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.

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.

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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.

Put Your Wisdom to Work

I’ve noticed a theme that keeps emerging with my clients and others I meet. I’ve talked at length with several people about the importance of thinking big—and beyond our selves. In the midst of day-to-day life, it can be easy to forget how many people have helped us along the way, personally and professionally, and how much we have to offer.

So, instead of writing a full article on this subject, I want to challenge you to think about how you will put the power of your knowledge and wisdom to work to help someone else.

Take a look at the four questions below to get your wheels turning.

1. Who do you see struggling that could use your support?

2. Who do you see repeating the same mistakes because no one will give them the feedback they need to break the cycle?

3. Who could benefit from your influence, perspective, expertise or contacts?

4. What have you been excited about getting involved in that you just haven’t taken action on

So, before you dive back into your day, identify one thing you will do this week to pay it forward, leveraging your unique value and perspective. You might be surprised at how much you get from the experience.