During the COVID-19 pandemic, some organizations have struggled to survive, while others have found a way to thrive. These thriving organizations have used the disruption as a catalyst for long-term change. They adopted a growth mindset, which led them to reinvent their businesses to create new value in the market and those they serve. Successful organizations have redefined their work in ways that reflect enduring human qualities such as creativity, empathy, and communication and are using those, rather than traditional business metrics, to measure growth.

One vital quality exhibited by thriving organizations is a commitment to learning. In Deloitte’s research, 72 percent of global executives said “the ability of their people to adapt, reskill, and assume new roles” was the most important or second most important factor in their organization’s resilience. Yet only 17 percent of executives said that their organizations were ready to adapt and reskill workers. Learning can help unleash the human potential within the workforce. Given the dynamic nature of work and the short life span of new business and technical skills, organizations and workers alike are eager to update their knowledge and skills continually.

Organizations can supplement traditional skills training with learning opportunities that support enduring human capabilities. Enabling workers to choose what they learn, when they learn, and how they learn will promote a sense of autonomy that will help decrease the burnout that workers might be experiencing. Relinquishing control of professional development to workers demonstrates the organization’s faith in the workforce, which may help foster long-term resilience and passion. Giving workers the ability to determine how to apply their skills, capabilities, passion, and experiences to evolving mission needs can help align them with the organization’s goals and ethos.

Supporting enduring human capabilities allows organizations to thrive during challenging times by optimizing human potential. Leaders must ask what a human-centered approach looks like for their organization. First, leaders can engage their workers in redefining what the organization does and how work gets done. This bottom-up approach allows workers the opportunity to apply their skills, capabilities, and vision. Second, organizations can support learning efforts through team collaboration and provide personalized learning opportunities that are effective, short, and easily accessible. Tapping into the human potential in the workforce creates business outcomes that generate value for the organization and builds trust and loyalty—both human qualities—with the workforce.