Learning Leaders want to understand how to interface with senior leadership better and secure a voice in future planning.  But perhaps, as important, they want to know how senior leaders think about Learning & Development - and how they can better align what they do with the highest priorities of the business. 

In Part 2 of the Straight from the CEO series, Michelle speaks with Mike Cassling, Chairman and CEO of CQuence Health Group, and CEO of Cassling. Cassling sells and services world-class medical imaging equipment to hospitals in several regions across the U.S. Under his leadership, CQuence and its partner companies have earned multiple recognitions, including Modern Healthcare’s ranking as one of the Best Places to Work in Healthcare for multiple years, including two years at #1. 

Big Takeaways: 

1. Companies stand to benefit by developing their employees not only professionally, but personally as well.  
2. Moving away from doing annual reviews in favor of opening ongoing dialogues can be more impactful long term.  
3. When learning and development become a key part of your cultural beliefs, it produces key results.  

Humancapitallab.org 

This is a Growth Network Podcasts production. 

Companies spend a considerable amount of money on learning and development (L&D). With recent SEC reporting requirements and the intense competition for employees and retaining them, companies need to understand the impact of their L&D spending more than ever before.

Michelle is joined by Jennifer Budveit, Director of Global Learning & Development with Tiffany & Company to discuss how to build a successful measurement strategy.

Jennifer's first career was Professional Ballerina. For her second, she found the HR and Talent Development space and quickly fell in love with the industry. She has been an L&D leader for over 20 years and worked in multiple industries with a consistent focus on global, large-scale organizations. Jennifer has an ongoing focus on evaluation strategies to measure the impact and value of talent programs to achieve key business results.  

Big Takeaways: 

1. Storytelling is a critical skill in all aspects of business.
2. L & D professionals have the responsibility to translate what they do into the language of the business they are serving.
3. No data is bad data.

Humancapitallab.org 

This is a Growth Network Podcasts production. 

With 2.8 million fewer Americans working today compared to February of 2020, L&D leaders in every industry are re-examining educational benefits and how to use them more strategically to combat challenges in recruitment, retention, and employee productivity. To turn their TA benefits into more robust "education as a benefit" offerings, some companies and organizations are seeking out partners to help them realize educational benefits as a competitive advantage.  

Our guest today, Sherrye Hutcherson, has insight and experience into how to evaluate these third-party partners from her experiences as an HR executive for large employers and as a higher education leader. 

Big Takeaways: 

1. Companies will require different training and skills competencies from new employees, so higher education should prepare to provide those based on company needs. 
2. Students, especially adult learners, have more opinions on what they want to learn and what they expect from their credentials or degree programs.  
3. Educational relationships between companies, students, and schools can help remove the number one barrier, which is cost.  

Humancapitallab.org 

This is a Growth Network Podcasts production. 

Researchers have identified that learning is positive for health and that longevity and education are linked. Our guest today is the perfect person to help us unravel this topic that's relevant to us all today, and as we age. When you think about an L & D leader’s aspirations to build cultures of learning and gain a firm understanding about how lifelong learning can be harnessed to move our businesses forward, there is no better investment than listening to this episode.  

Michelle is joined by Teri Hart, a learning expert and work futurist. She talks about her book; “Hardwired to Learn,” and how her work as the CLO of Zurich North America centers learning in the fight for work sustainability.  

Big Takeaways: 

1. How to create a philosophy around people that sees them as investable rather than expendable or replaceable. 
2. Learning hacks, and how the brain changes when we learn hard things. 
3. We all have a purpose to elevate human consciousness in a unique way.  

Humancapitallab.org 

This is a Growth Network Podcasts production. 

How do Learning Leaders earn the ability to impact their organization more effectively? Avi Kahn, CEO of Hilti North America, sat down with Michelle to discuss how senior leaders think about Learning & Development - and how they can better align what they do with the highest priorities of the business.  

Avi started his career with Hilti in 2004. He was promoted several times until 2017 when he became CEO of Hilti North America. In 2020, he joined the Group Executive Board with responsibility for the American and Asian Markets.   

Big Takeaways: 

1. Learn specific action steps you can take to align learning and development with corporate strategic plans. 
2. How L&D affects Hilti’s ability to retain talent. 
3. How to address Executive Team skeptics who see learning as an expense to cut vs. An investment.  

Humancapitallab.org 

This is a Growth Network Podcasts production. 

As learning leaders seek to earn and keep a seat at the strategy table, they must be able to accurately measure people effectiveness and process efficiencies. The ability to predict or forecast human performance requires an understanding of the WHAT, WHY, and HOW of human performance. For today's episode, Dave Gregory and Jay Delling, co-founders of Conatus3, will share stories of measuring people and intentionally changing behavior to improve results. 

Big Takeaways: 

1. Measuring emotional intelligence includes seven categories; communication skills, interpersonal skills, personal motivators, self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and social skills. 
2. Human capital data verifies how unique every human is, and how that can benefit an organization.  
3. Measuring human capital throughout the employee’s lifecycle with a company is a great way to measure the learning effectiveness of your company’s programs.  

Humancapitallab.org 

This is a Growth Network Podcasts production. 

It's clear that Leadership skills evolve over time to fit the workforce climate and needs. Today we want to explore this evolution and get to what the hot topics and approaches for leadership development are, with guest Trisha Greguras. 

Trisha Greguras is the director of continuing education for Bellevue University's college of continuing and professional education. Learn why leadership development is such a benefit to an employee’s entire life, not just their work life.  

Big Takeaways: 

1. How to avoid employee burnout by improving organizational communication. 
2. People have been so focused on diversity and inclusion as a separate entity. We really need to pull that into leadership programs and embed it into the changes. 
3. Power skills are transferable human skills, and will be applied to every relationship you have out in the world.  

Learn more at Humancapitallab.org

This is a Growth Network Podcasts production. 

Decades of research have shown reinforcing culture is an effective way to improve business outcomes, increase growth, and support employee engagement. There are so many ways to approach reinforcing culture, but one that is truly effective is putting learning and leadership budgets directly towards it.  

In this episode, Michelle is joined by Tomissa Smittendorf, the Director of North America Sales Learning & Development for the Kellogg Company to discuss ways you can support company culture with learning dollars. Tomissa has a passion for creating a culture of learning, emphasizing capability building and collaborating across the organization to drive impact.  

Big Takeaways: 

1. Exploring fun ways to support company culture with learning is the best approach. You have to have fun at work!  
2. It’s all about activating the intentional learner mindset, so each and every employee can learn, grow, and thrive.  
3. A great way to prioritize a culture of learning with an organization is to create and implement a learning advisory board.  

Humancapitallab.org 

This is a Growth Network Podcasts production. 

As businesses are experiencing "The Great Resignation", companies need to understand the impact of their L&D spending more than ever before. Joining us to dive into this really relevant topic is David Vance, Executive Director for the Center for Talent Reporting which helps Learning Officers understand learning impact measurement.

David is also the former President of Caterpillar University, where he worked to ensure the right education and training were in place to meet the needs of Caterpillar's 97,000 plus employees.

Big Takeaways:

1. The Securities and Exchange Commission requiring publicly traded companies in the USto disclose human capital measures enforces that human capital is the primary driver of value for most organizations.
2. The key to making human capital measurement relevant to your CLO or CEO is catering to their goals and making it clear what you will do with this data to help them accomplish them.
3. Use the importance of disclosing learning measurements as leverage for getting the resources you need.

Check out centerfortalentreporting.org for reporting information as well as Humancapitallab.org

This is a Growth Network Podcasts production

When we consider our current state of affairs in terms of workforce wellness and productivity, one of the most under-emphasized behaviors among leaders maybe empathy. We know that the stress level among our teammates has sky-rocketed in the past two years - leading to decreasing emotional intelligence and for many, resignations. Leaders need to show empathy for their teams; while also assuring productivity. With us to discuss this important topic is Adele Cook, CLO for the Arizona Department of Economic Security.  

Big Takeaways: 

1. Managing the tension between empathy and productivity does not have to be complicated. 
2. Be curious and kind by asking “why” questions. 
3. Having a servant leadership mindset is key to leading with empathy. 

Learn more at Humancapitallab.org 

This is a Growth Network Podcasts production.