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Rich St. Denis is president of St. Denis Training and Consulting, and serves as a trainer and consultant for the American Management Association (AMA). He has written and delivered 10 national programs for AMA, and has trained more than 20,000 professionals and consulted more than 50 companies during the past 23 years. Previously, Rich served 22 years as an army officer. In that role, he led organizations large and small through a variety of changes—structural, procedural, and technological. Rich has a BS in engineering, an MA in English, and an MBA in management.

Rich Denis

 How well do you communicate during times of complex or unpopular change? Our communication skills in explaining a change are as important as our analytical skills in planning and coordinating it. Indeed, the capability of leaders working in government to speak simply, clearly, and persuasively during complex or difficult change is important—but not easy. It is a key factor in guiding our organizations to a successful outcome. Communicating persuasively during change is my area of professional interest. It is a topic I have taught for many years, and it is at the heart of the consulting that I do. During my experience working with government leaders, I have learned that there are two major hurdles when communicating during a time of change: complexity and resistance. The #1 hurdle is simplifying the complexity of the change. However complex it might be, we must speak in language that is easy to understand. Here are a few tips to do that: Explain in the simplest terms possible the compelling business case for the change. Discuss three brief but sound reasons the change makes good business sense, and three ways our organization stands to benefit from the change. If we haven’t figured this out, trouble lies ahead. Without a clear understanding of the reasons for a change, even our early adopters may lose focus and energy.  Break the change process into small, simple steps. Change is inherently complex, but it must be made to seem simple. If we haven’t figured out the small, simple steps people are to take, more trouble lies ahead. Complex instructions lead to stupid or misguided behavior. Simple instructions lead to straightforward and sophisticated behavior. The #2 hurdle is handling resistance to the change. We must soften up the resistance and open up the resisters to become participants in the change process. Here are a few tips: React positively to any resistance; be glad to hear it and listen well. Resistance from people affected by change—even seemingly small change—is normal, natural, and even healthy. They may have vital concerns or information that we may overlook. And just letting them vent shock, anger, and resistance is often necessary before they can accept change.Recruit a few respected champions to speak up for the change. Have early adopters help communicate the need for the change. Ask them to explain the steps in the change process. Resisters are often persuaded more quickly by their peers than by management. A few negative people don’t have to be detrimental if we handle their resistance well. A lot of negative resistance may indicate a bigger problem that must be addressed—a lack of trust in the leadership for the change. Bottom line: Communication is the lifeblood of every organization, and especially so during times of change. Good communication can shape consensus and motivate action to make the change come to life and take hold.For more insight managing in turbulent times, join me for my session, “Change Management in Challenging Times**,”** at Government Workforce: Learning Innovations.  I will discuss how to manage change while preserving your agency’s ability to get the job done.

How to Communicate Effectively During Change

Rich St. Denis

In a recent ATD webinar that I hosted—Mastering Emotional Intelligence Training With J&J and Amazon—L&D leaders from both companies shared advice on how to successfully roll out EI training at an organization. Here are their expert tips.

Emotional Intelligence Training: Where to Begin

In a world defined by constant innovation, success requires more than fixed expertise—it demands the ability to adapt in increasingly intelligent and tech-driven environments. To develop teams to meet the nuances of today’s shifting business landscape, many organizations have discovered that customized education programs offer more meaningful, precise benefits specific to these development goals. Wharton Executive Education’s Custom Programming for Organizations is designed to provide tailored learning experiences that address your specific business needs. Here are the top five gains your organization can expect from partnering with Wharton.1. A Tailored Curriculum That Reflects Your NeedsStandardized training programs often cover broad topics that might not align perfectly with your specific industry challenges or business goals. Wharton’s custom programming begins with a deep assessment of your organization’s current position, challenges, and ambitions. Faculty and experts at Wharton work with your leadership to design content that directly addresses your pressing issues and growth opportunities. This tailored approach means that rather than general theories, your team gets targeted insights that are directly applicable to your business, ensuring a learning experience that resonates and is immediately relevant.2. Access to Distinguished Research and ExpertiseWith more than a century of leadership in business education, Wharton brings a rich legacy of research and academic excellence to its custom programs. By engaging with Wharton, your organization gains access to the latest academic insights and methodologies that have been tested in real-world business scenarios. This content-forward experience is not about flashy ideas—it is grounded in evidence-based strategies that have shaped industries. Participants leave with practical tools, frameworks, and an enhanced perspective on problem-solving, which they can apply directly to their operational challenges.3. Collaborative Learning for Practical ApplicationLearning is most effective when it’s interactive and collaborative. Wharton’s programs incorporate a range of learning methods including case studies, simulations, experiential-based learning, coaching, and group discussions. This mix of activities ensures that your team grasps theoretical knowledge and practices applying these insights in a collaborative setting. The process of learning together fosters team cohesion and creates a forum for collective problem-solving. 4. Building a Sustainable Culture of LearningInvesting in a custom learning program is about more than addressing immediate gaps in knowledge. It is an investment in a long-term culture of continuous improvement. Participants experience a shift in mindset that values ongoing learning and adaptability. Over time, this culture enhances individual performance and affects the overall organizational climate. Teams that are encouraged to learn continuously develop stronger internal networks, better adapt to new challenges, and drive innovation from within. This cultural change can lead to improved operational effectiveness and a more agile organization.5. Measurable Impact and Lasting OutcomesOne of the most compelling benefits of a customized program is the ability to track and measure improvements over time. With clearly defined objectives aligned to your organization’s goals, outcomes from Wharton’s custom programming are both actionable and trackable. From enhanced decision-making skills to better team collaboration, the practical outcomes of these programs are designed to create lasting impact. Organizations that have implemented these tailored learning solutions have reported measurable improvements in performance metrics, leadership effectiveness, and even market responsiveness. A clear emphasis on actionable learning ensures that the benefits extend well beyond the confines of the classroom or seminar room.Bringing It All TogetherWharton Executive Education’s Custom Programming for Organizations offers a content-driven, collaborative, and practical approach to corporate learning. By focusing on a tailored curriculum, leveraging distinguished academic research, fostering collaborative learning, building a culture of continuous improvement, and emphasizing measurable outcomes, Wharton helps organizations address their unique challenges head-on.

Tailor-Made Learning: 5 Reasons Custom Programming Makes a Difference

Richard H. Thaler, a behavioral economist, and Cass R. Sunstein, a legal scholar, explained that despite our best intentions, we do not always make the best choices. We tend to rely on habits or biases or take the easy path. Nudges can push us in a certain direction or remind us of things we have forgotten to do.Instructional designers can apply elements of nudge theory to increase engagement in learning activities. The way that you curate the learning environment, notify and remind your audience about learning opportunities, and motivate them to stay engaged can influence what and how they learn. Getting Started First, conduct a training needs analysis. In addition to outlining the curriculum itself, consider what is necessary or timely versus what you will need to remind people about over time. Nudges can be very useful when you want to engage learners before or after a formal training session.Next, consider your target audience. Who is more likely to respond to different types of nudges, and how many nudges will it take to engage them? You can look at analytics for overall engagement trends. Find out what people are interested in, how they like to engage, and what drives their choices. Keep in mind that nudges promote, but do not guarantee, certain types of behavior, so do not expect a 100 percent response rate. Instead, set goals to motivate more people than you would have otherwise. Gamifying Your ApproachGamification, or applying game-based elements to learning activities, can improve the effectiveness of your nudges. Points, badges, leaderboards, and rewards provide additional incentives to engage. Here are some of the ways gamification can help: 1. Make it easy to participate. When you're trying to nudge people toward training, you can “cut through the noise” by lowering the barriers to entry. Present your content in a fun, user-friendly way and make it easy for players to play. For example, use a gamification platform like Arcades™ to curate and create a fun space for playing learning games. Then send notifications whenever new games are added and set up single sign-on (SSO) to make it easier for players to log in. 2. Set social norms. People often make decisions based on what they see other people doing. So, nudge learners by showing them how other people engage with your learning games. For example, leaderboards drive competition, but they also show how many other people are participating. Recurring events like weekly, monthly, or “Beat the Boss” challenges nudge people to engage regularly in your training program. 3. Remind people to learn. Whether people are busy, distracted, or procrastinating, they will forget things. Games offer rich analytics that will help you track engagement and set up well-timed nudges. For example, if you see that people are more likely to play learning games on Friday afternoon, send out a nudge on Friday at lunchtime. To make nudges more effective, keep the messages short, 70 words or less, send them at reasonable intervals, and only send them to the people who will directly benefit from the training event. 4. Support goalsetting. Gamification nudges people to set goals and incentivizes goal-related behavior. For example, you can award badges for playing a certain number of games or extra points to players who complete the training within a specific period. 5. Keep it simple. Learners are less likely to respond to nudges when their training is complex, monotonous, or difficult to navigate. But well-designed games grab attention and provide a fun and engaging learning experience. Not only are short games more likely to drive engagement, they also force you to reduce complexity and focus on what content or skills are most important. The next time you construct a learning experience, consider when and how to give people a nudge. Then use gamification to support a culture of fun and continuous learning that can improve engagement and performance. Interested in learning how to create innovative, interactive e-learning content? ATD’s Articulate Storyline Certificate will show you how to use this powerful tool.

How to Leverage Nudge Theory and Gamification to Motivate Your Learners to Train

Artificial Intelligence (AI) stands at the forefront of technological innovation, holding immense promise for the future. It’s shaping industries, revolutionizing healthcare, and pushing the boundaries of what is possible in science, automation, and communication. But one of its most profound impacts will be in talent development, where AI-driven learning platforms, personalized coaching, and intelligent training systems are redefining how we grow and adapt in our careers.That paragraph was written by ChatGPT©, an artificial intelligence chatbot. I asked it what the benefits and potential dangers of AI were, particularly in our field of talent development.Artificial intelligence can be defined as any system that mimics human behavior and produces comparable results. It’s been around in one form or another since humans began doing science. The abacus, for example, was in use in Sumeria as early as 2600 B.C.E. In the early 19th century, Charles Babbage introduced the first mechanical computer, while IBM brought us the first general-use electronic computer (the ENIAC) in 1945. Technology presses on.Today, we engage artificial intelligence in nearly every aspect of our lives. Pressing an elevator button, doing an internet search, and setting a destination on the GPS in our cars are all forms of modern AI. These are known as “special use” forms of AI. But that’s not the kind of AI grabbing everyone’s attention these days.What has our attention now is Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). This is the type of AI that mimics human intelligence, behavior, and thinking. That conversation with ChatGPT© is a good example. I asked it a question, and it gave me an answer. But it wasn’t just a technical question with an objective answer. I asked for its subjective opinion—and it gave it to me.AGI holds incredible potential, harnessing the whole of human knowledge and applying it to myriad challenges: medical diagnoses, more efficient manufacturing processes, and education, to name a few. But perhaps nowhere is AI’s influence more evident than in talent development. AI is transforming how we learn, reskill, and advance in our careers. Intelligent tutoring systems and adaptive learning models now make professional development more accessible and tailored to individual needs. Organizations can analyze workforce trends, identify skills gaps, and even predict future training demands with unprecedented accuracy.However, with all these advances come valid concerns. It’s not just the “machines are taking over” fear, although that remains a popular talking point. There’s the issue of AI-driven assessments—are they accurate, unbiased, and fair? There’s also the risk of over-relying on AI for hiring and promotions, which could reinforce existing biases rather than eliminate them. And, of course, the impact on jobs: AI is streamlining processes but also replacing roles, a trend that has repeated throughout history. If you doubt that, go ask your town crier, elevator operator, or milkman!So, what’s the solution? Like any other form of technological advancement, we must treat AI like a tool—a sharp knife, if you will. It can do a lot for us, but we’ll need to handle it with care. We’ll also need to master it, using it thoughtfully and ethically to support human progress.Beyond job displacement, AI presents ethical risks, including its potential for misuse in surveillance, misinformation, and biased decision making. As AI continues to evolve, organizations must implement responsible practices to ensure fairness and transparency in workforce development.Another challenge is AI’s increasing complexity. As these systems grow more advanced, they may operate in ways that are not fully understandable or controllable by humans. This unpredictability is particularly concerning in education, career planning, and corporate training, where clear decision-making processes are essential.So, I went back to ChatGPT© and asked for its advice. It said:The future of AI is full of potential, but it must be approached with caution. By harnessing its power responsibly, AI can become an invaluable tool for progress. However, without careful management, its rapid advancement could lead to unforeseen challenges that require proactive solutions. The key will be ensuring that AI enhances humanity without compromising our values.Who can argue with that? As we navigate this evolving landscape, particularly in talent development, let’s make sure we’re using AI as a partner—not a replacement—to help people learn, grow, and thrive in the future of work.

The Future of Artificial Intelligence: A Double-Edged Sword

“People don’t just show up in the C-suite overnight.” — Amy HoodWhat’s the point of all this growth and development—the crux of our profession—if we don’t do something with it ourselves? It would be difficult to become a strategic leader and stay at the tactical level anyway, so I based the foundational theory of my book Purposeful Leadership Development, in part, on that idea. What is the upper management team (UMT) and how do we get there?Upper Management Team Theory helps explain how the senior management operates strategically within the organization. The senior managers of an organization exist as an “upper echelon,” strategically directing the organization. The departmental model is common. Members of the UMT are heads of their respective technical departments. They are responsible as a group for strategic leadership of the organization, as well as individually for managing their respective departments. Another is the CEO model: One member has the right to dictate to the other members and can undertake strategic decisions unilaterally. The CEO has the final say, even for departmental decisions. Regardless of the models in place, the typical UMT is sustained by adding functional managers rather than general managers, and then turning them into strategic leaders.In his book The Next Level, Scott Eblin does a terrific job explaining the managerial perspectives that leaders need to let go of and the strategic leadership perspectives they need to pick up to be successful. At the personal level, successful strategic leaders develop confidence in their presence, seek regular renewal of their energy (instead of running until crashing), and custom-fit their communications to a wide variety of audiences. On the team level, they become more reliant on their teams (and less on themselves), define outcomes instead of telling employees how to do things, and become accountable for many more results. Finally, at the organizational level, these strategic leaders look left and right (in addition to up and down) as they lead, adopt an outside-in perspective, and develop a “big footprint” view of their roles, rather than the narrower perspective of a manager. In short, they move away from being bureaucrats and toward being business owners. (Even if what they’re running isn’t technically a business!)No matter what your specialty is—marketing, finance, IT, human capital—there is a science to being on the upper management team. There is also a science behind getting there, too. Let’s examine four ways this happens, including one you probably haven’t considered.R.F. Vancil suggested that executives are selected in one of three ways: by horse race (where an opening is identified, candidates are gathered, and one is selected over the others); by relay race (succession planning, where internal candidates for potential openings are identified, prepared, and once the opening is available, selected); and by crisis (an organizational emergency requires a particular candidate or kind of candidate to be found). But there is a fourth.My own research with chief learning officers (CLOs)—the C-suite members responsible for talent development—showed a fourth way: create it yourself. Some study participants created the CLO position for their organizations and then filled it. This had the dual effect of creating a career opportunity for the new CLO and to introduce the practice of the CLO—and its effect on the organization. Nearly half the study’s participants reported creating and filling the CLO position for the first time for their respective organizations. Someone wanting to advance to the upper management team of their business or organization finding few opportunities in senior leadership might decide to create their own.Joining the upper management team of any business or organization means a transformation from being a tactical manager to becoming a strategic leader. It doesn’t happen by accident. But it certainly can happen on purpose.

Upper Management Team Theory—What’s Going on Up There? (And How Do You Get There?)

The pace of innovation is rapidly accelerating, and artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to redefine how we work, learn, and connect with technology in surprising ways. From empowering new roles and fostering inclusivity, AI is on the brink of reshaping entire industries. As the year comes to a close, CYPHER Learning shares its predictions for how AI will continue to evolve in 2025. 1. A news-worthy blunder courtesy of AI oversightA Fortune 500 leader will deliver a high-profile keynote containing uncorroborated passages produced by generative AI—and regret it. Someone somewhere is going to embarrass themselves in 2025—probably someone we’ve all heard of, too—by inadvertently relaying plagiarized or inaccurate AI-generated content. Content sent up to the executive suite, unproofed, by a team that ought to know better. AI’s role is best governed by an 80-20 rule: Let it handle 80 percent of routine and tedious tasks, but human oversight is essential for the remaining 20 percent, which includes fact-checking, editing, and managing content. Left to its own devices, AI is still young and imperfect enough to mess up. It’s hard to imagine a time when it—and we—won’t need human overseers. While AI has sparked fears of workforce disruption, especially in creative fields, the reality is that it empowers talented professionals—writers, teachers, designers—by taking on routine work, allowing them to focus on the creative and strategic judgment that will be even more valuable in the years to come.2. Prompt engineering will no longer be crucial2024 conventional wisdom: mastering AI requires mastering prompt engineering. 2025: never mind. Not long ago, we were told that to use AI effectively, users would need to master complex prompt design. But this idea is quickly proving outdated. Generative AI is increasingly embedded as a user-friendly, intuitive feature in everyday applications, and soon, any app without AI will seem behind the curve. The belief that specialized skills are required for AI is fading, which is a positive shift since this notion could have limited AI’s potential and widened existing digital divides. Just as previous tech revolutions succeeded by being accessible to all, AI is evolving to understand natural language, user intent, and behavior, allowing a broader range of people to harness its power. Far from deepening digital divides, AI is poised to bridge them as it continues to develop.3. AI breaks into the C-suiteWe’ll see the emergence of a new, immediately vital C-suite position: CAO. Meet the Chief AI Officer (CAO). Much like CIOs and CISOs before them, who spent years pushing for a voice in corporate strategy, CAOs will now take a leading role as AI becomes central to modern business—bringing both vast potential and unique risks. Unlike past oversights that delayed cybersecurity’s rise to a top corporate priority, the importance of AI won’t be overlooked. The CAO will provide broad oversight across technical and ethical domains, integrating AI into key processes like product design, security, and communications. Not every task will need AI, though, and a high-ranking officer will be essential to set boundaries and make strategic decisions. As AI rapidly evolves, organizations will rely on the CAO to establish guidelines to ensure that AI is used responsibly, aligning with corporate goals rather than posing risks.4. AI-enhanced customer service for allUser satisfaction with retail customer service channels will do something incredible: go up. Customer-service horror stories about incoherent chat agents or frustrating voice recognition systems may soon be history. By 2025, generative AI and AI-driven analytics are set to transform automated customer service, creating friendlier, more efficient customer interactions. Imagine a voice agent that truly understands your request—whether it’s for a flight change or a prescription refill—rather than just parroting account details. Even better, advantages like these won’t be limited to massive corporations and Fortune 500 companies. Small businesses can join in, using AI to create high-quality, personalized customer service with less effort, reduced costs, and wider reach. If there’s any downside to all this, it’s that consumer expectations for responsive, intelligent service will rise, with companies that fail to catch the AI wave risking being left in the dust.5. Personalized workplace development displaces old-school trainingPersonalized workplace development will become the new standard, displacing old-school, one-size-fits-all training. With hang-onto-your-hat speed, personalized training is accelerating rapidly, becoming more feasible both economically and logistically for large enterprises with thousands of employees. Modern learning platforms, powered by conscientiously deployed AI, drive this shift, allowing companies to provide dynamic, on-demand upskilling tailored to individual needs. By 2025, we’ll see bite-sized lessons seamlessly fitting into unique workflows, empowering companies to reduce worker-error rates, boost competitiveness, and turn workplace development from a cost center into a value-generating engine. The outdated, linear training approaches—often disruptive and off-target—will be replaced by a hybrid model, blending still-relevant traditional coursework with rich, interactive experiences. As AI enables companies to create targeted, context-appropriate training regimes for everyone, employee satisfaction will grow, turning previously tedious tasks into engaging, job-relevant learning opportunities.How can you leverage AI going into 2025?As AI continues to evolve in 2025, its potential to boost productivity, streamline customer experiences, and drive innovation will only grow. By embracing AI thoughtfully—focusing on responsible use, clear oversight, and leveraging its strengths for routine tasks—users can maximize its benefits while minimizing risks. Whether you’re a leader looking to integrate AI into strategic initiatives or a professional aiming to enhance daily workflows, now is the time to explore how AI can elevate your future. 

5 Bold Predictions for AI in 2025

 Three numbers are bothering me. They relate to 70:20:10, but those aren’t my three vexing numbers.   The first number is 10,000. If you’ve read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, you undoubtedly recognize this as the number of hours it takes to go from novice to expert. Let’s contrast this against my second number: 66. This is the newly updated number of days it takes to form a habit. Yes, that’s right, research shows that it takes 66 days to start something (like make a habit of an exercise routine) or stop something (like quit that smoking habit). Finally, there’s the number 31. According to ATD’s most recent State of the Industry Report, this is the number of training hours that organizations spend annually to develop their leaders. These numbers are vexing because I can’t seem to figure out how, as learning and development professionals, we can ever reach our goal to develop ready-now leaders for our organizations if we only have 31 hours. Let’s consider leadership development. During 31 hours, we may introduce such skills as how to make decisions, delegate, build trust, and so on. But new leaders certainly won’t make a habit of these new skills within that limited amount of time. And they are many, many hours away from becoming a master. The answer to this dilemma lies in another set of three numbers: 70:20:10. We all know that the number 10 refers to formal learning. In essence, this is the 31 hours measured by ATD. Think of it. As a new leader, being invited to a formal learning event is exciting and validating to their career development interests. So, they come to the session engaged learners—ready to soak in everything they can. Yet, once they are back on the job, their excitement and true application of the learning materials seem to taper over time as day-to-day challenges creep in. Fortunately, corporate learning has evolved! We don’t offer only formal learning—and we haven’t for years. We know that our learners require a continuous learning environment, which DDI calls a “learning journey.” A learning journey builds excitement and interest before formal learning, and creates a post-training environment that is rich with activities to ensure that training doesn’t just build awareness of skills, but instead creates lasting behavior changes. Some of the activities that extend beyond the 10 into the 20 and the 70 include:simulation-based learning to practice and cement the new skillspeer coaching sessionsfeedback and support from managersorganized lunch-and-learn sessions to further refine, apply, and maximize adoption of the skills. These types of activities keep learning alive. More importantly, they solve the issue of limited time (31 hours) for formal learning. This is much like the community of support that marathon athletes use when training for an event. They train together, provide recommendations on pace and nutrition, and simulate the “big race” day with mini-marathons. Again, this is all about creating a continuous focus on the journey to complete a marathon—and not a single event. So, all of this leads back to my opening question: I_s_ 70:20:10 still relevant for today’s learners? Or are we living in the past? We’ll explore that in part two of this blog series.Editor’s Note: This blog originally appeared on DDI's Talent Management Intelligence, DDI’s blog for talent management professionals.

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