Soaring to New Heights

The BEST Awards recognize organizations that demonstrate enterprise-wide success as a result of employee talent development. The winners use learning as a strategic business tool to get results. View the entire list of 2025 BEST Award winners.

"As the workplace evolves, so do the demands on leadership. The way we lead, train, and develop people must adapt to shifting expectations and challenges," writes Russ Hill, cofounder and senior partner at Lead In 30, in "3 Leadership Development Trends You Shouldn't Ignore in 2025."

While their challenges varied, companies have implemented emerging leader programs that supported strategic business goals, with the programs' success due largely to the support of senior leaders and the C-suite.

A good source

To meet its challenges, Constant Contact launched a new leadership development program, Ascend. The initiative enables the global marketing platform to "nurture top talent through asynchronous learning and collaborative projects focused on real company challenges," explains Steve Winkel, vice president of talent and engagement.

The organization previously lacked formal strategies for nurturing high-potential and future leaders. But, through Ascend, employees receive a structured path that enables them to sharpen their mentoring, skills-building, and leadership experience. Senior leaders, as well as previous participants, serve as program and project sponsors, demonstrating the initiative's strategic importance.

"The program combines academic rigor with strategic thinking and practical application, ensuring participants gain valuable insights while working on a significant business project," Winkel states. "Ascend represents our commitment to cultivating strong senior leaders who can navigate challenges and drive innovation. This unique blend of development and real-world application empowers participants to make meaningful contributions that elevate the entire organization."

The venture has already produced tangible results. Some projects have led to new product features and the company created a centralized customer operations and sales enablement team. Further, Constant Contact uses a multipronged method to measure success, tracking key performance indicators such as participant retention rates, performance, and employee engagement scores.

"This initiative not only streamlined cross-functional enablement and collaboration; it also enhanced our capacity to respond to market demands more effectively," Winkel says, "showcasing the direct impact of our investment in talent development to help achieve organizational success."

It takes two

Hotai Finance Corporation, a Taiwan-based company in the finance sector, created its Dual-Gears Learning Mechanism with a joint purpose in mind: to upskill high-potential employees and to reskill supervisors. That, notes TD specialist Jim Julian Chu, "creates a continuous development loop, ensuring a strong leadership pipeline while fostering both individual and organizational growth." High-potential employees learn leadership skills while supervisors refine their managerial capabilities through such activities as real-time mentoring.

The Dual-Gears Learning Mechanism program, along with the company's other TD initiatives, align with strategic business goals such as digital transformation, global expansion, and sustainability. The programs improve employee readiness as well as enhance the company's ability to adapt to changing business environments.

By September 2024, the initiative had successfully upskilled 74 high-potential employees, with one-third of them advancing to supervisory roles. At the same time, the program reskilled supervisors, enhancing the company's leadership pipeline.

As its core, the TD functions around an MVP "talent development guideline"—mindset, value, and power. That means fostering a growth-oriented mentality, promoting innovation, and enhancing global mobility. Leadership support and involvement are also fundamental. Senior executives are an active part of the training committee, helping to shape and review development programs to ensure they align with the company's mission and vision.

"We have remained steadfast in our belief that talent is the greatest driving force behind our continued progress and competitiveness," shares Hotai Finance's general manager Yan-Liang Lin. That includes the high-potential training program to nurture that segment of talent. "No matter how the environ­ment changes in the future, we are committed to ongoing transformation and innovation, knowing that our continued success relies on the collective efforts of our people and our steadfast dedication to talent development."

Promoting from within

Kaplan, a global-based company in the academic sector, is committed to the success and ongoing development of its employees and leaders.

In 2023, L&D received feedback through employee engagement surveys and focus groups to offer leadership development training for nonpeople managers who were interested in a career path in leadership. Leveraging that feedback, L&D—in concert with HR and the executive team—developed an emerging-leader program, a comprehensive TD initiative to identify, train, and nurture high-potential employees for future leadership opportunities.

The company's Develop U framework focuses on TD practices that foster a culture of continuous learning, giving employees the power to drive their own development in experiential learning development programs from individual contributor to executive leader. High-potential staff could take initiative and apply for the emerging-leader program, after which HR and senior leadership reviewed and selected candidates.

Of the 22 high-potential individuals who took part in the 2024 program, 100 percent graduated at the conclusion of the eight-week program. Further, two members attained people-manager positions within six months of graduation.

The L&D team worked with senior leadership and HR to align the program with business needs, identifying key skills and competencies future leaders will need. The team used targeted metrics and collected comprehensive data.

"We reported our executive summary findings to stakeholders with clear visualizations and reports, demonstrating the return on investment and the program's contribution to the organization's strategic goals," details Rosa Finelli, Kaplan's executive director of L&D.

"By rigorously measuring and analyzing the impact of our emerging-leader program, we ensure it remains a valuable asset for developing future leaders and driving organizational success."

View the entire list of 2025 BEST Award winners.