Succession Sprint: A Mutual Win If "succession planning" in your organization feels like a once-a-year ritual where leaders dust off last year's slide deck and argue about what "ready" looks like...congratulations. You're not alone. And I'm willing to bet you're also not alone in wanting to make the process more insightful and more effective! You don't need a new 9-box to make this happen...you need momentum. Enter the Succession Sprint - a short, structured burst of work (think "agile...
11 days ago • 4 min read
Successor Readiness in the FLOW Let's be honest: most succession planning still lives in a spreadsheet, an annual talent review, or a meeting that leaders claim is strategic...but often isn't. Meanwhile, the work keeps moving. Priorities shift. Leaders (including those high-performing successor candidates) burn out. High potentials wait - sometimes too long - for real, growth-focused development. The answer isn't a bigger process or another tab on the spreadsheet. It's embedding your...
18 days ago • 2 min read
5 Questions to Include in a Talent Review Conversation* *Because "Where do they land on the 9-box?" isn't a strategy. Talent review season has a funny way of turning Talent leaders into amateur courtroom attorneys. We debate performance. We question potential. We split hairs over readiness. And too often, we walk out of the room with a dot on a tired 9-box and very little momentum. The best talent reviews I've participated in haven't relied solely on performance review metrics. They are...
25 days ago • 3 min read
Outstanding T(B)D Professional Michelle with friends from the ATD National Advisors for Chapters (NAC) So, a thing happened last week. I was named the 2026 Outstanding Talent Development Professional by the Association for Talent Development (ATD) at the ATD International Conference & Expo in Los Angeles. This distinction has me in a very reflective place as I think about the years of my career. The successes and challenges I've experienced and the people with whom I've collaborated...good...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Agency is Your Defining Capability If you're a midlevel HR/Talent leader and have your eye on a future Chief People Officer role, you must move from being developed to developing yourself, and from executing people strategy to owning enterprise impact. This shift is a key factor that separates people who eventually make it into the C-suite from those who remain strong functional leaders. This shift requires agency. Not ambition. Not tenure. Not technical HR expertise. Not being the loudest...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Get Your Talent Development House in Order I looked at the calendar the other day and was still amazed that it's 2026 - over a quarter of the 21st century is behind us, and we're officially in the second half of this decade. If you're leading Talent Development right now, here's the uncomfortable truth: 2030 is already knocking. 2030. What the what? Baby Boomer (and elder Xer) retirements are accelerating. Manager capability gaps are widening. Employees are craving growth and connection, but...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Demonstrate Your Value...Before You're Asked to Defend It There’s something I say a lot...enough that I’m sure more than a few people could recite it back to me. Often enough that I'm sure some on my team are tired of hearing it, but it's become my cri de coeur: We need to demonstrate our value, before we're asked to defend our value. Basically, if you wait until you’re asked to defend the value of your function in your organization, you’re already on your back foot. I'm grateful to work for...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Compendium Talent has entered the chat... Hi, I'm Michelle! I used to be a blogger. If we've been connected for awhile, you may recall that I maintained a little corner of the internet called phase(two)learning for almost a decade. On the blog, I explored Talent Development strategies, creative facilitation techniques, and an occasional hot take about life in the Talent Development trenches. It's still out there, and still pulls in some impressive stats for not having new content posted for...
2 months ago • 1 min read