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Talent Development Leader

Disrupting L&D

Rhonda George-Denniston treats the internal workforce like external, high-value clients.

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Tue Jan 21 2025

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TBWA, a perennial name on Fast Company's World's Most Innovative Companies, has built its reputation on Disruption. For the advertising giant, which has earned Adweek’s award for Global Agency of the Year multiple times, Disruption starts with the notion that conventions often act as barriers to new ideas. The philosophy, central to the organization’s identity, challenges those conventions and barriers to spark innovation.

However, it’s more than a philosophy. For TBWA’s global agencies, referred to as “the Collective,” it’s a practice. The Collective’s job is to create brand platforms that not only challenge the status quo but also deliver cultural and market impact.

Rhonda George-Denniston, TBWA’s chief L&D officer, explains that “Disruption is both a mindset and a tool. As a mindset, it asks, ‘How can we overturn convention?’ As a tool, it’s methodical and purposeful. We disrupt because there’s a reason, a rationale, and a process.”

Applying the framework to L&D

During her two-decade tenure at TBWA, George-Denniston has seen the company’s philosophy drive success for clients such as Apple, Gatorade, Hilton, and Nissan. Today, she applies the same principles to TBWA\GLP (global learning program), treating employees like high-value clients.

“We approach L&D challenges just as our agencies tackle brand challenges,” she notes. “We ask: What are we fighting for? What are we fighting against? What are we fighting with?”

For example, when introducing artificial intelligence training to the curriculum, George-Denniston explains how the GLP team looked at each question:

  • What is GLP fighting for? Making AI training accessible and relevant to all employees.

  • What is GLP fighting against? Barriers such as time and budget constraints.

  • What tools and resources can GLP fight with? Internal experts who could make the subject relatable across disciplines.

She shares that by collaborating with the company’s global head of data, GLP was able to quickly curate a live AI training session with a panel of diverse internal experts. The session attracted nearly 1,200 attendees—a record for TBWA\U, GLP’s open-access learning platform that hosts virtual instructor-led classes.

Content isn’t the only way GLP is disrupting L&D; the team finds new ways to use emerging technologies to meet learners where they are. For instance, recognizing the challenges of overcrowded email inboxes, GLP adopted a multiplatform communication strategy. From Instagram to TikTok, social media channels make learning opportunities easy for participants to find and engage with.

TBWA\GLP’s Instagram account, launched just a year ago, now garners more than 100,000 views and reaches 12,000 accounts. “It’s about removing barriers to access,” George-Denniston explains. “By providing multiple pathways, we ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to grow.”

A culture of experimentation

“TBWA’s product is creativity,” says George-Denniston. “To sustain that creativity, we adopt an ‘always in beta’ mindset, constantly experimenting and improving.”

Similarly, George-Denniston notes that GLP’s offerings “are designed to be nimble and drive innovation.” She believes that the team’s focus on delivering live classes, both in person and virtual, supports the company’s spirit of experimentation.

“Everything is changing so rapidly, and we need to be able to anticipate what knowledge and tools we need to upskill. Fortunately, we can easily deliver a live class,” George-Denniston states.

GLP treats each virtual instructor-led class like a full production—whether it’s for 400 or 20 learners. When GLP invites subject matter experts, both external and internal, to teach a class on an emerging or critical topic, the process begins with a pre-meeting to discuss learning objectives and content coverage. Then, GLP and the SMEs review all supplemental materials and slide decks, as well as outline how and when to use any engagement tools such as polls or discussion questions.

In the spirit of beta mode, GLP always sets clear expectations with learners. George-Denniston notes that they let people know when a topic, speaker, or program is something they’re trying out and ask for feedback.

“We see how it lands. And we pivot when needed,” says George-Denniston. “Our focus is content, context, and community. To create a system that thrives, we need to be able to prototype and scale classes and programs rapidly.”

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Democratizing learning opportunities

Accessibility is at the core of GLP’s mission. “Leadership development shouldn’t be limited by hierarchy or geography,” states George-Denniston. “When someone in Singapore learns from a leader’s experience in New York, we know we’re operating as a global collective.”

GLP is always on the lookout for other learning that is happening throughout the Collective. If a training program has positive outcomes in Brazil or South Africa, for instance, George-Denniston’s team works with that agency to understand its best-in-practice tools. GLP may explore how to expand that exact program globally or seek out similar tools and resources in other markets.

“We have to be highly collaborative because what’s working for one agency will likely work for others,” she notes.

For example, Tiger Academy was a leadership development program that originated in the Asia-Pacific region. But, due to its local success, “rather than deliver this development program solely to a specific market, we were able to scale Tiger Academy to bring together rising leaders globally,” explains George-Denniston. “It really extends the spirit of the program. We’re connecting the Collective.”

Currently, Tiger Academy is TBWA’s flagship development program along with Master Gunners for Rising leaders in the organization. Rising is one of GLP’s six stages of learners (new to the ship, emerging, thriving, rising, leading, and executive). With a focus on teaching participants how to drive innovation and growth across the company’s diverse business portfolio, the initiative equips learners not only with the tools and skills to improve their performance, but also helps them develop a network of connections throughout the collective. The program facilitator leads participants through a carefully curated curriculum that provides cutting-edge leadership principles, strategic thinking methodologies, and practical skills.

Participants engage in cultural immersions, mindfulness workshops, and exercises to align their lives with their aspirations. Such a holistic approach challenges traditional leadership paradigms focused solely on business outcomes. Tiger Academy and other leadership development programs prioritize whole-person growth, integrating personal ambitions with professional goals. “Professional development is personal,” George-Denniston emphasizes. “Authentic leadership stems from personal wholeness.”

This approach is making a tangible impact across the Collective, George-Denniston asserts. She points to TBWA\RAAD being named to Fast Company Middle East’s Best Workplaces for Women list as evidence that investing in future leaders elevates the company's agencies to be best in class.

Making an impact

TBWA’s philosophy, at its core, is about creation and transformation. For George-Denniston, it drives GLP’s mission to build a culture of learning, connection, and collaboration.

“Learning, sharing, and innovating is everyone’s job," she says. "But it’s our responsibility in L&D to create the conditions where that can happen organically and effectively. On a practical level, we’re building a TBWA where there are no strangers. We are each the solution to a challenge, and we’ll make a greater impact when we know how we’re each wired to step up to that challenge.”

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