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Rich Douglas is executive director of Bellevue University’s Human Capital Lab. He has extensive public- and private-sector experience in training, management and leadership, and delivering solutions for AT&T, Corrections Corporation of America, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, and others. A retired United States Air Force officer, Douglas has also been a faculty member for several universities. He holds an MBA from National University, a doctorate from Union Institute and University, specializing in nontraditional higher education and a doctorate in human resource development from the University of Leicester. He also holds the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD), and Professional Certified Coach (PCC) designations. Rich resides in Tucson, Arizona, with his wife, Paula. 

Rich Douglas

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

It’s never too soon to begin thinking about how you’ll enter retirement and what you’ll be and do during that phase of your life.

Talent Developers in Retirement—Where Do We Go From Here?

“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?)

“What’s the difference between leadership and management?” "Ha,” you might think, “that’s easy”:You manage things but lead people.Anyone can learn to manage, but real leaders are born.Leadership is getting people to do what they don’t want to do. Each of these dances around the concepts, but don’t truly hit the mark. Let’s take them in reverse order. Leadership is getting people to do what they don’t want to do.This one is close—often, leaders must get their people to do undesired or unpleasant things. But this is just a piece of leadership—motivation, specifically. Anyone can learn to manage, but real leaders are born.This is the classic struggle between “trait theory” and “behavioral theory,” the question of whether people are born leaders or if leadership can be learned. Let’s cut through the noise, shall we? Leadership can be learned. After all, if leadership is based on the traits you’re born with, what’s the point of spending billions of dollars on leadership development programs every year? What’s with all that science and those books and magazine articles? Do the traits we’re born with determine our leadership potential? No, but they influence it. Sure, being intelligent, brave, and well-spoken are examples of traits that help you become a better leader. But they’re not mandatory. And how many leaders have you known who are too smart for their own good (“intelligent”), foolhardy (“brave”), and who are all talk and no action (“well-spoken”)? Traits, undisciplined by leadership behaviors, can hurt your leadership ability. You manage things but lead people.This one is a classic. And it is dead wrong! The implication here is that management is a way to control objects, processes, projects, and so forth. That part is right. But it’s also very true that people are managed. There is even a job title for people who do this: managers! Leadership—the interpersonal kind—is considered one of the functions of being a manager. However, it’s a limited way of looking at leadership and management, as if we happily chug along managing our responsibilities until we need to pull out some leadership in dealing with our people. No, it’s much more fluid than that, a lot more challenging, and a lot more fun.All right, so what is a good distinction between leadership and management? As things unfold in this article, you’ll see why this one works:Management is keeping things on track. Leadership is going someplace new.Let’s look at these two ideas and see how they’re different.Management is keeping things on track. Back in the day, railroad engines ran on steam. In the early days, they got that steam by burning wood in a furnace that, in turn, heated water, which created the steam that powered the engine. In the cabin was a conductor who drove the train, and a “fireman” responsible for keeping the furnace stoked with wood. He was also required to keep an eye on the pressure gauge, ensuring it didn’t get too high (and explode) or too low (the train would slow down or even stop). The fireman managed the furnace/boiler to ensure it ran correctly and knew what adjustments to make to keep it that way. Leadership is going someplace new. Let’s stay with trains for this one. Have you ever flown with Southern Pacific Airways? Or Baltimore-Ohio Air? Of course not. You can’t; they don’t exist. But trains used to be the fastest way for passengers to travel around the country. (Southern Pacific and Baltimore-Ohio were passenger train companies.) Not anymore, of course. And when passenger plane service was introduced, it was with new companies. Why not train companies? Why didn’t they introduce air travel so they could keep their valuable (and lucrative) passenger service? Because they saw themselves as train companies. But what if, instead, they had the foresight to imagine themselves in the people-moving business? It would have been natural for them to upgrade their technology (from trains to planes) to stay in the business of passenger travel. Instead, a lack of leadership—the ability to go someplace new—took them completely out of that business. (The passenger train business was completely wiped out, reduced to one publicly subsidized company—Amtrak—operating at a loss each year. And don’t even get me started on how the long-range bus companies suffered the same fate!) Leadership could have brought them into the future. Instead, a lack of leadership (and a key component of it: vision) took them out…for good.So, you manage people and lead them on an interpersonal level. Organizations require strategic leadership to guide them into the future. Which are you (and will you be)? Hopefully, both!

Classic Distinctions Between Leadership and Management—Why They’re Wrong

Most problems leaders face are “technical” ones—simple to complicated with known solutions. This is the crux of management. But then there’s VUCA—Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. And when are things not VUCA? Real strategic leadership is situated in VUCA, with leaders faced with heading into the unknown. It’s during these trying times that having a coach can really help. Coaches are trained professionals, working as partners with their clients toward success. They ask questions, provide frameworks for analyzing situations, challenge assumptions, probe deeply into situations, and much more. Coaches within a leadership development program can reinforce learning, help participants transfer their learning into performance, and help address just about anything else that comes up in the client’s life. Outside of a formal leadership development program, coaches can still partner with their clients as they navigate through challenges and opportunities, especially the ones located in VUCA. Coaches can specialize in many areas, including career coaching, wellness, physical fitness, and yes, leadership. Coaches certified by the International Coaching Federation are highly trained and experienced in helping their clients reach new heights of success. The more uncertain the future is, the more value you’ll get from bringing in coaches to work with your strategic leaders for organizational success. 

VUCA Got Ya? Get a Coach!

It is often the goal of talent developers to run their own learning organizations, especially at a strategic level. Opportunities to become a chief learning officer (CLO) are rare. But it’s not enough to find (or create) one—you’ve also got to be ready for it when that happens! There’s a lot written about having “a seat at the table” and what to do when you get there. However, there is precious little advice on how to prepare yourself for the role. In this article, I’m going to suggest four areas for your development: Technical Expertise, Strategic Leadership Skills, Business Savvy, and Adult Stage Development.Technical ExpertiseAs managers move into more senior leadership roles, they still need to understand the ins and outs of their professional areas. This gives them context and understanding of their organization’s mission and activities, and what they bring to the table when helping to run the organization. Do you have one of our professional certifications, the Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD®) or the Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD®)? Or perhaps one or more professional certificates, like ATD’s Instructional Design, Project Management, or Master Trainer? On the academic side, have you completed a degree (or advanced degree) in a talent development field? However you approach it, continuing to build your technical expertise will give you greater skills and credibility.Strategic Leadership SkillsCLOs must go beyond managing their function. They must become business leaders as part of the senior leadership team of their organization. To function at that level, they must learn to be strategic leaders. Managers solve technical problems with known solutions. But strategic leaders solve adaptive challenges—new and complex trials that require advanced leadership skills like innovation, adaptability, perseverance, and systems thinking.Business SavvyAt the CLO level, it’s no longer enough to merely understand your own contributions to the mission. You’ll also have to develop a full grasp of the entire enterprise and a true appreciation of the competitive, external environment. In short, you must become a businessperson. What does the business or organization do? How does it do it? For whom? Against whom? What are its headiest challenges and opportunities, and where are the weaknesses and threats to its success? And, most importantly, how does the talent development organization contribute to all of it?Adult Stage DevelopmentWe’re all familiar with the stages children go through as they develop into adults. But did you know that adults keep developing to later stages, too? They do. And these developments correlate strongly with leadership success. While the other three areas deal with various competencies, this is about your capacity to stay in uncertainly longer, to consider multiple alternative solutions to a challenge—or even multiple realities in a situation. Can you cope with—and succeed in—greater VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity)? Are you able to lead your organization through the unknown toward the new reality?So, how do you do all of that? I’m sure as talent developers you’re already thinking about the possibilities. There are specific methods for transforming managers into strategic leaders. But those will have to wait for another day!

So, You Want to Be a Chief Learning Officer?

In managing our own development, talent developers are faced not only with the challenge of continuous learning, but also the need to have that learning recognized by stakeholders in their careers (employers, human resources departments, and clients, for example). A great way to accomplish this is by earning credentials these stakeholders will recognize. In this edition, we’ll lay the foundation for this dynamic, examine three types of credentials, and explore the ups and downs of pursuing each one.Credential as a ProxyA credential is issued by some authoritative body, attesting the credential holder’s knowledge and skills in a particular area. As a proxy, it speaks on behalf of the credential holder—a degree listed on one’s résumé, for example, or a certificate from a training program entered into one’s LinkedIn page. It says something about you.Social Capital TheorySociologist Pierre Bourdieu suggested we can examine social dynamics as an exchange of capital—you get something, and you give something. When pursuing a credential, you offer two forms of capital: your money and your learning effort. In return, you receive two forms of capital: an education (or other learning experience) and a credential. The rest of this article focuses on the latter, the credential.Types of Credentials and the Social Capital ExchangedWe’ll examine three forms of credentials professionals typically pursue, as well as the capital exchanged to get them. These are: certificates, certifications, and degrees.Certificates. These typically are the simplest to obtain (and the least expensive). Certificates can be awarded by almost anyone—typically schools, businesses, and professional organizations. They can be as short as a few hours or last several weeks or even months. There are no controls over who issues what certificates, so it’s up to each stakeholder to assess their value and meaning. You might not want to put that safety training certificate you got from your employer on your résumé, but you would certainly include that executive leadership training certificate you received from Harvard!In terms of capital exchange, certificates are usually the easiest to earn and the least expensive as well. However, they can sometimes be brief and may not say a lot to people evaluating the holder.Certifications. These differ from certificates in meaningful ways. First, they’re typically awarded by either governmental agencies or professional associations. Second, they tend to be much more widely recognized in professional circles. (They can even be mandatory. You can’t practice law without a law license, for example.) Typically, a certification will require a certain amount of professional experience and the passing of an examination, adhering to a code of ethics and continuing education to maintain the credential. In talent development, our professional body, the Association for Talent Development, offers two levels of certification: the Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD®) and the Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD®). Achieving either of these attests to the holder’s experience and their knowledge (demonstrated by passing a certification examination).When thinking about capital exchange, certifications often offer the best “bang for the buck.” Many relevant certifications can be obtained inexpensively and can have a great impact on one’s career, both in terms of learning and recognition.Degrees. Degrees are offered exclusively by colleges and universities. They require one or more years of focused study. Whether it’s a bachelor’s degree to round out your education, a master’s degree to get advanced training, or a doctorate to become a professional who does research, earning a degree—especially one related to your profession—can be an extremely valuable credential to hold.Keep in mind, however, that earning a degree is both time-consuming and can cost tens of thousands of dollars—a huge investment no matter how you look at it. But the capital you receive—advanced training and almost universal recognition—can be a career-booster—or career-changer!ConclusionEarning a credential—whether it’s a certificate, certification, or a degree—can enhance your career tremendously. But keep in mind your own developmental and career goals, as well as the time, effort, and expense involved. Balance this with your other commitments and priorities and you’ll make the best choice for your career—now and into the future.

Developing the Developer – Credentials Edition

In the talent development field, we talk a lot about “getting a seat at the table.” The idea is that the talent development function of an organization should be aligned strategically with the mission of the business or organization, and its head (such as the chief learning officer, or CLO) should be at the same level as other senior executives (like the chief information officer and the chief marketing officer). Regardless of the title used, the head of talent development needs to be a part of the strategic leadership team.But every executive “seat” needs to be filled with a strategic leader in its respective discipline. So, how do you make the leap from training manager to CLO? Well, there are three areas you should pay particular attention to as you plan for your development and your leap into the executive suite: technical skills, business savvy, and strategic leadership. Let’s look at each.Technical SkillsEach person in the “c-suite” brings to the table their professional background and expertise. And even at the highest levels of executive leadership, they’re still called on to provide that expertise in leading the enterprise. In talent development, that means the CLO needs to have a clear understanding of—and experience in—the various functions of that department, including assessment, design and development, andragogy, measurement, knowledge management, and more. You probably won’t be an expert in every aspect of the talent development field, but having a good handle on each one is vital to your role as an executive.So, how do you get this expertise? Here are some questions to ask yourself. Have you done a professional credential like ATD’s Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD®) or the Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD®)? Or perhaps a certificate program? Are you engaged with your local ATD chapter? Do you keep up to date with the latest trends in the field found in magazines, journals, and books? In short, how engaged are you with the profession’s body of knowledge?Technical skills are one piece of the developmental ladder to the executive suite. Let’s look at the others.Business SavvyWhat do you call a member of the US Air Force who spends their entire career on the ground, never setting foot in a plane? Airman. Everyone is an “airman,” regardless of what specialty they hold and perform. Why? Because a key to cohesiveness and mission performance is that everyone understands the mission and embraces the organizational culture.What do you know about your enterprise’s mission beyond your own contribution to it? For example, if you are a leadership trainer for a nationwide homebuilder, do you understand the dynamics of that field? Do you know how land is acquired and planned, how homes are constructed and financed, how they’re sold, and how customers are serviced? If you’re going to move into an executive role, you will need to understand the context in which you operate—and understand the people and culture surrounding you—if you’re going to make meaningful contributions to the leadership of the business.Strategic LeadershipLeadership comes in two varieties: interpersonal and strategic. Interpersonal leadership centers on employee engagement, performance management, interpersonal communications, and more. It is a management function. Strategic leadership, on the other hand, is focused on the direction of the business or organization into the future—into the unknown. Strategic leaders need to be able to anticipate new trends and developments, create new solutions and innovations, and situate the business into the greater society. Effective strategic leaders relate to people, are highly self-aware, embrace authenticity, examine issues systemically (not in a vacuum), and achieve results.How do you develop your strategic leadership skills? The first step is awareness—what are your strengths and weaknesses? Where do you excel and in which areas do you need to improve? Evaluations—for example, a 360-degree assessment—can give you insights and help you to create a development plan. Universities, companies, and professional organizations offer training in strategic development skills. And, books specifically written for the developing executive are all means you can use to elevate your strategic leadership game.SummaryIt’s easy to get trapped in our technical expertise as we grow into our profession. After all, that’s what we get paid to do, right? But if we want to move beyond growing and we want to develop to later career stages, we also need to ensure our understanding of the business environment (business savvy) and strategic leadership skills are highly developed, as well. As Marshall Goldsmith reminds us, “What got you here won’t get you there.”

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