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Talent Development Leader

Future-Ready Leadership: Building Critical Capabilities for Talent Development Executives

Leading the talent development function today requires a unique set of skills to ensure an organization can thrive in the future

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Wed Feb 05 2025

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The changes TD leaders will face in that future are seemingly endless as generative AI, skills-based talent development, immersive technologies, and personalized learning are transforming the profession. The people who will navigate talent strategy through this endless sea of change must first develop their own capabilities to lead with confidence.

What are the critical capabilities that aspiring leaders must develop? And how can they gain and sustain these skills for the long haul?

ATD recently conducted focus groups with current and aspiring executives in talent development to better understand what skills gaps exist for those preparing to lead the learning function in their organizations in the next three-to-five years. The following were identified as necessary capabilities for success in that role, with many participants citing a lack of such skills in their organizations’ senior leader bench:

  • Business skills: Learning how to be a businessperson first and a learning person second

  • Leadership skills: Moving from leading a team to leading a function

  • Consulting skills: Identifying and solving key business problems

  • Breadth of talent development capabilities beyond learning: Addressing key business challenges across the talent lifecycle

  • Agility and adaptability: Ability to pivot and innovate continuously while setting vision for and leading change efforts

There is a significant opportunity for aspiring TD executives to address these skills gaps—learn how to effectively develop others, shape strategy, and communicate effectively with stakeholders, all while driving enterprise-wide initiatives. To meet this need, ATD partnered with the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (Penn GSE) to bring you the Talent Development Executive Certificate (TDEC). This program joins the industry expertise of ATD with the academic rigor of Penn GSE to build personal, learning, and business leadership skills needed to successfully lead as a C-suite executive.

Unlike general executive leadership programs, the TDEC was designed using competency research from ATD’s Talent Development Capability Model™ and input from business leaders about what talent development and learning executives need to know and do to be successful. Attendees will learn how to:

  • Lead and manage an enterprise talent or learning development organization, department, or function using communication, leadership, emotional intelligence, and decision-making skills to support the business, influence stakeholders, provide feedback, and coach team members.

  • Lead and support organizational learning and development by integrating policies, facilitating strategic discussions, and strategically sponsoring talent development initiatives in alignment with the overall talent and business strategy.

  • Optimize learning outcomes by effectively leveraging learning science, evaluating the impact of learning, and designing a learning experience that prioritizes the learner experience.

  • Strategically leverage emerging learning technologies and integrate them into the organization’s business strategy to increase efficiency, reduce cost and time, and support the learning and talent strategy by managing the technology ecosystem effectively.

  • Assess organizational talent development requirements, align TD initiatives with talent strategy, and develop and implement a knowledge management strategy to enhance employee performance and business outcomes.

  • Develop, communicate, and execute a talent strategy that aligns with the overall business strategy, fosters a culture of innovation and learning agility, and generates measurable business outcomes.

Designed for sustained learning and application, this program is ideal for high-potential senior talent and workplace learning leaders, including those preparing for C-suite roles, who are seeking to elevate their leadership capabilities and strategic impact. The TDEC covers these six topics, each spanning one month, through a fully virtual cohort-based learning experience combining synchronous sessions and asynchronous work:

  1. Being a C-Suite Leader in Talent Development

  2. Business Strategy and Organizational Leadership

  3. Organizational Culture and Change Management

  4. People Analytics

  5. Learning Technology Strategies, EdTech, and Digital Learning Solutions

  6. Future Readiness: Innovation and Creativity in Learning

Successful participants of this program will earn the co-branded ATD-Penn GSE Talent Development Executive Certificate and digital badge. They will develop a strong network of peers through ongoing collaboration during the course and have access to an optional in-person gathering at ATD25 in Washington, DC.

Are you ready to gain the skills needed to lead the learning function into the future? The inaugural Talent Development Executive Certificate cohort launches on March 17. Learn more about this premier course for rising TD executives here.

Read more from Talent Development Leader.

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