Future of developing leaders…it’s here

DCATD Leadership Development CoP had a GREAT discussion Wednesday evening (1/26). THANKS to all participants and panelists Sharron Dean (USAFA), Brandon Guzzone (PSI), David Rude (Parallax), and Jason Stanis (Ignyte). Themes to design towards emerged.

• If companies put PEOPLE first, care for and develop them, results and retention follow.
• Leader development is integral to the business of leading; it has to start from the day employees ‘walk in the door’.
• Technology is a tool not an end. Real trust on which teams thrive still requires an element of ‘live, person to person’ interaction.

Panelists shared insights to help learning leaders and leadership development practitioners alike. ‘Pay attention now’ takeaways that particularly resonated with participants covered:

TOOLS – Speed matters in workplaces. Innovative tools (e.g., Appian) are democratizing problem-solving, “empowering individuals to get in the sandbox and build solutions”. (Jason Stanis)

PEOPLE – Human interaction, skills of emotional intelligence, constitute the crux. “First the who, then the what” has to drive thinking of organizational practitioners and policy-makers alike. (David Rude)

CONFLICT – Tension can be productive. The shift towards ‘hybrid’ from fully remote is likely to engender stresses. Learning leaders “need to capitalize on or get ahead of conflict”. (Brandon Guzzone]

FUTURE – It’s here. Physical blurring of ‘home’ and ‘office’ brings real force to the idea that ‘the whole person comes to work’. Successful leaders are pivoting into this and “let go of what was” to engage all. (Sharron Dean)