Talent Development Guide: Building a data-driven, human-centered strategy
If you want to grow and compete in today’s market, you need a data-driven and human-centered talent development strategy. Talent development goes beyond making sure your employees have the knowledge and training they need to do their jobs and comply with workplace policies and laws. Talent development transforms workers into leaders.
Leadership isn’t an inborn trait; it’s a skill that needs to be learned and nurtured. Thoughtful, consistent talent development ensures you have growing leaders at every level of your organization. Leaders are your company’s culture carriers. They embody your vision, put your values into action, and translate your mission into achievable goals. Talent development helps shift employees from a management mindset focused on near-term outcomes to the kind of big-picture, people-first thinking that generates long-term, holistic success.
This guide will help you build a comprehensive talent development program tailored to your organization’s needs and your employees’ strengths. We’ll start with real-life challenges and work our way through how to meet them, including how to choose the right talent development partner for your team. Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
Challenges to developing leaders and building teams
If talent development was easy, the world would be full of focused companies with deeply connected teams; sky-high morale; and enthusiastic, engaged employees. That’s not reality. Why not? Organizations face several challenges that can construct serious roadblocks to strategic leadership growth.
1. Constant change means leading through uncertainty
Did you know that 65% of employees report that their jobs have changed significantly enough in the past two years that they now need different skills or capabilities — and are struggling to keep up ?1 The speed of change seems to be increasing, and employers are getting whiplash from all the pivots. Yes, employees need regular skills-based training to continue to maintain baseline productivity, but they need more than that, too. They need leaders who understand how to motivate and guide their teams when uncertainty is the only constant.
2. Organizations define leadership too narrowly
Too often, companies equate leadership with a title or role instead of a way of working. If you aren’t looking beyond your C-suite and managers for leadership development, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity. You don’t have to manage people to lead. There are employees in every job tier, department, and/or experience level who can benefit from development. When you invest in all emerging leaders, regardless of title, you’re investing in your organization’s future and overall wellbeing.
3. Emerging leaders lack role models
When organizations are just starting to build a talent development program, you may have C-suite executives who’ve never been invested in or new managers arriving from less healthy environments. As a whole, our succeed-at-all-costs culture of hustle hasn’t been great at developing well-rounded leaders. As a result, organizations can end up with a workforce full of people who have rarely (or never!) worked for a good leader. Many have no idea what they are missing, and it makes it difficult for emerging leaders to envision alternative futures.
4. Younger employees crave connected leaders
Research on the growing Gen Z workforce (employees born in the late 90s through the early 2010s) suggests younger team-members’ early life experiences — the pandemic, growing up with smartphones and social media, watching their parents struggle financially — have significantly impacted their expectations. They’re not asking to be simply managed and told what to do. They are asking to be led. Some experts say this generation wants deeper social connection with their bosses and co-workers, and 40% of Gen Z employees say they expect their boss to give them feedback daily.2 Managing to check-box outcomes won’t keep this generation engaged; empathetic leadership is needed to avoid high turnover amongst your younger set.
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The business case for talent development
Proponents of talent development sometimes struggle to get buy-in from budget-keepers. There’s a misconception that investing in leadership is a nice-to-have line item that won’t immediately affect your bottom line. Nothing could be farther from the ROI truth. Talent development impacts every area of your business and should remain a priority — especially in lean years and periods of big change. Here’s what strategic investment in all levels of leadership will get you:
Engagement that retains and attracts talent
When you invest in your employees’ growth, they feel valued. When you trust workers to lead, they stay engaged. A smart development plan not only helps your organization retain top talent, but cuts down on the need to search for leadership candidates outside the organization. Talent development has a real impact on notoriously expensive hiring and onboarding budgets. In addition, generously investing in your employees builds your reputation in the surrounding job marketplace. When you do hire from the outside, you’ll be more likely to attract like-minded, lifelong learners who will start engaged and stay that way.
Productivity that boosts your bottom line
It’s easy to underestimate the drag poor leaders can have on their teams. Organizations often report big bumps in productivity as they level up their talent development programs. With well-nurtured leaders, you can expect teams to operate more smoothly, adapt faster, think more strategically, and innovate more creatively.
Growth that keeps going
Finally, you can’t argue with growth. Especially the steady, sustainable kind. Any organization can luck its way into some flash-in-the-pan success, but only one with a wide network of prepared leaders is ready to capitalize on momentum — or create it out of nothing. You can’t grow in the long-term without a comparable long-term investment in your people.
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Other benefits of a defined talent development program
The big three bottom-line benefits listed above aren’t the only reasons to craft a thorough talent development program. There are countless other upsides to supporting leaders from within. Here are three more you may not have thought of:
Employees who can transcend roles and titles
True leaders aren’t bound by their job descriptions. They know how to both fulfill expected responsibilities and step in to cover surprise gaps as well. If workers master leadership traits, they can take on almost any challenge. In fact, according to The World Economic Forum, four of the top five skills businesses are prioritizing for 2027 fall under the more versatile development umbrella: analytical thinking, creative thinking, leadership and social influence; and resilience, flexibility and agility.3 If your industry is in flux (whose isn’t?) you need people who can flex. Strategic talent development delivers that capable versatility.
Preserved institutional knowledge
When you cut down on turnover and develop leaders from within, your ability to pass down important internal information — from proprietary knowledge to cultural touchstones — skyrockets. Well-trained leaders also have great communication skills, enabling them to stay on message and keep their teams on the same page.
A clear path to the future
More than half of organizations lack confidence in their succession planning ability.4 But preparing for the future becomes much easier when you have a whole workforce of developed leaders to choose from. A structured leadership development plan can help raise the success rate of transitioning leaders. Democratizing talent development across the entire organization helps light your company’s way forward.
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Types of talent development tools
Talent development can come in many different forms. It might be more accurate to say that talent development must be delivered in varying modalities to meet the needs of unique individuals, teams, and companies. Here are six of the most common ways to help emerging leaders grow:
Traditional classroom training
Whether taught in-person or virtually, this is what many people think of first when they imagine “leadership training.” There are a myriad of leadership training options available on the marketplace, making this an accessible tool for teams who aren’t creating their own learning materials. Because they are a known quantity, classroom sessions may also be an easier sell to a C-suite on the fence about increasing their investment in talent development. What seems like a simple choice at first can get more complex as the vetting process begins. There are many alternatives to weed through, and organizations need to be clear on their priorities to find their best matches. In addition, although classroom training can be a great choice for large and medium-scale learning, they usually don’t offer much customization on the individual student level, outside of Q&A sessions.
Coaching or mentoring
One-on-one development is the very definition of custom and can have a huge impact on individual growth. Experienced coaches and mentors can help emerging leaders work through challenges and celebrate wins in real-time. Of course, the effectiveness of this teaching method depends on the abilities of the coach or mentor and the quality of the relationship. Many organizations develop a program framework to connect more of their employees to mentors/coaches and support individual partnerships.
Team facilitation
Team-based workshops or training sessions help groups build cohesion, agree on strategy, and smooth any communication wrinkles. This is an appropriate strategy if a department is struggling or if you want to be proactive about cohort collaboration. Sometimes, however, team facilitation is used as a band-aid to cover problems with a single leader and avoid calling any one person out. In those cases, minimize interdepartmental resentment with a more direct one-on-one approach.
Rotational assignments and special projects
Learning by doing is powerful! Moving new or developing leaders to teams or projects where they can grow can instill confidence. This is a built-in, organic solution every company has access to — as long as there’s organizational support and patience for on-the-clock education. Imposing a new leader’s learning curve onto an already stressed team can be a recipe for disaster. Make sure your company has the flexibility and bandwidth for this method before switching up your org chart.
Formal executive and leadership programs
Another key piece of the talent development pie is supporting employees’ formal education through financial support or time flexibility. Your organization will benefit from the employees’ up-to-date institutional learning and widened networks while helping them meet their own educational goals. This option can be more expensive than others, depending on the level of company contribution, and return-on-investment varies depending on the program. Companies should develop a clear policy based on their business goals to offer strategic formal support.
Immersion retreats
Finally, when it comes to executive learning, leadership retreats are an in-demand option. While immersive retreats in beautiful locales can be fun for attendees, they can also be more expensive than other kinds of learning. The success of the program depends heavily on the quality of facilitation and whether it addresses the organization’s most pressing leadership challenges. Splashy retreats can also create a problematic divide between those who are chosen to go and those who aren’t. This shouldn’t be your first or only leadership development tool, but it can be a problem-solver when you need an immersive solution or a motivating carrot for reluctant learners.
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How to build a customized talent development program
You know the challenges. You know the benefits. You know the educational options. Now, it’s time to consider how. The most important thing to remember is that every organization is different and no two leadership programs will look alike — just like no two leaders will! Follow these five steps to build a program that meets your company’s one-of-a-kind development needs.
Step 1: Analyze your leadership development needs
Every how needs a why. Start by aligning your leadership development needs with the company’s long-term goals and strategies. What are the challenges ahead? What problems have you faced in the past that you can better prepare for in the future? Identify specific skills or competencies that leaders will need to meet these objectives. Do those needs differ by department or job tier? Make a note of any specifics.
Step 2: Assess your current team’s abilities
The second rule: Always lead with the data. Now that you know your development needs, compare your current leadership capabilities against the skills required — and the cultural needs for the company’s future success. Use behavioral assessments, 360 assessments, and/or engagement surveys to track your baseline.
Step 3: Identify gaps
Pinpoint the gaps between your current state of leadership and the goal state needed to achieve strategic objectives. Again, if there are tiers, departments, or teams missing certain leadership essentials, highlight those differences.
Step 4: Stock your toolbox
Choose the right learning opportunities to meet your challenges. For upping basic leadership skills, traditional classroom training can be a cost-effective choice. If you need to help shift mindsets, individual or group coaching can help. If you have high-potential employees ready for expanded opportunities, mentoring may be your best option. If you’re seeing low engagement in certain departments, you can zero in on manager coaching. Seeing a lack of strategy and cohesion? Get that team in a facilitated session, STAT. Just remember, there’s no one magic solution for every leadership development challenge. You will need a variety of tools to help your workforce evolve.
Step 5: Continual delivery
This is the fun part! It’s time to deliver. And deliver. And deliver. Development never stops. Make sure your talent development program is designed for sustainability and continuous improvement. How will you know what’s working? Integrate your measurement and feedback tools, and you’ll always know what to do next.
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Why work with a talent development consultative partner?
Yes, you can create your own talent development program…but should you? Many organizations choose to outsource with consultative partners to supplement their internal efforts. Here’s why third-party partnerships are popular with companies who want to supercharge their development programs.
Outside perspective
It’s very normal to develop some tunnel vision when you’re focused on helping your organization thrive. Talent development consultants offer a blinders-off wider viewpoint. The best have developed a clear picture of the current leadership landscape by working with diverse organizations. Often, an outsider can see your company’s current state with a little more clarity than you can — and will nudge you to envision a bigger future than you may have imagined for yourself.
Consultants also come in with a clean slate. They don’t have preconceptions about your staff’s potential or perceived shortcomings. This lack of insider knowledge can help take politics out of the leadership development process and keep attention on the actual data. In tricky situations, employees may be more forthcoming with an outside consultant, which can reveal previously hidden trouble spots.
Strategic approach
Consultants are practiced at hewing to strategy and helping organizations choose the best solutions for their needs. Sometimes, especially when the challenges are big, companies can fall into the grocery-shopping-while-hungry trap of choosing the first, tastiest treat presented (let’s face it, usually a cushy leadership retreat!) Consultants can guide organizations toward smarter, more satisfying choices using a data-driven plan.
Dedicated development experience
Unless an organization has a very large human resources department, the person charged with talent development is wearing multiple HR hats. Leadership consultants are living and breathing development work day in and day out. They have seen it all and know what’s coming, too. It’s hard for an internal team member to match a dedicated talent development third party’s level of experience and expertise — they just don’t have enough hours in the day.
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The costs of talent development
Costs vary widely depending on the leadership development tools used, whether you are outsourcing or creating your own programming, and the scope. In general, costs will go up the more customized, intensive and specific the development opportunity. More generally applicable online trainings will be less expensive than custom-created retreats for a specific team. You will get the best return on your investment if you make strategic development decisions based on current business needs, accurate data on capability gaps and choose the right tools for the job.
In addition to actual talent development line items, organizations should weigh the costs of not investing in leaders. For example, it can cost between half to two times an employee’s salary to replace them.5 Turnover can increase when workers feel undervalued because of lack of development investment and/or are frustrated by poorly prepared leaders. Undeveloped leaders can create chaos and tank productivity across organizations. Did you know that within two years, 60% of new managers fail?6 Sixty! And it seems too obvious to state, but no organization can expect to meet its goals, capitalize on opportunities, and deliver on its brand promise without investing in its own people. How much business are you losing to competitors due to unrealized employee potential?
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4 questions to ask potential talent development partners
If you are considering hiring a talent development partner, there are several factors to consider. Even if you’d like them to help you drill down to your current development needs, it’s a good idea to have a rough outline of your overarching challenges. If your executive team is under-trained, for example, you’re going to need someone with experience helping develop C-suites. Here are four questions to ask as you vet potential outsourced talent development solutions:
What is your process?
Beware of any partners who don’t start with an in-depth, deep-data dive on your development needs and current leadership gaps. You don’t want to spend money solving the wrong problems. Find a partner who values thoughtful, upfront analysis, and you’ll get a much better return on investment.
Do you have comprehensive talent development solutions?
Onboarding, tactical skills sessions, and other kinds of training are great, but you want someone with wide leadership development options. Make sure the partner isn’t trying to pass off a workshop or two as a scalable development program. How many different tools do they have in their arsenal?
How much experience do you have?
How long have they been providing talent development services? Do they have reviews, feedback, or recommendations to share, especially from other organizations in your industry? How many combined years of experience does the current team have, and how diverse are their clients? Will these consultants be able to provide a wide enough viewpoint for your needs?
How much customization do you offer?
Does the partner care about your company’s goals, challenges, and long-term success? Or are they trying to sell you a one-size-fits-all package…that definitely won’t? Are they able to fine-tune any ready-made solutions to better fit your specifics? Can they create new options from scratch? How closely do their tools match your needs?
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Why choose MEA?
MEA is a people-first, HR-driven business solutions provider. We’re here to help you both understand your organization’s challenges — and solve them. One of our key areas of focus is talent development. Here’s why we’re a little bit different than other third-party development consultants:
Deep expertise at your service
Whether you need support for a simple leadership skills tune-up or more complex development issues, MEA gives you access to seasoned professionals who are experts in the talent development field. We use cutting-edge methodologies, forged by our work with hundreds of member organizations. Our team has 76 combined years of training experience in a diverse range of industries, including technology, manufacturing, professional services, and more. We have created and executed development programs for all types of employees, including senior leaders.
For example, a Member Company in the technology space with 200+ employees needed a program that met the development needs of their more experienced managers and directors. Through our consultative approach, we created a 12-month leadership development program tailored to their business goals and informed by 360 reviews and behavioral assessments. The program used many teaching modalities, including in-person development days, virtual 1-on-1 coaching, group coaching, and capstone projects.
Focused on your long-term success
We are committed to forming trusting relationships with our members. They share their real fears and concerns with us because they know we’ll help them find solutions. They also trust us to bring a unique perspective. Sometimes problems aren’t what they seem. Your MEA team can ask the right questions, identify the right problem to solve, and offer tailored solutions so your short- and long-term business goals don’t get derailed.
Another Member Company, a manufacturer with around 300 employees, had experienced significant growth but had gaps in leadership that were threatening their continued progress. We worked with the executive team to create a plan that met the needs of all department directors. We conducted 1-to-1 coaching sessions with each director to create a path for developing employees. We discovered a lack of basic supervision skills for potential managers and brought several skills-based, management classes onsite. We conducted 360 reviews for the executive team and facilitated a coaching engagement for one leader who needed support in several areas. Because they trusted us with their long-term success, they even invited us to facilitate their monthly management team meetings to help aid their conflict resolution process.
Personalized partnership
Our talent development work is rooted in data-driven customization. We always begin with an in-depth engagement survey; we have to understand the challenges before we can solve them. We never offer single, cookie-cutter solutions. Instead, we listen. We ask questions. We analyze. And then we collaborate with you to find solutions that align with your goals.
Recently, a new member — the owner of a small, professional services firm — told us concerns about his team were keeping him up at night. We took the time to understand his current challenges and his vision for how an ideal team would function. As a result of our initial analysis, we created and delivered a two-day team development program for all employees that helped them cooperatively create a team charter. We also enrolled three senior leaders in our Senior Leadership Intensive program development today and step into roles of greater responsibility in the future. We’re continuing to provide custom development programs for this member as new needs arise.
Comprehensive services
Finally, not only does MEA offer the full range of talent development tools — including online or in-person classroom training, intensive sessions, private training, coaching, peer groups, and more — but we also deliver comprehensive HR and employment law services. If other issues arise as we help you build your talent development program, we’ll connect you to MEA experts who can help.
Are you ready to help your organization be the best it can be? Learn more about our talent development services and how we can help your people reach their full potential.
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- “What’s driving the shift from job to skills?” action.deloitte.com. 18 October 2022. Accessed 19 February 2024.
- “61 million Gen Zers are about to enter the US workforce and radically change it forever,” CNBC.com. 2 May 2018. Accessed 19 February 2024.
- “The Future of Jobs Report,” World Economic Forum. 30 April 2023. Accessed 26 March 2024.
- “Leaders at all levels: Close the gap between hype and readiness,” by Adam Canwell et al., Deloitte University Press. 7 March 2014.
- “This fixable problem costs U.S. businesses $1 trillion,” by Shane McFeely and Ben Wigert. Gallup Workplace. 13 March 2019. Accessed 19 February 2024.
- “First-time leaders need to stick to these 4 truths to succeed,” by Siddharth Taparia-Minutes. Fast Company. 18 January 2020. Accessed 19 February 2024.