Strategic Influence Skills for Future Talent Leaders There's a point in your HR or Talent career when being really, even exceptionally, good at your job isn't enough anymore. Annoying, I know. You can build great programs, solve problems, hit deadlines, and know your stuff. But if you aspire to become a CPO, CHRO, or Talent executive, another capability starts to matter: Strategic influence. Senior leaders regularly have to balance competing priorities, build alignment, and lead across...
16 days ago • 1 min read
AMA Takeaways: Succession Planning is Not About Replacing People. It's About Building Readiness. Last week, I had the opportunity to host the Association for Talent Development (ATD) online community's featured Ask Me Anything (AMA). ATD periodically invites practitioners, authors, speakers, and leaders to facilitate these discussions, giving members a chance to ask questions on a specific topic and learn from real-world experiences. If you've been following this blog, my topic probably won't...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Why Future CPOs Need Strong Peer Networks Most aspiring Chief People Officers understand the importance of mentors. We've talked about that before, and there is no shortage of resources on this topic. Mentors can help us see around corners. They share perspective, lessons learned, and the occasional hard truth we need to hear. But there is another career asset that deserves just as much attention: Your peer group. In fact, if you're aspiring to executive leadership, the people growing...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
The Unwritten Curriculum of Future CPOs If someone asked me what prepared me for executive leadership in HR and Talent Development, I could certainly point to the obvious...graduate coursework, certifications, conferences, books, mentors...you know, the usual suspects. All of those things played a part, but they weren't the whole story. In fact, some of the most important lessons I've learned over the course of my career, particularly these past few years, were never included in a training...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Your Two-Step Mentor Your Two-Step Mentor If you're an HR or Talent leader reading this, I'm about to tell you something you already know: Mentors matter. You've probably encouraged employees to find one. You may have helped launch mentoring programs. You might even be mentoring someone right now. And yet... Like the old saying about the cobbler's children having no shoes (I quote that a lot), I've noticed that Talent leaders are often exceptionally good at investing in everyone else's...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Overcoming Ambiguity When Developing for Future Growth (Because “I’ll figure it out later” isn’t a development strategy) Recently, I saw a LinkedIn post from Adam Grant that stopped me mid-scroll: Adam Grant, via LinkedIn Let that sink in. It’s not just being busy that burns people out. Lacking clarity will do it, too. If you're an aspiring executive leader, it's even more challenging... Because no one hands you a clear roadmap to roles like: Chief People Officer Chief Human Resources Officer...
3 months ago • 2 min read
It was never about the training... At some point in every Talent leader’s career, someone says those three little words in a meeting: “We need training.” Sometimes it’s more specific: “We need a communication workshop.” “Our managers need leadership training.” “Can you build something for this?” And if we’re not careful - or perhaps we haven't been down this road before, we may be inclined to nod, accept the request at face value, and start designing. Because we’re helpful. Because we want to...
3 months ago • 3 min read
Succession at Scale: Smart Moves for Midsize Companies Let's be honest: when most Talent leaders hear "succession planning," their brain jumps to massive org charts, a 9-box grid the size of a billboard, and consultants with slide decks thicker than a novel. That may be the reality for many large corporations, but the good news is you don't need tens of thousands of employees to think and act like a Fortune 500 company. If you're in a midsize organization - say 500-1000 employees - you can...
3 months ago • 3 min read
The Downside of Labeling "High Potentials" A colleague reached out recently to ask whether I’ve implemented a formal development program for High Potentials. I have. Several times, in fact. And while I absolutely believe in identifying and developing future leaders, I’ve become increasingly cautious about one specific move we make far too casually: Labeling someone as a “High Potential.” I'm not talking about telling people they have potential or investing in their growth. And I certainly...
3 months ago • 3 min read