In a move that reverberated across the business world, General Electric (GE) announced the sale of its famed Crotonville leadership development center. This decision marked the end of an era, signaling a shift in how organizations perceive and approach leader development. But what does this closure signify, and what lessons can we draw from it?
Traditionally, companies like GE invested heavily in centralized, brick-and-mortar training facilities like Crotonville to groom their future leaders. IBM followed suit with a leader development and training center just down the road a few years later, and a trend was born. These programs predated the surge of interest in MBAs from business schools and often focused on leadership principles packaged in 12-week courses rather than tailored strategies aligned with business unit’s specific needs and goals. It was about building leaders and managers to make GE the “best-managed company” in the world.
The closure of Crotonville serves as a wake-up call, and with companies such as 3M and Boeing also in the midst of selling leadership campuses, it further highlights the inadequacies of 20th century conventional leadership development methods. The trend underscores the pressing need for a shift in approach to leader development.
So, what is the alternative? We posit that the answer lies in embracing a digitally enabled and highly targeted approach to leader development. This approach leverages technology to deliver personalized learning experiences tailored to individual needs and specific business objectives. Rather than relying solely on centralized training facilities, organizations can harness the power of digital platforms to provide on-demand access to resources, facilitate peer learning, organic community building, and track their workforce’s progress on various initiatives in real-time.
Do This
1. Identify the narrow set of capabilities your leaders need to execute your strategy
There is an infinite number of skills, competencies, and topics that could be addressed by leader development programs, but there are only a few specific capabilities that will have a disproportionate impact on your unique organization. Rather than looking for gaps in your cadre of leaders, examine leaders who have a successful track record at your organization. Dissect what capabilities and behaviors those leaders have in common that make them successful. The more concretely you can define those capabilities and behaviors, the more applicable the program will be. Use that analysis as your basis for developing content and experiences that will move the needle for your organization.
2. Define a measurement strategy that codifies how data will be collected, analyzed, and reported to evaluate the efficacy of the program
Leader development is not an end unto itself. Organizations invest in leader development to improve organizational performance. Stakeholders, understandably, want evidence that their investment is paying dividends. While showing return on investment is always challenging, a multi-pronged measurement strategy that analyzes collective performance metrics, qualitative data such as surveys and interviews, and passive data retrievals can deliver a compelling picture of a program’s value. The key is to not only define the desired organizational outcomes from the start, but to also build a measurement strategy during the development phase so that it guides the design of the program’s structure. The additional benefit to taking a proactive, integrated approach to program measurement is that it provides ongoing relevant feedback that can guide refinements to the program.
3. Adopt a hybrid approach to learning
Leveraging a mobile-friendly, digital platform with a great user experience that can deliver meaningful content and track progress while incorporating in-person or virtual learning events will foster dynamic discussion and connectivity between leaders.
The best leader development programs are convenient in their accessibility but challenging in their experience for the learner. No leader has time to waste, and no one quite has the same combination of learning styles. Digital platforms that can deliver curated micro-learning on demand allows for a uniquely targeted learning experience. They provide the added benefit of tracking progress and driving learning at scale across geographies. However, on their own, they are insufficient for driving change in isolation. Personal growth is most effective in a social context. Be intentional about allowing for unstructured–ideally in-person–time for connection among colleagues where peer-to-peer learning occurs. Whether it is in-person or virtual, interactive events that deliver stretching experiences create the insights and relationships that move critical concepts from being an interesting insight to a valuable tool in their leadership arsenal.
This requires an investment in a platform that employees want to use, not another required training that they click through mindlessly. Try gamifying the experience, complete with checkpoints, wins, and learning moments that employees can be proud of accomplishing.
4. Team up your internal learning and development experts
Finding an external partner who can supplement your efforts and is committed to helping you build and execute customized leader development that supports your strategy can be a key differentiator.
Many organizations fund a group of full-time, internal learning and development subject matter experts and a robust infrastructure to support leader development. The benefit of these internal resources is that they understand the organizational culture and can support professional development over the long term. However, on their own they can also become insular without the injection of new ideas and as facilitators may lack credibility with executive audiences if they don’t have firsthand, real-world experience to support their messages. This is where partnering with external experts in leadership development can deliver tangible value.
External partners provide access to specialized knowledge, resources, and best practices, allowing organizations to design bespoke programs aligned with their unique strategic objectives, while also benefiting from fresh perspectives and industry insights. The key is to work with an external partner who is committed to understanding your organization’s vision and strategy, and willing to work hand-in-hand with your internal experts to create a uniquely customized program that will resonate with your leaders and deliver the outcomes your stakeholders need to see.
By embracing a digitally enabled and highly targeted approach to leader development, organizations can cultivate a pipeline of skilled leaders equipped to navigate the complexities of the modern business landscape. The closure of GE's Crotonville may mark the end of an era, but it also represents the opportunity for organizations to reimagine leader development in ways that drive meaningful impact and sustainable success.
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