volume 7, issue 4 next-generation leadership development

BERSIN & ASSOCIATES © 2012THIS MATERIAL IS LICENSED TO SKILLSOFT FOR DISTRIBUTION ONLY.

BERSIN & ASSOCIATES

Research Bulletin | 2012

Introduction

In today’s continuing war for the best leader talent, executives

everywhere are tested to identify the next generation of leaders, and

to prepare them to meet the current and future business demands of

their organizations. Our TalentWatch1 and High-Impact Leadership

Development2 reports underscore the critical demand for dynamic

leaders at all levels. Confronting an ongoing shortage of leaders

adequately armed with 21st-century skills, companies are revamping

their leadership development strategies. Doing so requires modern-

day development solutions.

In this report, we outline how corporate leadership development

programs are evolving and we show how the changing portfolio

of one leadership development solution provider, SkillSoft, is proof

of this evolution. We also share an example of how one company,

Emerson Electronics, is utilizing a next-generation solution to achieve

its leader development and business goals.

1 For more information, TalentWatch® Fourth Quarter 2011: Uncovering Realities for the Next Economy, Bersin & Associates / Josh Bersin and Kim Lamoureux, December 2011. Available to research members at www.bersin.com.

2 For more information, High-Impact Leadership Development: Best Practices for Building 21st-Century Leaders, Bersin & Associates / Laci Loew and Stacia Sherman Garr, October 2011. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library or for purchase at www.bersin.com/hild.

January 31, 2012 Volume 7, Issue 4

BERSIN & ASSOCIATES, LLC180 GRAND AVENUE

SUITE 320OAKLAND, CA 94612

(510) [email protected]

Next-Generation Leadership Development: SkillSoft’s Evolving Portfolio Exemplifies the Changing Nature of Leadership Programs

About the Authors

David Mallon,Principal Analyst

Laci Loew,Senior Analyst

http://www.bersin.com


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES, LLC6114 LA SALLE AVENUE



BERSIN & ASSOCIATES


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES © 2012

The Changing Nature of Leadership Programs David Mallon and Laci Loew |

THIS MATERIAL IS LICENSED TO SKILLSOFT FOR DISTRIBUTION ONLY.

The Evolution of Development Programs

Neither workplaces nor workforces are static. As they evolve so, too,

do the models that organizations use to develop their leaders. Today’s

training and leadership development departments report that both

their mandates and their delivery methods are changing. For instance,

the interactive and collaborative nature of today’s business climate and

leader tools (e.g., LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook) transform the model

of leader development from traditional in-person, classroom-based

programs to online, learner-driven social tools and resources that are

available when and as needed. This begs the question then, What

do modern-day leadership development solutions look like and are

leadership development solution providers making them available?

Blended Formal and Informal Development over Time

In our 2011 High-Impact Leadership Development research3, the

highest-value development experiences are those that leverage a

true blended, or what is known as a 70-20-10,4 design of formal and

informal development. When formal and informal development

opportunities are strung together, learning occurs as a process, not

as an event. Whether a traditional classroom lecture (in person or

virtual), an action-learning5 program or an online tool, assessments,

or even coaching, modern-day leaders are global and mobile – and

require engaging, on-demand and self-serve learning opportunities.

Such opportunities meet leaders’ knowledge needs in an as-needed

fashion. The most mature companies leverage a 70-20-10 design of their

leadership development solutions. In fact, our research revealed that

3 For more information, High-Impact Leadership Development: Best Practices for Building 21st-Century Leaders, Bersin & Associates / Laci Loew and Stacia Sherman Garr, October 2011.

4 “70-20-10” refers to a blend of formal and informal development experiences as defined here – 70 percent from on-the-job experiences, 20 percent from observing and working with (coaching / mentoring) role models, and 10 percent from formal education. The most high-value development experiences are represented by the “70” and the “20,” particularly when they are uniquely targeted to the leader level and the leader’s individual development needs (gaps).

5 “Action learning” is a process in which groups of learners collaborate to solve actual workplace problems. In this way, organizations benefit from gaining solutions to critical challenges and participants benefit by learning from their experiences.


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





the most mature6 participating companies leverage formal and informal

development, or what might be referred to as traditional and non-

traditional approaches to development. (See Figures 1 and 2.)


Source: Bersin & Associates, 2011.

Figure 1: Traditional Delivery Approaches Utilized by Companies with Mature Leadership Development

4%

10%

18%

32%

18%

44%

59%

27%

34%

43%

45%

47%

70%

85%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Podcasting, Wikis or Blogs

Online Collaboration

Social Learning

Webcasts

Virtual Classroom

e-Learning

Classroom Lecture

Level 4: Strategic Leadership Development Level 1: Inconsistent Management Training


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





BERSIN & ASSOCIATES






Figure 2: Non-Traditional Delivery Approaches Utilized by Companies with Mature Leadership

12%

7%

21%

13%

15%

22%

37%

52%

42%

14%

15%

21%

28%

33%

36%

36%

54%

63%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Case Studies

Simulations

Reading Assignments

Job Rotation

Action Learning

Mentoring

Individual Project Assignments

On-the-Job Training

Coaching

Level 4: Strategic Leadership Development

Level 1: Inconsistent Management Training


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





Furthermore, our research revealed that companies, which are mature

in their approaches to leadership development, garner the greatest

business impact.7 Mature leadership development, what we call “Level

4 Strategic Leadership Development8,” is inclusive of solutions that

leverage traditional and non-traditional development targeted by

leader level. (See Figure 3.)


8 Ibid.


Business Measures

Level 4 Rating

Implementing a performance-based culture 4.14

Increasing the engagement, retention and teamwork of the leaders themselves

4.00

Increasing the quality and bench strength of the company’s leadership pipeline

3.93

Driving improved business results through leadership skills and behaviors

3.83

Improving overall employee retention through increased leadership skills and behaviors

3.79

Accelerating change and business growth 3.76

Average 3.91

Figure 3: Effect of Maturity on Business Results


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





Online, Learner-Driven Social Tools and Resources

Today’s learning approaches are entering a new era – one of online,

learner-driven social tools and resources. (See Figure 4.)

Today’s corporate and government employees still need formal training

that is built around specific problems and talent needs; however, they

also need the availability of a “learning environment” in which they

can find information, collaborate and build their own learning plans –

leveraging learning portals and social tools in accordance with business

needs. The mandate, then, of the modern learning organization must

be to stand as a center of excellence for the creation, acquisition and

flow of knowledge and skills development in all of these modern-day

and diverse development forms.

Copyright © 2009 Bersin & Associates. All rights reserved. Page 1

Get MaterialsOnline

Expand, BlendImprove e-Learning

Solve TalentProblems

Social NetworkingFormalize Informal

Learning

2001 2004 2010-2011

Evolution of Corporate TrainingChanges in Corporate Learning Focus

2007

LMSe-Learning Platform

LMSEnterprise Learning Platform

Learning PortalsSocial Networking tools

Instructional DesignKirkpatrick

Rapid e-LearningInformation vs. Instruction

Search, CollaborationInformation Architecture

e-LearningGet Materials Online

BlendedLearning

Collaboration, ContentManagement, New Media

InteractivitySimulation

Learning PathsRole-Based

Competency-BasedLearning

Career & Leadership Devel.Learning Communities

Rich CatalogUniversity

Technology

Focus

Disciplines

Key Programs


Figure 4: The Development Shift to Online, Learner-Driven Social Tools and Resources


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





A similar situation prevails in corporate and government leadership

development. In the current business world, a new breed of leader

is required. Although traditional in-person, instructor-led classes will

likely always have relevance in development plans for leaders, today’s

organizations must look beyond the conventional. They must create an

environment that allows leaders to grow professionally and, ultimately,

develop new skills that will lead businesses into the future.

Development of Leaders at All Levels

Development of the executive team, high-potential9 leaders or

first-line managers is not enough today – at least, it is not enough

for organizations that expect to leverage their leaders to impact

their business goals. Organizational stability and capability requires

developing and building leaders at all levels of an organization. It

requires approaches beyond the in-person classroom experience.

A commitment to develop all leader levels in a blended, social,

collaborative way is nothing short of hard work. However, the

rewards are worth it – lower employee turnover, higher workforce

empowerment, increased work productivity and successful execution

of business goals.10 Senior executives are acutely aware that achieving

these business goals and gaining organizational stability depends on

full leader talent pipelines of qualified leaders. Qualified leader talent

is in short supply, and critical leadership positions seem to be more and

more challenging to fill.

Faced with this new reality, organizations and government agencies are

reevaluating how they develop and mobilize their current, potential

and future leaders – from those aspiring to be first-time managers to

the C-suite. Companies with mature leadership development practices

are expanding development opportunities and experiences beyond

9 A “high-potential employee” is an employee who has been identified as having the potential, ability and aspiration for successive leadership positions within the company. Often, these employees are provided with focused development as part of a succession plan and are referred to as “HiPos.”

10 For more information, High-Impact Leadership Development: Key Findings, Trends and Analytics, Bersin & Associates / Laci Loew, July 2011. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library or for purchase at www.bersin.com/hild.


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





the executive layer into every leader level – emerging leaders11, first-

time leaders, midlevel leaders, senior leaders, high-potential leaders

and executives.

SkillSoft’s Leadership Development Solutions

To help learning and leadership development organizations, HR,

and business leaders meet today’s development needs and propel

business goals, SkillSoft, a leading provider of learning and leadership

development, makes available innovative, on-demand, diverse,

mobile and social, as well as traditional and non-traditional, learning

solutions for the targeted development of every leader level in global

organizations. SkillSoft continues to evolve its solutions far beyond

the original catalog of e-learning for which many organizations have

traditionally known the company. Today, it is anything but traditional.

The newly expanded SkillSoft portfolio offers development solutions

that improve not only individual leader competence, but also drive

business performance. Moreover, the SkillSoft solution set leverages

social and mobile learning tools, and other online resources to enable

development over time, not a one-time event. The SkillSoft portfolio

of leadership development solutions addresses development gaps for

leaders at all levels from first-time managers to executives in alignment

with an organization’s business goals. (See Figure 5.)

11 An “emerging leader” is an individual contributor who is a strong performer and is preparing to assume a first-time manager role. Other organizations may define it differently.


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





SkillSoft’s recently updated leadership development portfolio includes

(though is not limited to) Online Courseware, Business Impact and

Challenge Series, 50 Lessons, and the Leadership Development Channel

(LDC). In the next sections, we briefly describe each solution with

extended highlights of the recently updated SkillSoft Leadership

Advantage (SLA) and the application of that product within Emerson

Electronics, a diversified global manufacturing and technology

company. Lastly, we will also describe SkillSoft’s product, inGenius,

which was released in 2010 within SLA.

Source: SkillSoft, 2012.

Figure 5: SkillSoft Blended Solutions for Leaders at All Levels

LeadershipAt all LEVELS

OF ORGANIZATIONS BELIEVETHAT THEY ARE EFFECTIVE

OR VERY EFFECTIVE ATDEVELOPING FUTURE LEADERS

Only 38%

LOWER TURNOVER RATE AMONG HIGH PERFORMING EMPLOYEES WHEN COMPANIES HAVE STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS IN PLACE

62%

*Bersin Talent Management Factbook, 2009 *Bersin Leadership Development Factbook, 2009 *Ken Blanchard Companies 2011 Corporate Issues Survey

MORE TIME & MONEY SPENT TO DEVELOP AN EXECUTIVE THAN TO DEVELOP A FIRSTLINE MANAGER

6x

First Time or Front Line Managers• Need leadership fundamentals, business

acumen and communication skills development.

• Need to provide hands-on direction, mentoring and assigned training opportunities for their direct reports.

• Require engaging, self paced, technology based learning solutions covering their wide range of needs.

• Learning at the moment and time of need is critical for this multi tasking audience.

Executive Level Managers• Need to develop higher level leadership skills such as

motivation, strategy and creating a culture of innovation.

• Peer to peer collaboration and idea sharing are important for today’s executives – video and social media channels address this audience’s unique needs.

• Highly focused development plans and executive coachingMid Level Managers• Need blended learning supported by authoritative content

and performance support resources.

• Learning resources need to be targeted to their role of managing other managers and balanced with opportunities to learn new skills.

• Must include job rotation/stretch assignments to allow for growth with assigned mentor.

• Feedback and mentoring are critical learning components for leaders at this level of their career.

L E A D E R S H I P A T A L L L E V E L S


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





Online Courseware

While we are beginning to see signs of recovery from the recent

economic recession, most organizations’ leader development budgets

are still more constrained than what they were prior to the economic

crash. Yet, smart organizations know that a continual investment in

leadership development, regardless of the economic condition, is the

difference in developing a strong leader pipeline; a strong pipeline is

a differentiator in building and sustaining business advantage.

Because the traditional in-person leadership development programs

are costly and typically event-driven, SkillSoft’s online asynchronous12

courseware portfolio is a 24 / 7 solution that creates development as

a process. Used as pre-work, post-work or a just-in-time performance

support tool, SkillSoft’s online courseware extends the reach of cost-

effective leadership development to all leaders at all levels, regardless

of physical location.

The SkillSoft online courseware library includes several thousand

courseware titles that cover the latest in a wide variety of management

and leadership topics.

The asynchronous, interactive online courses align with the “tell me,

show me, let me try13” approach to learning for greater transfer of

learning from the course to the job. These business-driven simulations

are task-based with a rich media component to ensure learner

engagement. Leader learners practice management and leadership

skills by navigating, at their own speed, through different scenarios

in which they encounter business challenges. To assist the learner in

making the right choices and understanding the business consequences

of their decisions, many of the online courses incorporate downloadable

SkillBriefs. (See Figure 6.)

12 “Asynchronous” (or self-paced) e-learning involves an individual learning online at any time. Asynchronous e-learning is flexible because learners do not have to be online at the same time.

13 The ‘tell me, show me, let me try’ design to learning enables practice opportunities for the learner ensuring true mastery of a new skill or knowledge area.


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





These built-in tools equip leaders with “plug and play14” meeting

agendas, performance appraisal templates, coaching success factors,

time management checklists, and hundreds of other tools that are

available to leaders to leverage immediately for effective and efficient

management of their teams.

14 “Plug and play” means that the tool or resource is ready to use as is without any additional authorship effort.


Figure 6: A SkillSoft SkillBrief on Listening to Subordinates


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





Business Impact and Challenge Series

SkillSoft’s Business Impact and Challenges Series, a part of SkillSoft’s

KnowledgeCenter15 (see Figure 7), is another online solution that

enables leaders to practice decision-making skills around critical business

issues in a virtual environment. The business challenges are built around

a set of concise, scenario-based vignettes that, via video and Flash,

engage the learner in role-based situations to enable problem analysis

and solution definition.

This practice-based approach to learning leverages gaming techniques

and simulations – methodologies that not only appeal to today’s diverse

leader populations, but also allow for a “let me try” approach to

business skills mastery in a risk-free environment.

15 SkillSoft’s KnowledgeCenter is a pre-packaged, user-friendly learning portal that allows learners instant access to online, targeted content specifically chosen to help leaders build knowledge around a business-driven topic as quickly and efficiently as possible.


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





BERSIN & ASSOCIATES






Figure 7: The SkillSoft KnowledgeCenter Inclusive of the Business Impact and Challenge Series


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





50 Lessons

Added to the SkillSoft portfolio of leadership development solutions

in February 2011, 50 Lessons is an online video-based offering of short,

impactful interviews with leading executives targeted to leaders of

all levels. 50 Lessons includes live events, featuring business best-

selling authors and leaders, which are webcast live globally, providing

participants with interactive and real-time discussions with recognized

thought leaders. (See Figure 8.)

This library offers more than 1,200 interview presentations from

more than 200 world-class, C-level global business leaders. During

these interviews, business leaders such as Jimmy Wales (founder of

Wikipedia), Professor Clayton Christensen (Harvard Business School),

Chip Conley (founder Joie de Vivre Hotels), Garry Ridge (CEO WD-40),

Paul Saffo (Stanford University) among other distinguished executives

and thought leaders share short and compelling personal stories of

business and leadership success. The stories are intentionally succinct,

memorable and inspiring. This format leads the participant into

personal reflection on what he / she has learned from the story

and how he / she can apply that learning within his / her own work

and organization.


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





BERSIN & ASSOCIATES






Figure 8: SkillSoft’s 50 Lessons


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





Story-telling is a high-value approach to development that encourages

listeners to broaden their thinking and perspectives about business

and leadership issues confronting their organizations. These stories

encourage participants to define for themselves one or more

key “take-aways” that they plan to implement immediately for

improved performance of their own leadership skills and that of their

direct reports.

Leadership Development Channel16

The Leadership Development Channel™ collection, also a live and on-

demand video-based learning solution, is more diverse in both learning

design and presentation format, and features more than 2,000 on-

demand video programs featuring best-selling business authors, experts

and executives. The LDC includes content of varying lengths from two

to 60 minutes; its instructional design is application-based to drive

immediate results.

LDC has three primary content areas to help drive measurable change.

• LDC Business Author QuickTalks – Best-selling business authors and

leaders (such as Stephen Covey, Gary Hamel, Linda Hill and more)

provide concise, just-in-time, application-based learning.

• LDC Executive QuickTalks – The best thinking from executives

(such as Jeff Immelt, Anne Mulcahy, Sir Howard Stringer, Bill

Ford, Jr. and Ron Meyer), and more of today’s top business

leaders and practitioners.

• LDC Consultant QuickTalks – Leading change consultants from

established consulting organizations (such as Mercer, BCG and

Deloitte) provide actionable insights from real-world perspectives.

16 For more information, SkillSoft Releases On-Demand Video Offering: SkillSoft Enhances Its Position in the Leadership Development Market with On-Demand Video Content, Bersin & Associates / Kim Lamoureux, May 11, 2007. Available to research members at www.bersin.com/library.


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





The diversity of content and the flexible delivery options of LDC are

attractive to organizations with busy executives and other leaders

who need to stay abreast of the latest developments in business

and leadership.

SkillSoft Leadership Advantage

Recently updated from its original release in early 2010, SkillSoft

Leadership Advantage is a collection of focused, online development

resources and includes SkillSoft’s live events. SLA targets essential

management and leadership skills required of leaders in organizations

across the globe. (See Figure 9.)


Figure 9: SkillSoft Leadership Advantage


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





SkillSoft Leadership Advantage leverages multiple modes of virtual

instruction – live events, virtual leader-led activities, interactive

case studies, video links, job-aids, self-assessments, simulations and

interactive practice activities.

SkillSoft Leadership Advantage’s blended-learning assets are organized

into learning tracks which are approximately two hours in length.

Because tracks are modularized, leaders can progress at their own

pace, stopping and restarting whenever it is most convenient for them.

Upon reinitiating their learning, SkillSoft Leadership Advantage returns

leaders to the last resource they accessed.


Figure 10: Live Events Accessible from the Front Page of SkillSoft Leadership Advantage


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





Learning tracks are aligned to critical and 21st-century leader

competencies, one track per competency. As organizations select and

define their leader competencies in alignment with their business goals,

leader competencies may vary from those pre-packaged in the SLA

solution. To this point, clients may modify and / or customize the built-in

competencies to better reflect the unique leader competencies of their

organization. (See Figure 11.)


Figure 11: Customizable Leadership and Management Competencies (Learning Tracks) Included in SLA

Leading • Developing a Business Execution

Culture • Leading Change • Leader as Motivator • Leading Innovation • Building and Leading Teams

Strategic Agility • Strategic Thinking • Globalization • Competitive Awareness and

Strategy • Leading Organizational Vision

Managing • Managing Performance • Developing People • Delegation • Coaching • Goal Setting • Hiring New Employees • New Manager Transitions

Talent Management • Giving & Receiving Feedback • Managing Diversity • Attracting and Retaining Talent • Dismissing an Employee

Working with Others • Managing Conflict • The Emotionally Intelligent

Leader • Influence and Persuasion • Listening • Leading Effective Meetings • Negotiating • Communicating Bad News • Managing Upward Relationships

Self-Management • Ethics, Integrity & Trust • Accountability • Perseverance and Flexibility • Creative Thinking • Career Development • Work/Life Balance • Decisiveness

Analytical Skills • Problem-Solving & Decision-

Making • Setting and Managing Priorities • Critical Thinking Business Acumen • Finance for non-Financial

Managers • Customer Focus • Project Management Essentials


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





With the goal of providing a continuous and contextual learning

experience, each learning asset within a track builds on the previous.

In the context of high-impact leadership development, threading

content to ensure it builds upon itself for progressive knowledge is a

best practice. In the context of SLA, this high-impact design approach

is referred to as a “smart sequence.” Each SLA track ends with a “final

challenge” – a summary-type learning experience that revisits the

sequential content presented within the track. The intent of the final

challenge is to offer the leader learner an opportunity to practice each

progressive skill in a safe environment.

SkillSoft Leadership Advantage can be offered as a standalone

development solution or partnered up with other learning resources.

First, SLA assets can be used in preparation or as post-work for

workshops. Second, the assets can be used as just-in-time performance

support resources. Next, they can be leveraged to support live facilitated

sessions. Finally, some organizations even structure formal development

solutions for their leaders around SkillSoft Leadership Advantage.

Case in Point: Emerson Electric

Emerson Overview: Emerson Electric is a diversified global

manufacturing and technology company headquartered in St.

Louis, Missouri. A 120-year-old company, with seven business

units, Emerson employs upward of 140,000 employees globally.

The current major business focus at Emerson is global expansion

outside the domestic U.S. with a strong focus on Asia-Pacific.

The Leadership Development Challenge at Emerson: To

support its highest-priority business goal – to expand revenue

opportunities outside of the domestic U.S., Emerson’s talent

challenge and strategy are to remain focused on identifying and

developing internal leaders who have the skills and knowledge

to help the company achieve this financial goal.

The Leadership Development Solution at Emerson: In order

to develop internal leaders who have the competence to lead

Emerson to its organizational-level business goals, the company


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





has defined a leadership development curriculum inclusive of

four signature programs:

• Emerson Executive Leadership – Targeted for selected high

potentials;

• Advanced Leadership – Targeted for directors and vice

presidents;

• Leadership through People Skills – Targeted for midlevel

managers; and,

• Leading at Emerson – Targeted for supervisors and select

individual contributors.

The three-and-a-half-day “Leading at Emerson,” program,

the only required program of the four, includes SkillSoft’s

Leadership Advantage solution. Within “Leading at Emerson,”

the company leverages SLA to introduce supervisors during class

to the critical manager and leader skills required of them. More

importantly, however, Emerson’s objective with SLA was this – to

offer supervisors a performance support tool post-workshop.

This SLA content is aligned directly to the organization’s 12

leadership competencies. For example, if a supervisor needs to

close a skills gap in the Emerson leadership competency called

“Analyzes Issues,” he / she can complete the SLA “Analytical

Skills” learning track to improve his / her performance in the

areas of managing priorities, problem-solving and decision-

making. Through the SLA content, this supervisor can engage

in learning through various tools, such as videos, live events,

simulations and more, to help him / her sharpen his / her skills in

this area. To assess how well the SLA content supported closing

the skills gap, Emerson includes a 360 tool specific to the 12

competencies in “Leading At Emerson” and recommends that

participants resurvey in nine to 12 months.

The Results: Emerson tracks the number of times that

supervisors launch SLA tracks after participating in the Leading

at Emerson program. In September 2011, Emerson leadership

Case in Point: Emerson Electric (cont’d)


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





advised that the overall access to SLA was five times greater

after supervisors had completed the Leading at Emerson

program. This metric supports Emerson’s objective of leveraging

SLA as a post-workshop support performance support tool.

Additionally, Emerson surveys participants six to eight weeks

post-training to collect Level 3-specific anecdotal evidence from

Leading at Emerson participants for insights into how well

supervisors are bringing learnings from the workshop back to the

job. These quotes from recent supervisor participants indicate the

business value of Leading at Emerson and SLA at Emerson.

“One of my employees is having a very difficult

time on the homefront. I used the change module

to identify where they are in the change transition.

This helped me understand how to motivate him to

deliver on his performance goals.”

“I had a problem staff person who was likely headed

for termination. I was better able to listen and

reengage the staff person on terms that better fit

their motivational needs.”

The corporate manager of training at Emerson indicated that SLA

is a strong force in enabling the company’s team of supervisors to

deliver on that brand promise.

“Our (Emerson) brand promise is ‘Emerson is where

technology and engineering come together to create

solutions for the benefit of our customers, driven without

compromise for a world in action.’” e

Case in Point: Emerson Electric (cont’d)


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





What’s Ahead for SkillSoft?

SkillSoft Leadership Advantage does not stop there. By the end of

January 2012, SkillSoft will have added inGenius to its offering. inGenius

is a social-learning platform first deployed on SkillSoft’s Books24x7

platform and which is now available on the company’s LMS, SkillPort,

as well. (See Figure 12.) This product will fulfill a paramount need in

high-impact leadership development companies to leverage informal

learning to enable leaders to search for content needed in a just-in-

time fashion and, even more importantly, to build leader networks. The

inGenius social-learning platform promotes leader collaboration for

the purposes of sharing management and leadership best practices and

lessons learned.


Figure 12: The inGenius Social Learning Platform


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





The inGenius social learning tool:

• Allowsleaderstoidentifyareasofleaderinterestandexpertise;

• RecommendsSLAandotherlearningassetstopeers;

• Findsintracompanysubjectmatterexpertstoassistwithproblem-

solving; and,

• Buildslearningandleadernetworks.

The inGenius solution provides opportunities for organizations’ leaders

to contribute their knowledge and expertise about SLA content, as well

as in ways that foster strong learning cultures. Furthermore, it supports

the shift in today’s knowledge-centric environment from knowledge

consumers to knowledge publishers who rely upon and expect social

and mobile learning tools and resources. SkillSoft’s upcoming inGenius

is not the first solution that SkillSoft has made available in today’s world

of mobile learning. In fact, 50 Lessons, the LDC, Live Events, Business

Impact and Challenge Series, and SLA are seminal offerings for which

today’s mobile leaders have on-the-go access.

Conclusion

The outcome of leadership development is to enable today’s leaders

to take action and champion the achievement of their organization’s

business goals. To do so, development opportunities must be

experiential, mimicking an organization’s real business issues. They

must facilitate the virtual collaboration of leaders, and enable them

to achieve best practices and lessons learned from each other and

from thought leaders. The most sophisticated and mature companies

have evolved their development solutions for all leaders from training

events to a model built to drive continuous learning. The good news

for organizations just getting started down this road is that leadership

development providers increasingly recognize the need for these

new approaches to development. That a provider such as SkillSoft has

expanded its portfolio to include social, on-demand, mobile, storytelling

and other next-generation methods is clear evidence of that fact.


BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





BERSIN & ASSOCIATES





The Bersin & Associates Membership ProgramThis document is part of the Bersin & Associates Research Library. Our research is provided exclusively to organizational members of the Bersin & Associates Research Program. Member organizations have access to the largest library of learning and talent management related research available. In addition, members also receive a variety of products and services to enable talent-related transformation within their organizations, including:

• Research – Access to an extensive selection of research reports, such as methodologies, process models and frameworks, and comprehensive industry studies and case studies;

• Benchmarking – These services cover a wide spectrum of HR and L&D metrics, customized by industry and company size;

• Tools – Comprehensive tools for HR and L&D professionals, including tools for benchmarking, vendor and system selection, program design, program implementation, change management and measurement;

• Analyst Support – Via telephone or email, our advisory services are supported by expert industry analysts who conduct our research;

• Strategic Advisory Services – Expert support for custom-tailored projects;

• Member Roundtables® – A place where you can connect with other peers and industry leaders to discuss and learn about the latest industry trends and best practices; and,

• IMPACT® Conference: The Business Of Talent – Attendance at special sessions of our annual, best-practices IMPACT® conference.

• Workshops – Bersin & Associates analysts and advisors conduct onsite workshops on a wide range of topics to educate, inform and inspire HR and L&D professionals and leaders.

For more information about our membership program, please visit us at www.bersin.com/membership.

http://www.bersin.com/Research/Content.aspx?id=12183#madeline

volume 7, issue 4 next-generation leadership development

Documents