The Future of Leadership Development is Now

All year long, I work with organizations, small groups, and individuals to identify their strengths and values, to forge cross-cultural connections, and to expand their conversational intelligence. So why is taking this work from the conference room to an online platform so exciting and so valuable? 

It’s all about access. Not only do online learning programs provide more people access to new knowledge and a larger peer community but the participants themselves will have a profoundly more diverse and nuanced access to intersectional perspectives, leading to a richer experience for everyone.

More Access

When we open up valuable communication and relational skills education to the global online audience, this has a powerful and palpable effect on the impact of organizations on that same global scale. Getting more people “in the room” is a key part of cultivating a new generation of leaders to tackle the daunting socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental issues we will continue to face in the coming decades.

This critical need was outlined with urgency “Educating the Next Generation of Leaders” in Harvard Business Review (March-April 2019):

“Chief learning officers find that traditional programs no longer adequately prepare executives for the challenges they face today and those they will face tomorrow. Companies are seeking the communicative, interpretive, affective, and perceptual skills needed to lead coherent, proactive collaboration.”

Understanding our own personal strengths & values, cultural competence, and conversational intelligence are universal requirements for the modern leader.  Our online courses offer the same opportunity of access regardless of geography, with more flexibility in scheduling and at a more accessible price point. No longer limited to local offerings, now is the time to access your maximum potential through online leadership development programs.

Deeper and Diversified Access

When everyone in the (digital) room speaks from a different geography, a different identity, and a different history, everyone in the room benefits from this wealth of experiences and ideas. These different perspectives from a broader demographic of participants will shed light on the many facets of complex issues, creating space for a more robust learning environment and for a more expansive understanding.

A recent Forbes.com article bluntly asked “Is there still anyone out there who doesn’t think that workplace diversity is a good thing?” before acknowledging the fact that wanting diversity and actually achieving it are two incredibly different things. Online programs are one place that diversity is an inherent and affirmative byproduct of the greater access I’ve already highlighted.

“As the experiences of Harvard’s HBX and McKinsey’s Academy series have shown, learning happens best when learners collaborate and help one another. Knowledge—both “know-what” and “know-how”—is social in nature.” — “Educating the Next Generation of Leaders“, Harvard Business Review (March-April 2019)

When we bring together people across the spectrum of race, gender, religion, socioeconomic backgrounds, cultural identities, political views, sexual orientations, and abilities, we are bringing together a broader understanding of the issues we are exploring and a deeper pool of ideas, solutions, and critique. Participants are challenged to change perspectives, question their preconceived ideas, and grow in a supportive, action-driven environment. This richer, diversified learning environment is compelling and provocative for every participant — and for me, too!