The pandemic has amplified the presence of disruption in our lives. It is hard to think of an organization that has not been affected, be it through a loss of business or a significant growth in business. All of this amid a call to action to respond and adapt with limited face-to-face collaboration and an increasing dependence on a digital way of working and workplace. It is critical that talent development understand the implications and how they shape our actions to ensure our organizations respond with relevance and recognized impact.

Understand the Change for the Business

• What are the implications for the business, the busines model, and the financial plan?

• What is the magnitude of change—fundamental versus fleeting, permanent versus temporary?

• What help does the business need (strategy, customers, people, processes, services, systems)?

• What opportunities have emerged and what risks?

• What are the resulting priorities that require capability and learning acceleration?

Understand the Change for Talent Development

• Are you expected to do the same things differently or do vastly different things?

• What needs to be prioritized, accelerated, delayed, or deferred?

• What levers can you lead with—short game versus long game—and how can you measure progress?

• What capabilities and new roles are needed to ensure your function succeeds?

• How much time do you have and how can you scale it, embracing traction rather than perfection?

Understand the Change for You

• What can you do to align your mindset to ensure you lead the change with positive impact?

• What can you do to focus on the big picture, maintain your perspective, and perform at your best?

• What actions can you take to connect and engage with your stakeholders, peers, and teams to help shape a successful outcome for all (decision makers, influencers, enablers)?

• What can you do to engage leaders to help drive the cultural shift needed to create a change ready workforce that is agile in mindset and action?

• What can you do to balance the weight of expectation with appreciation for your team and yourself during this complex time?

While change is inevitable, the opportunities that accompany it can be incredible. Now is the time to understand the change for the business, for talent development and for yourself. Then adapt and act.