Be a Better Strategic Partner

“Key executives operate at a strategic level. They care most about solving business problems and challenges—in the short term and well into the future,” writes managing director of talent development at SBI Ray Makela and SBI’s managing director for sales training David Jacoby. “Emerging technology, industry changes, and competitive threats are top concerns. The C-suite looks across all these areas to predict future outcomes from an organization-wide perspective. It is also important to note that different C leaders have different concerns. For example, what drives the CFO is different from the CIO.”

How can talent development professionals come to understand the needs and priorities of the C-suite to assist them with these challenges? They can do so by developing C-suite personas.

What Are Personas?

Many learning and development professionals already use learner personas to create training materials that will best serve learners because those materials are in a format that learners are accustomed to and are appropriate for their knowledge level. Personas are grounded in research and based on hypothetical representations of learners.

C-suite personas, as Esther Jackson describes in “Leverage C-Suite Personas to Gain Buy-In,” focus on “strategic direction and charting a clear course forward.” TD leaders can craft C-suite personas to be better equipped to request a budget increase, launch a new product, or ask for an investment in more modern learning technologies or methodologies. TD practitioners can also use C-suite personas in a coaching environment, helping executives understand their decision-making tendencies and those of their colleagues—along with potential biases.

Decision-Making Styles

Jackson describes five main decision-making styles of executive leaders:

• Visionary. Leaders with visionary tendencies often champion radical change. However, they may need to listen to dissenting opinions to reassess before moving in what can be an incorrect direction.

• Guardian. Prioritizing balance and fairness, but cautious and methodical, leaders with a guardian style could be aided by embracing flexibility to avoid stifling innovation.

• Motivator. Leaning toward inspiring and empowering others, motivator leaders may make wiser decisions if they listen to more details and stem their enthusiasm.

• Flexible. Leaders exhibiting a flexible decision-making style are open to change; however, they need deadlines so they don’t avoid decision making.

• Catalyst. The catalyst style is balanced and excels at leading group work. However, they prefer action to caution and could use a new approach to old processes.

Personas in Coaching

“TD practitioners can deploy C-suite personas in executive coaching, a developmental strategy that helps senior leaders and high-potential employees identify goals, unlock potential, and enhance performance,” writes Jackson.

TD leaders can do this by helping executives or high-potential employees become more self-aware, develop greater emotional intelligence, and garner influence with others.

Artificial Intelligence and Personas

Artificial intelligence can help TD practitioners fill in gaps of information they’ve been unable to find. AI can also help TD teams ideate, develop communiques, improve performance management, and aid in change leadership.

For example, use AI tools to analyze how personas would respond to a message, or help leaders promote the company brand via storytelling.

TD practitioners can supply the AI tool with data such as employee engagement numbers or productivity information, with data being used to target performance tracking.

After developing personas, use AI in leadership development training courses to ask high-potential employees to address various change situations, collaborating and using each member’s strengths.

Proof Is in the Persona

Jackson states that evaluating persona effectiveness requires both quantitative and qualitative means. The new skills that leaders develop by using personas can be measured from 360-degree feedback, for example.

TD teams can also determine whether leadership behaviors better align with organizational strategies and behaviors after coaching. Do leaders feel better equipped to collaborate with their peers after being coached on decision-making styles?

Jackson concluded, “To stay relevant, TD professionals must evolve their thinking, expand their influence, and deliver solutions that drive organizational success.” Tapping C-suite personas can help TD leaders do just that.