we approach 2025, developing others isn't just another item on your leadership to-do list —it's a strategic imperative: Leadership pipelines are weak. And less than one-third of employees are engaged at work, which is a red flag for problems with leadership.

The key to leadership development is to be intentional. As you plan for the coming year, take time to reflect on how you'll approach leadership development, both for your team and for yourself. Here are four questions to guide your thinking:

Image by fahribaabdullah14 from Pixabay

1. How can you make development programs and coaching more impactful?

Traditional leadership training often falls short because it's disconnected from daily work. Look for ways to integrate learning into the flow of work, whether through microlearning, action learning projects, or regular coaching conversations. The most effective programs combine content, coaching, and connection—creating opportunities for people to learn, practice, and grow together.

2. How can you extend development opportunities beyond high performers?

While it's natural to focus development resources on your "stars," limiting leadership development to a select few creates risks. You might overlook hidden talent or create engagement issues among those who feel passed over. Look for ways to make leadership development more accessible across your organization.

3. How can you help your people learn from each other?

Some of the most powerful learning happens through peer-to-peer connection. Consider how you might facilitate this through cohort learning programs, communities of practice, or structured opportunities for knowledge sharing. When people learn together, they not only gain new skills but also build relationships that strengthen your organization.

4. How will you invest in your own development?

Don’t forget about giving yourself opportunities to learn and grow! I work with a coach, but the way you invest in yourself might look different—perhaps it's pursuing a certification or carving out dedicated time for reflection and growth. The key is making it a priority.

Planning for Impact in 2025

As you consider these questions and plan for the year ahead, remember that you don't have to figure it all out alone. At Newberry Solutions, we have a unique vantage point on the leadership development trends and challenges organizations are facing. Through our work with clients across industries, we see what's working—and what isn't—as organizations adapt and evolve their approaches to developing leaders.

Whether you're looking to enhance your existing leadership development programs or build new ones, we're here to help. Our New Lens® platform and other services can be tailored to support your specific goals and challenges.

Ready to discuss how you can drive more impact from your leadership development efforts in 2025? Visit www.newlensleadership.com to learn more, or reach out to me directly to explore how we can support you.

I'd also love to hear your thoughts: Which of these questions resonates most with you? What other questions are you considering as you think about developing leaders in your organization? Share your perspective with me on LinkedIn.

The Human Skills Gap: What Leaders Need Now

A new Deloitte survey confirms what I've observed in helping top companies develop their leaders: Human skills drive career advancement and organizational success. The survey found that 87% of employees believe skills like adaptability, leadership, and communications are the key to advancing at work. Yet only about half think their companies truly value these human capabilities over technical skills.

Image by Daniel Mena from Pixabay

This disconnect between what employees need and what organizations provide mirrors what I've seen in my work. Time and again, I’ve seen talented professionals hit a ceiling because a gap in their human skills keeps them from reaching their full potential as a leader.

The Real Keys to Leadership Success

Through coaching senior executives, I've found that success hinges on capabilities that sometimes still get minimized as “soft skills.”

• Seeing the big picture and being strategic. Leaders who can zoom out, connect dots across the organization, and think strategically are invaluable. Effective leadership today requires the mental agility to understand complex systems and spot opportunities.

• Communicating with influence and impact. The Deloitte survey found that 61% of employees prioritize communication skills. Your message matters, but how you deliver it – with clarity, confidence and awareness of your audience – often matters more.

• Building relationships and networks. It's telling that teamwork and collaboration topped the list of desired skills in the Deloitte survey (65%). Success doesn’t happen in isolation. Leaders need to build authentic relationships, navigate organizational dynamics, and create strong networks.

• Developing others. The survey highlighted a concerning trend: 94% of respondents worry future generations will enter the workforce without necessary human skills. This is why coaching and developing others is so critical. Strong leaders don't just perform well themselves – they build capability in others.

Why Tech Training Alone Falls Short

The Deloitte survey revealed that about 60% of employees believe their companies focus more on immediate business needs than long-term skill development. I’ve observed the same thing. Companies sometimes get so focused on the latest technology that they lose sight of how important enduring human capabilities are.  

While both individuals and companies must adapt to new innovations, it’s notable that 70% of respondents report learning a technical skill that later became obsolete. In contrast, human skills are truly timeless. The ability to think strategically, communicate effectively, build relationships, and coach others will never go out of style.

A Better Way Forward

This research validates what led us to develop New Lens®, our leadership development platform. We built New Lens specifically to address the human skills gap, focusing on the leadership capabilities that truly drive success at all levels – from strategic thinking to impactful communication to relationship building.

We help leaders develop these capabilities through a combination of:

• Practical, relevant content that can be immediately applied.

• Peer and expert coaching that reinforces learning.

• Connection with others to build lasting networks and support systems.

Take Action

If you're concerned about the human skills gap in your organization, I invite you to explore how New Lens can help.  If you’d like an invitation to our next demo on 11/14 at 9 CT, register here: https://lu.ma/04cqige5. You can also visit www.newlensleadership.com or contact us at info@newlensleadership.com. Let's work together to build the human skills your leaders need, not just for today, but for long-term success.

Four Factors That Make Or Break A Learning Platform

We’re in the midst of a technological revolution that’s transforming leadership development. As you probably know, though, the array of high-tech options for leadership training can be overwhelming. So how can you make the best choice for your organization?

Based on user feedback from when we created our leadership development platform, my company identified four factors that make all the difference in whether a high-tech learning solution succeeds or fails at an organization:

Image by Ghasoub Alaeddin from Pixabay

1. Usability: Can employees get up and running quickly?

There’s a simple truth about learning platforms that often gets overlooked: It doesn’t matter how great the platform’s content is if your employees struggle to use it. Remember, your people are already squeezed for time and distracted. A learning platform that feels like too much work is a platform that will eventually be ignored. So as you are selecting a learning platform, keep these usability questions in mind:

• How easy is it to navigate the platform? Does using it feel intuitive?

• What kind of training—and how much training—will your employees need to use the platform? Keep in mind that they have different experiences and comfort levels with using technology. They will also have different learning styles.

• Is the platform usable on different devices? According to Deloitte, mobile-only work will rise even more over the next several years—which means that platforms that only work on computers may soon be obsolete.

2. Engagement: Do employees want to keep learning?

After ensuring that your employees can use a platform, there’s another big question to consider: Will they want to use it? To keep employees engaged in learning, a platform must be relevant to their needs. If it doesn’t teach them skills they can apply, their interest will wane quickly. Effective platforms allow for customized learning paths, and they’re designed to help learners take what they’ve learned out of the platform and into their jobs. I’m sure you already know from your own experiences that you learn the most when you turn theory into practice. That’s why my company built our learning platform on the framework of learning, reflecting and then taking action.

3. Connection: Does the platform bring employees together?

When you imagine your employees using a learning platform, do you picture them interacting individually with their computers or phones? If so, it’s time to update that mental image. Leveraging the power of high-tech learning does not mean removing the human touch from leadership development. Connection is simply too important for both helping employees learn and setting them up for success in your organization. As you select and implement a learning platform, consider how it will help you bring employees together. A few ideas:

Utilize collaborative learning.

For example, you could form cohorts of employees who work through a leadership development program at the same time and meet regularly to talk about how to apply what they’re learning in the specific context of your organization.

Incorporate sponsorship and mentorship.

Consider assigning more experienced employees to meet regularly with employees using your platform to talk with them about how what they’re learning applies in your organization.

Involve managers.

The most effective platforms enlist managers to help amplify learning and make sure that the material being taught aligns with organizational goals

4. Practicality: Can you build on what’s already working?

My company has been helping develop leaders since 2008. That means we’ve seen a lot of learning and development trends come and go. We’ve also seen too many companies obsess over having the “latest and greatest” program. Yes, your leadership development solution should incorporate up-to-date information and be relevant to today’s work environment. At the same time, though, don’t assume you have to toss out your current program and start from scratch with a high-tech solution. Instead, consider what already works for you when it comes to developing leaders and how you can build on that. Any learning platform you choose will get better results if its content aligns with your organization’s goals and values.

Technology has huge potential to address the increasing need to develop more leaders. But implementing the right solution isn’t as simple as just giving everyone a login to your new platform. By considering the four factors we’ve talked about here as you choose your learning solution, you’ll help ensure a strong return on your organization’s investment in learning technology.

This article was originally published by Neena Newberry in Forbes.

5 Factors That Weaken Your Leadership Pipeline

Have you had a chance to download our new white paper, “Transforming Leadership Development Through Technology: A Strategic Imperative”?

We created this report when we saw that today’s change-filled business environment is making it increasingly difficult to cultivate the leaders that organizations need. Only 12% of companies report confidence in their bench of prepared future leaders, according to DDI's Global Leadership Forecast 2023. 

What’s behind this crisis? Here are a few factors we’ve identified. Each is covered in more depth in the white paper. 

1.   Training Budgets Are Stretched Thin

There’s no question that leadership is valuable. But that value can come at a hefty cost. Executive coaching can run from $200 to $3,500 an hour, and the average length of a coaching engagement is nine months. Bringing a leadership trainer in for a class of 15-20 people also has a daily price tag in the thousands of dollars.

2.   Potential Leaders Get Overlooked

Because of those budget realities, organizations tend to limit leadership development to high performers and high potentials. That means we’re missing out on the skills and talents of countless other potential leaders.

3.   Employees Say They’re Too Busy

Time also gets in the way of leadership development. For busy professionals, finding room for training in their packed schedules is a tall order. In one survey, employees said they have only about 24 minutes for learning during a 40-hour week. That’s no surprise when we consider that 55% of workers say their jobs have gotten more intense and demanding.

4.   Distractions Take a Toll

But a lack of time isn’t the full story. Even if an employee manages to set aside an hour to take an online course, they may have trouble focusing on it for long. The average amount of time that people spend on any single event before being interrupted or task switching is about three minutes. Our attention spans are taking a beating: The average time we can pay attention to one screen is 47 seconds.

5.   The Forgetting Curve Is Real

Leadership development isn’t just about what employees learn. It’s about what they retain. You’ve probably heard about the “forgetting curve”: A week after training, those busy, distracted employees we’ve been talking about will remember only about 10% of what they learned. Why does this happen? Info just doesn’t stick in our minds if it’s not relevant to us or we can’t use it immediately.

Transform Your Approach to Leadership Development

If these problems are affecting leadership development at your organization, our white paper can be your roadmap to solving them and building a stronger leadership pipeline. In it, you’ll learn how technology now enables to do some pretty cool things:

• Create training that makes a real difference in just a few minutes.

• Make learning and development happen every day.

• Expand access to leadership development.

To learn more, get your free copy of “Transforming Leadership Development Through Technology: A Strategic Imperative.” We’re excited about all the possibilities that the tech revolution in L&D creates. And we think you will be, too. Check out our white paper, and then join the conversation about it on LinkedIn.

Bite-size learning can fill employees' craving for development

As someone in the leadership development space for over 15 years, I’ve seen a big gap emerge between how much employees want (and need) to learn on the job and how much they’re able. I believe the solution to this problem will come from thinking small—at least in leadership development content—to bite-size learning.

Image by reallywellmadedesks from Pixabay

The desire to learn isn’t the problem 

One reason I love my work is that I get to fulfill employees’ desires to learn and evolve professionally. In one survey, more than nine of 10 respondents said learning opportunities would motivate them to stay with their employers longer. About the same number believe that learning and development increase engagement. Meanwhile, HR executives say they are feeling the pressure to provide more training 

That pressure isn’t just coming from employees, though.  Executives are losing sleep over whether their employees have the skills and potential to become their organization’s future leaders. 

So if executives believe employees need more development, and employees want to learn more themselves, what’s the problem? 

Too little time, too many distractions 

First, we’re all squeezed for time these days. More than half of workers say their jobs have gotten more intense and demanding. We already recognize that overstuffed schedules lead to burnout. But they also take a toll on learning and development. Over 40% of employees lack time for training and education. Another study found that employees have an average of 24 minutes to spend learning during an average workweek. 

And those minutes probably don’t all come at the same time. We’re only able to spend an average of three minutes on any task before being interrupted or switching to do something else. 

While we joke about our goldfish-like attention spans these days, the reality isn’t funny. Typically, we can only pay attention to one screen for 47 seconds at a time. 

It’s hard to think about taking even a half-day away from work for leadership development in this kind of work environment.

Teach in the way people learn 

When my company was developing New Lens, our own learning platform, we knew we had to design it for busy, distracted users. Our embrace of micro-learning content is part of a larger trend.    

“We have to teach in the way people learn,” leading analyst Josh Bersin says. “People want engaging, bite-size learning that is integrated into everyday work. Twenty minutes feels too long in this day and age. Focus on content that is two to seven minutes long.” 

Priyanka Mitra of the research firm Everest Group is another advocate for “bite-size” learning: “This less-is-more approach often aligns well with the modern learner, who grapples with shorter attention spans and limited time availability.” 

Today’s technology makes it possible for training and development to be available wherever and whenever we can engage with it. Imagine a busy professional who wants to build her leadership skills, but who can’t find room on her calendar for a full-day, offsite development class. However, the same professional has a few minutes between meetings each week she can use to complete lessons on her phone. 

When bite-size learning is better 

It’s important to note that bite-size development content isn’t just a response to our harried schedules. In some situations, shorter, more accessible material is actually a more effective way to learn. 

As you’ve probably experienced yourself, knowledge is easier to retain when you can put it into practice. Let’s imagine two employees, Carmen and Vanessa, who want to get better at leading productive meetings. 

Carmen attends a daylong offsite event that’s packed with information. Vanessa uses a learning platform that delivers five- to seven-minute lessons and that she can access from any of her devices. While the offsite event provides useful advice on meetings, the pace of the training makes it hard for Carmen to remember every point. Back on the job, it’s a pain to dig through the materials to find the relevant information when she needs it. 

But with the learning platform on her phone, Vanessa can easily access relevant information when she needs it—for example, when she’s creating a meeting agenda—and view the material as many times as she needs to for retention. 

“Where bite-size learning excels is that it recreates the ‘spacing’ that learners need because it’s designed to be returned to again and again,” says Ryan Chynces, senior manager of online education at Hootsuite. “(T)he learner’s effort of going back and retrieving that material makes it easier for them to recall it later down the line.” 

Longer-format forms of leadership development are not going away. And, as an experienced executive, consultant, and leadership development expert, I don’t want them to. But I’m also excited about the different forms that learning can take today. By embracing bite-size learning alongside traditional methods, we can create a more flexible, accessible, and effective approach that better serves both organizations and employees. 

This article was originally published by Neena Newberry in Fast Company.

Don’t just spend big bucks on training. This is how leadership development can happen every day

Take a moment to think about the last leadership development experience you or your team had. How much really changed afterward? 

All too often, the answer to that question is “Not much.” 

Photo by Bakr Magrabi from Pexels

Companies spend a lot on leadership development—more than $80 billion annually. But they’re feeling some doubts about the ROI. Just 15% of L&D professionals rate their organization’s programs as highly effective. And only about a quarter of companies say their leadership development training is valuable and up-to-date. 

As someone who’s worked in this space a long time, I hate hearing figures like these, because they represent missed opportunities. I can tell you firsthand that when leadership development training does work, it delivers payoffs in employee engagement, retention, productivity, performance, and well-being. 

But amid all the options, how do you choose one that will create real change in your organization? Here are a few things to keep in mind. 

Look beyond the surface 

When researchers interviewed HR executives about how they select leadership development programs, most said they were influenced by factors that ultimately are superficial, such as a snazzy website or charismatic instructors. 

Both of those things are great to have, of course. But they shouldn’t be the main influences on your decision. All the bells and whistles in the world won’t make much of a difference if the program doesn’t address the needs of your organization’s leaders with relevant content that’s delivered effectively.

Expand access to development 

For a long time, we’ve thought that the ROI of leadership development depends on choosing the “right” people (high performers and high potentials) to take part. But that thinking is now dated. As companies flatten their hierarchies and worry over the state of their leadership pipelines, it’s clear that we need more leaders, not fewer. And providing leadership development to more of your people can help identify more of those future leaders. Another way to think about this is to consider what an employee has the potential to do—not just what they’ve already done—when deciding who gets leadership development. 

Right now, you may think all of this sounds good, but what about your (probably shrinking) training budget? I don’t want to minimize this concern, but I am also heartened by the rapid innovation in L&D technology that can help make leadership development more affordable and scalable. 

Bring learning into everyday work 

Think about the important lessons that have really stuck with you in your own life. I’m betting you learned those lessons through experiences, not just reading a textbook, listening to a talk, or watching a video. Leadership development works the same way. Choose programs that provide practical experience in using new skills. If you already have a leadership development program, look for ways to integrate the content into employees’ daily experiences. For example, managers and reports could talk about topics from the program in their one-on-ones. 

Promoting “growth in the flow of work” is one of the most important things you can do to ensure your leadership development programs make a real impact. Companies that take this approach are four times more likely to be successful innovators and more than five times more likely to engage and retain employees. 

Combine learning with connection 

One of my favorite ways to magnify the impact of leadership development training is by making learning a group pursuit instead of a solo one. During my experiences facilitating and coaching employee groups, I’ve seen participants feel more accountability around implementing what they are learning. 

A group approach can also increase the relevance of training. For example, a newer employee might not know how to apply a lesson from the program in your organization. A more experienced colleague can help that employee understand the connection between what they’re learning and your company’s business goals. 

I hope these ideas will take some of the overwhelm out of choosing leadership development programs and help you obtain a stronger return on your investment. As you explore the options, look beyond the surface to find a solution that aligns with your culture, challenges, and goals. Your leaders—and your company’s future—are worth the effort. 

This article was originally published by Neena Newberry in Fast Company.

A Surprising Secret To Leadership Development

When my company recently hosted a webinar on leadership development, I asked several polling questions to make sure I was addressing attendees' key concerns. One question asked attendees to choose their current top priority in their development programs: content, coaching, connection or something else. The big winner? Connection.

Photo by Anna Shvets

Connection Is Key

Surprised? That response actually tracks with what I’m seeing as I work with corporate clients. Leadership today requires a greater focus on collaboration and relationships. Positive connections at work have been shown to make employees happier and more engaged. (With employee engagement at an 11-year low, that’s a pretty big deal.) At the same time, though, the rise of remote and hybrid work is adding an extra level of challenge to creating strong workplace cultures and a sense of community.

While connection is definitely on the radar of most leaders, the potential of leadership development programs to create that connection often is not. But I've found that bringing employees together doesn’t just enhance learning; it also helps them build lasting relationships that support their success and the organization’s.

If you’re involved in selecting a new leadership development program for your company, or even updating your current one, consider how the program fosters the types of connections I've listed below. As my own company developed our digital platform, this was a key consideration in the design, and it has made a big difference in its adoption and employee engagement.

Employee-Peer Relationships

I’m starting here because the value of healthy peer relationships often gets overlooked. If members of a team rarely work in person, or if everyone tends to keep their head down when they are together, leadership development might be one of the rare chances they have to get to know each other outside of their daily routines.

A good training program can help your employees better appreciate each other’s value and understand each other’s perspectives. It can also help employees feel invested in each other’s success, which increases accountability. You could even build peer-to-peer learning into your leadership development program, which helps disseminate best practices, break down silos and stretch your training budget.

Employee-Manager Relationships

When an employee takes part in a leadership training program, that doesn’t mean their development is off their manager's plate. Look for training options that involve managers in their team members’ growth. For example, the employee could have regular check-ins with their manager about goals they set in their leadership development program. Or the manager could help ensure employees get real-world opportunities to use the new skills they’re learning.

Any leadership development program you implement should also align with your organization’s approach to helping employees grow. In other words, don’t select a program that’s at odds with how you train managers to coach employees.

Employee-Executive Relationships

With the rise of hybrid work, there’s a risk of employees’ worlds becoming too small. We all have a lot fewer chances to strike up impromptu conversations in the hallway. Employees may lose sight of the bigger picture beyond their own team. On top of that, they may be missing out on opportunities to interact with the higher-level leaders who make decisions about their advancement.

Effective leadership development programs can restore some of those opportunities. For example, as part of the program, participants could be assigned a special project that they present to higher-ranking leaders. Even better? Build mentorship and sponsorship into your development programs. These key relationships can make all the difference in whether an employee achieves their career goals—and whether your organization will benefit from all they can bring to the table.

Employee-Company Relationships

This is another kind of relationship that often gets overlooked, but employees want to feel a connection with their organizations. Just as they do in their interactions with other people, they want to sense that their company values them, hears them and treats them with respect.

Investing in leadership development can deepen the loyalty your employees feel to your organization, which, in turn, affects engagement and retention. Research by LinkedIn has found that almost all employees would stay longer at an organization that cares about helping them learn and grow.

Ultimately, the secret to effective leadership development lies in its ability to strengthen the bonds that drive organizational success. By selecting programs that prioritize connection, companies can unlock the full potential of their workforce.

This article was originally published by Forbes.

Reflecting on a Busy 2024

As you read this, I’m in Las Vegas for the Ascend Convention. I’m so excited to speak to this group that supports and develops leaders from the AAPI community. I’m also feeling gratitude for all of the milestones and memorable moments so far in 2024.  

If you’re a regular reader here, you know that I always advocate taking a moment to slow down, reflect and celebrate your successes. So that’s what I want to do today. I hope you’ll also consider sharing your big moments of 2024 in our LinkedIn community. Let’s share some virtual high fives!

Image by Annette Meyer from Pixabay

New Lens® Updates

Our New Lens learning platform continues to evolve. We just released some new features in response to client suggestions and we’ve totally updated the content for the Build Leadership Courage and Resilience core strategy. We’re getting consistently positive feedback from our client companies about how New Lens is making an impact for them — and nothing makes us happier! If your organization needs a scalable and affordable leadership development solution, you can set up a demo to learn more about New Lens.

Our Contributions to Forbes and Fast Company

A big part of our mission is expanding access to the leadership development strategies that have helped 75% of our clients get promoted. One way we do that is through regular contributions to Forbes and Fast Company. If you’ve missed any of our 2024 articles, here’s a quick roundup:

• Onboarding New Hires? Don’t Forget These 3 Key Things

• 18 Major Succession Planning Mistakes Organizations Make

• What’s Wrong With Leadership Development (And 5 Ways To Fix It)

• 17 Ways Leaders Can Determine The Best Method To Train A New Manager

• 19 Graceful Ways To Ensure Recognition For Professional Contributions

• 19 Tell-Tale Signs It’s Workaholism, Not High Performance

• Companies spend more than $60 billion on leadership annually. This is what they still get wrong.

• Why every employee deserves to get leadership development

•  Busy, high-stress routines are killing your ability to succeed. Try these three reflections to get back on track..

If you missed my interview for the “Negotiate Anything” podcast with Kwame Christian, check it out. Listen for some advice on authentic self-advocacy as a strategy for getting promoted, or read highlights of our conversation in Kwame’s article for Forbes.

Thought Leadership

• We’ve been busy here creating resources to better serve your needs. Our white paper "3 Key Challenges for Managers" was inspired by a clear trend we’ve seen emerge: Managers are more important than ever to organizations. But they’re also at high risk of burnout and disengagement.

• I also want to celebrate our New Lens Webinar Series. If you didn’t catch “The 5 Barriers to Leadership Development (and What Companies Can Do About Them” with Yana Melnikova of PepsiCo, it’s available now.

Honors and Recognition

• We are still basking in the glow of burnt orange! Newberry Solutions was honored with the #67 spot on The Longhorn 100, which recognizes the top 100 fastest-growing The University of Texas at Austin Longhorn-led companies in the world.

• One more honor with some Lone Star flare: I was named to the list of Top 50 Women Leaders in Texas for 2024 by Women We Admire, a professional women’s network.

 Speaking Engagements

• As an advocate for women, I loved speaking again at the D CEO Women's Leadership Symposium. There was such incredible energy in the room as we talked about topics like ambition, networking and career transitions. I spoke during the opening panel discussion, “Empowering Women: Overcoming Obstacles and Adapting to a New Era of Opportunity.” 

• I was also part of a panel discussion presented by ICF North Texas Charter Chapter. The topic was “Inquiring Minds Want to Know: Insights from Master Certified Coaches.”

•  For International Women’s Day, I delivered a keynote for the India Association of North Texas. Top takeaway: Notice the value of your own experiences and own and amplify what makes you unique.

Interested in having me speak? You can learn more on my website.

Other Notable Updates

• I’m excited to be admitted as a new member of The Dallas Assembly, which has a powerful mission and impressive members (business, civic, nonprofit) that align with it. 

• Parlez-vous français? My French improved after an incredible trip to Paris with 40 fellow members of the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas Tocqueville Society — philanthropists, leaders and changemakers. We were hosted by descendants of the Tocqueville family, and the trip included carefully curated experiences to foster relationships, learn from each other, share ideas on how to amplify philanthropy, and discuss challenges to democracy.

• What a thrill it was to help kick off the Emerging Women Leaders Network, a new professional development program from D CEO.

• This year’s Orchid Giving Circle POWER Leadership Forum brought together an incredible group of women. It's been so rewarding to serve on the Planning Committee since the inception of POWER four years ago.

• I’m also proud to be on the board of Texas Women’s Foundation, which hosted a Leadership Forum & Award Celebration featuring journalist Deborah Roberts as keynote.

• I’m also joining the board of Big Thought, which is making a huge difference for youth in our community.

• As always, serving as a mentor for the Dallas Business Journal's Mentoring Monday was a blast. It’s amazing how much advice you can pack into seven-minute sessions. And it’s always fun to see women in the community that I admire who are taking time out of their busy schedules to mentor others. 

• I was excited to be back at Deloitte for the Ascend North Texas ERG Forum and a discussion on the Power of Allyship. Thanks to all the speakers for investing your time for and to Deloitte for hosting the event.

What’s Coming Up

Our schedule is just as exciting for the second half of 2024:

• I’m moving my son to college in a couple of weeks, and am so proud of him!

• Keep an eye out for our next webinar on September 13, 2024 and white paper.

• I have an upcoming major media appearance I can’t wait to tell you more about!

Amid all the busyness, I’m keeping in mind my theme word for 2024: Joy. I feel joy when I look back on these milestones, think about our incredible team, and dedicated people coming together to make a difference for others. 

Here’s to more joy and success in the rest of 2024!

What Companies Still Get Wrong About Leadership Development

I get it: Choosing a leadership development program isn’t easy. On one hand, you know that leadership training is important to employees—more than half of them want this kind of development. On the other hand, though, it can come with a hefty price: Companies spend more than $60 billion on leadership development annually. 

Over more than 15 years of running a leadership development company, I’ve identified some mistakes that executives and HR leaders consistently make when faced with this high-stakes decision. Why do these mistakes keep happening? I believe it’s because these decision-makers assume that the same kinds of leadership development that worked in the past will work today.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

But as the demands on leaders keep increasing, organizations can’t simply fall back on “the way we’ve always done it.” If you are involved in choosing leadership development for your company, here are five missteps to avoid. 

Focusing Only on the Content

A successful leadership development program doesn’t just require a solid curriculum. It must also include plenty of connection and collaboration. Participants need the time and space to discuss the program’s material and the specific challenges and opportunities of applying it within your organization. These discussions also enable participants to form new relationships or deepen old ones. Relationship-building has always been important, of course, but it’s even more crucial today as the complex challenges organizations face require more collaborative leadership. 

Limiting Development to Your Stars

Many people assume that leadership development programs should target an elite group. But that approach limits a program’s effectiveness. My company’s goal is overcoming what Navio Kwok and Winny Shen call the “leadership development paradox.” As organizations keep providing more development for the very people who need it the least, other employees get left by the wayside. While companies might think that they can afford to develop only a select few high performers or high potentials, I believe that developing more leaders is actually more cost-efficient in the long run because it strengthens your leadership pipeline, a major concern for many organizations. 

Getting Distracted by What’s Shiny and New

I’ve seen a lot of trends come and go. I’ve also seen too many companies obsess over having the “latest and greatest” program. Of course, leadership development should incorporate emerging knowledge and research and adapt to our changing work environment. At the same time, though, don’t assume you have to toss out your current program and start from scratch. Instead, think about what’s already working for you in leadership and development and consider whether you can build on that. 

Assuming Everyone Has to Be in the Same Place 

When you think about leadership development, do you picture participants all gathered in the same conference room or at an offsite? At many organizations, bringing people physically together for training has gotten a lot trickier. According to surveys by Gallup, only 20% of employees who can perform their jobs remotely are working entirely onsite.

The good news is that leadership development doesn’t have to be in person to be effective. At my company, we discovered this firsthand during the pandemic. Organizations realized they couldn’t delay important training until things got “back to normal” because we simply didn’t know when that would be. As a result, learning technology took a huge leap forward. Today, I’m seeing companies conduct successful leadership development programs in person, remotely, and in hybrid formats. 

Forgetting About the ‘Real World’

Have you ever received training that seemed transformative in the moment, but that you never ended up using on the job? This is all too common. Some leadership development programs have awesome content but not enough emphasis on everyday application. I’ve embraced what analyst Josh Bersin calls “growth in the flow of work.” In other words, learning doesn’t have to happen just at designated events or classes.

Instead, it can be a part of every single day. Yana Melnikova, talent management & organizational development leader at PepsiCo, made a similar point when I interviewed her for a recent webinar.  “Everybody knows that 70% of development happens on the job,” Yana said. “At the same time, this is where the majority of companies fail the most.” Don’t be one of those companies! Ensure that any leadership training program you choose takes learning beyond theory and into practice. 

By avoiding these common missteps, you can implement leadership development programs that empower your organization and your people to navigate challenges and seize opportunities for the future.

This article was originally published by Fast Company.

Why Every Employee Deserves to Get Leadership Development

There’s a lot of talk in business today about the importance of demonstrating leadership at every level. Yet, many organizations still play it safe, earmarking far more leadership development opportunities for designated “high potentials.” This strategy might seem efficient, but if you want your team to win a race, wouldn’t you want every runner to have a shot at being first? Let’s talk about why opening up leadership development is a must-have for businesses that are in it to win it for the long haul. 

Photo by Christina Morillo

The Leadership Development Gap Is More Common Than You Think

Imagine this: A company invests heavily in developing a select group of employees deemed leadership material. This approach has its merits but also a glaring flaw—it overlooks a wealth of potential among the ranks. Like finding hidden gems in your backyard, broadening the scope of leadership development can uncover talent that can drive your business forward. 

Have you heard of the leadership development paradox? As identified by Navio Kwok and Winny Shen in the Harvard Business Review, it’s when those who are already excelling get all the development attention, while the rest, potentially equally capable, wait on the sidelines. This selective investment is a missed opportunity, limiting individual growth and narrowing the organization’s vision of what leadership looks like. 

Diversity in leadership is a business imperative

Think back to the last time you were surprised by an employee’s insight or problem-solving ability. These moments are golden, but we often fail to turn them into bigger opportunities for the business and the individual. By making leadership development more widely accessible, we’re giving more employees the chance to have a bigger impact and shine. And we’re also providing our businesses with a robust, diverse leadership pipeline ready to tackle future challenges. 

Diversity in leadership isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a business imperative. Different perspectives lead to better decisions, more innovation, and a stronger connection with a diverse customer base. And yet, despite knowing this, many companies haven’t changed their leadership development model. It’s time to break the cycle. 

Strategies to Make Leadership Development Work on a Tight Budget

So, how do we shift gears? How do we think more broadly about leadership development and who gets access to it and make this work on a tight budget? First, by recognizing that leadership potential isn’t confined to traditional markers like seniority or current job title. It’s about the ability to inspire, innovate, and navigate challenges—qualities that can be found across the organizational chart. 

Thanks to technology, tools now exist that can be immensely helpful for strengthening leadership pipelines. When evaluating them, make sure they offer the following key strategies: 

• Accessibility: To strengthen the leadership pipeline, we must open leadership development up to more people—while both satisfying individual needs and addressing tight schedules and company budgets. The number of leaders who have retired or switched companies has created more urgency than ever around this. Another contributor to the growing leadership gap is the changing nature of work and the different skill sets it demands. It’s high time that companies fill the pipeline. 

• Mentorship and sponsorship: These are not just tools for individual growth but powerful strategies for organizational development. They create a culture where knowledge and experience are shared freely, opening doors for many to step into leadership roles. 

• Real-world learning: Lastly, let’s ensure that leadership experiences are part of the job, not just an occasional retreat, workshop, or training class. When employees at all levels are given the chance to lead projects, tackle real-world problems, and learn from the outcomes, they’re being trained—and also transformed. 

Yes, expanding access to leadership development creates more fairness and equity—but it’s also about ensuring our organizations are as dynamic, innovative, and resilient as the markets in which we operate. By embracing a broader vision of leadership, we can unlock a world of potential that’s been waiting in the wings, ready to take our companies into the future. 

As we look ahead, let’s challenge ourselves to rethink what leadership development looks like. It’s not just about selecting a few for the fast track; it’s about recognizing and nurturing the leadership potential in everyone. After all, in the unpredictable race of business, your organization has a better chance of winning when everyone is set up to reach the finish line. 

This article was originally published by Fast Company

What’s Wrong With Leadership Development (And 5 Ways To Fix It)

As an executive coach and founder of a leadership development learning platform, I thrive on seeing our clients achieve lasting change. Unfortunately, not all organizations see positive outcomes from their leadership development programs, despite the global market exceeding $81 billion a year.

Post-pandemic, it's clear that this investment often fails to deliver expected results. So what's the issue, and more importantly, how can we solve it?

Image by fahribaabdullah14 from Pixabay

Too Many Leaders Aren’t Prepared

One of the biggest red flags about leadership development I’ve seen recently comes from the Josh Bersin Company. Their two-year study of corporate leadership programs found that just one out of four companies believes their leadership training efforts are delivering high value. Additionally, only 24% of companies say their development model is relevant and up-to-date. This is alarming—and also not an outlier.

You don’t have to look far to find other indicators that leadership development programs are falling short. I’ve seen in my own work that far too many managers are promoted not because they’re ready to lead, but because there’s an operational need. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), an international HR association based in London, calls managers who have not had formal leadership training "accidental managers."

It gets worse. CIPD also found that these ill-prepared managers are driving employees away—specifically, one in three employees who quit. And 84% of respondents in a study by the Society for Human Resource Management said poorly trained managers create stress and extra work. Might this help explain why less than one-third of U.S. employees feel they are engaged at work?

I believe that a lack of training and preparation for leadership roles is also damaging managers’ mental health—to devastating effect regarding their performance. More than half of managers feel burned out. It’s time for this to change.

5 Key Steps For Change

Clearly, the leadership development industry as a whole needs a shakedown. We must rethink how we approach our work. That imperative has been top-of-mind for both me and my company as we have responded to pandemic-driven changes in the business environment while simultaneously developing our own leadership development platform. Here are five of our key learnings, based on both our own experiences and current research:

1. Mental health comes first.

Even before leadership development, prioritize enhancing your managers’ well-being. No training program can be truly effective if the participants are at their breaking point with stress, fatigue and burnout.

2. Expand access to leadership development.

As Josh Bersin puts it: "Leadership is now everyone’s job. The new employee or first-line manager who’s leading a project to save money or analyze the sales team is now a leader. What education, training and perspectives have you given this person?"

When only a few employees get access to leadership development, your organization misses out on what others could potentially contribute. Even small improvements across a larger number of employees can have a big impact.

3. Increase the relevance of training.

Leadership development is not "one size fits all." You can’t just throw a huge online content library at your employees and expect them to figure out what they need. Instead, look for programs you can customize according to both organizational goals and your employees’ needs.

4. Leverage the power of connection.

Your employees have so much wisdom to share with each other, but mentorship, sponsorship and peer learning are all underutilized tools when it comes to leadership development. As a bonus, such programs also strengthen connections that may have frayed during the shift to hybrid work.

5. Build learning into every day.

Most of us have had the experience of going to a development workshop or event, learning things we’re excited about—but then never putting that knowledge into action. Studies have found that if we don’t apply what we’ve learned within a day or two, then we’ll forget most of it. It’s more effective to take even a little time every day to learn and then start trying out that new knowledge right away.

Final Thoughts

I’ll end with a call to action. Think about the current state of leadership at your own organization. What’s happening with your leadership development programs? And how effective are your managers and leaders?

Now, more than ever, companies must invest wisely in their leaders and empower them to drive meaningful change in the ever-evolving business landscape. The future depends on it.

This article originally appeared on Forbes.com. To read more of my contributions to Forbes Coaches Council, click here.

Why Leadership Development Programs Must Teach Networking

During Newberry Solutions’ webinar this month, Yana Melnikova at PepsiCo and I talked about the importance of opening up leadership development to more people, beyond high potentials and high performers. 

But it’s not just about who you include; it’s also about the foundational leadership skills that you help them learn. This raises a vital question: To transform potential into performance, what skills should your leadership development program teach?

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This question was top of mind for us as we developed our New Lens® learning platform. Based on years of experience working with top companies, we identified the biggest levers of high performance. In other words, these are the skills that we have consistently seen have the biggest impact on business results and increasing employee readiness for roles at the next level. One of those skills that often gets discussed but not ineffectively integrated into leadership development programs is building a powerful network.

Results and Relationships 

Too many people put networking on the back burner or think of it as something to squeeze in outside of their “real work.” In fact, I would wager that there are employees at your organization who are talented and hardworking, but who are not considered future leaders because they keep their heads down and believe their work should speak for itself.

Of course, results are important. But leadership isn’t just about individual competencies; it’s also the ability to get things done with and through others. Especially as an employee moves up the leadership ranks, their effectiveness depends on their relationships — with their direct reports, with their boss, with higher-level leaders, with their peers and with colleagues in other departments. That’s why a great leadership development program must set the stage for relationship building.

Ways to Encourage Networking

So how can a leadership development program help your employees build a network that will help them both drive results and advance their careers? Here are a few ideas:

• Teach networking strategies. Many people mistakenly believe that only extroverts can be good at networking. The reality, though, is that anyone can learn best practices that can help them get better at building relationships. For example, I always show my coaching clients how to identify the most critical relationships to success in their role, specific business goals or projects.

• Incorporate mentorship and sponsorship. Mentors can serve as role models for leadership development program participants, providing advice and perspective to help them develop their skills and navigate challenging situations. Sponsors, on the other hand, have clout and yield considerable influence on key decision-makers. Sponsors also give program participants critical exposure to opportunities and visibility to other influential leaders, and advocate on their behalf. While employees can establish these relationships on their own, mentorships and sponsorships are more effective when they’re part of a formal program.

• Utilize collaborative learning. One of the most overlooked but most impactful relationships are peer-to-peer. Integrate collaborative learning to foster employees sharing their knowledge and expertise, help each other navigate through challenging situations, and increase self-awareness.  Combining collaborative learning with high-quality content can even further accelerate results. We’ve already seen the power of this with New Lens, which takes the power of bite-sized lessons on foundational leadership skills and then enables deeper discussion and learning with a cohort. Not only does this accelerate learning; it strengthens workplace relationships that have become harder to build or maintain in this world of hybrid work.

How is your organization helping employees build the relationships they need for success? If you would like to learn more about how New Lens can help build networking skills (or critical leadership skills necessary for every level), check out a preview of sample content and schedule a demo.

Are You Developing Enough Leaders?

One of the biggest things we’ve learned from the pandemic and the other challenges of the past few years, is that we all need to lead today. Leadership skills are critical at every level. But, in too many organizations, leadership development programs are still reserved primarily for employees already identified as “HiPo’s” – high-potential and high-performing employees. In other words, the employees who receive the most leadership development are the very ones who need it the least because there performance is already strong. In an influential article for Harvard Business Review, professors Navio Kwok and Winny Shen call this phenomenon “the leadership development paradox.” In the long-term, this approach affects the quality, diversity, and size of an organization’s pipeline of leaders. But we can address it by providing leadership training opportunities to a wider array of employees.

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

How Strong Is Your Leadership Pipeline?

When a company decides whether to invest in leadership development for an employee, they directly shape that employee’s career path. Employees who receive leadership development are more likely to be promoted to senior level, high-exposure roles. Meanwhile, employees outside of that high-potential group are more likely to stay at their current performance level or even get worse — because they’re getting less access to the leadership development programs that could help them improve as well as opportunities for career advancement.                       

When only a select group of employees gets greater access to leadership development, organizations miss out on what others could potentially contribute. Although budget is a key consideration, can we afford to do this? Even small improvements across a broader population can have a big impact on overall company performance and cultivate a sustainable culture of growth and innovation.

According to DDI’s Global Leadership Forecast 2023, CEOs are already worried about how to develop the next generation of leaders — and only 12% of companies are confident that they have a strong bench of leaders who are prepared to step into key roles.

As a firm with a niche focused on developing women leaders, we’re also concerned about how the leadership development paradox may disproportionately affect women. Ambition has increased, as shown in the McKinsey/LeanIn.org Women in the Workplace 2023 report, which  found that eight out of 10 women want to get promoted. The numbers are even higher for women younger than 30 and women of color (93% and 88%, respectively).

However, the report also found that women are still under-represented at every level of leadership. They’re less likely to get that first promotion to manager than men are. (And the gap is even bigger for women of color.) With fewer women than men rising through the ranks, it only makes sense that fewer women reach the highest levels of leadership.

How to Develop More Leaders

To fix the leadership pipeline, we must offer leadership development more broadly — but in a way that satisfies each individual’s needs while addressing tight schedules and company budgets. 

We embedded those principles into our New Lens® learning platform, added the same expertise we’ve used to help 75% of our clients get promoted, and packaged it all into bite-sized lessons and collaborative learning that employees can easily fit into their days.

Beyond considering something like New Lens, use these strategies to strengthen your leadership pipeline:

• Rethink how you identify potential leaders. DDI recommends using digital assessments to identify hidden talent.  They explain that “leaders may not recognize potential if it doesn’t align with what leadership has traditionally looked like in the organization,” adding that in remote or hybrid environments, some leadership skills may be overlooked.

• Tap into your internal expertise. How are you making the most of the vast knowledge your people can share with each other? Mentorship and sponsorship are surprisingly underused tools for cultivating future leaders. Also look for opportunities to use peer-to-peer cross-training to build relationships and leadership skills.

• Make key experiences more accessible. It’s common for organizations to have roles that are seen as a springboard to higher leadership positions. Is your organization inadvertently funneling only certain groups to these jobs? For example, are women pushed toward marketing and HR vs. operations?

Your organization can unlock limitless potential by investing in more leadership development opportunities for your employees. We live and breathe these issues with our Fortune 500 clients. So, as you consider your company’s short and long-term development needs, schedule a call with us. We would be happy to discuss how you can strengthen your pipeline of talent by unleashing more employees’ potential.