Prepare Yourself With Personas

Many L&D practitioners have used learner personas to better target learning solutions based on workers' tenure, learning preferences, and technology preferences and what motivates them. But have you considered using C-suite personas to help with your executive interactions?

That's the strategy Esther Jackson presents in "Leverage C-Suite Personas to Gain Buy-In." Rather than using personas for exploration and adaption, as you do for learners, focus on strategic direction and charting a plan forward for the organization when you craft C-suite personas.

Personas have numerous uses such as securing agreement for L&D initiatives or budget, helping executives detect biases, and moving the business forward with change management or performance efforts.

Jackson presents five typical decision-making styles to inform personas:

• Visionaries champion radical change.

• Guardians prioritize balance, fairness, and listening to others.

• Motivators want to inspire and empower others.

• Flexible individuals are open to change and willing to pivot.

• Catalysts excel at leading group work and prefer action to caution.

To create the personas, collect data as you would for a learner persona, along with the fictional individual's decision-making style, level of adaptability, and value proposition.

Artificial intelligence prompts can help fill in information you aren't able to obtain. Fuse AI and personas to support communication and messaging with storytelling ideas; empathy mapping and relationship management; or data analysis for executive skills development.

These tips were adapted from the July 2025 issue of TD at Work. Learn more at td.org/TDatWork.