Training Industry Magazine - Winter 2024 - 55

BUILDING
LEADERS
SAM SHRIVER &
MARSHALL GOLDSMITH
ANALYSIS AND EGO: THE DRIVING FORCES OF
UPSKILLING AND RESKILLING
Years ago, the CEO of an industry-leading
We would suggest that our mutual friend,
former CEO of Boeing Alan Mulally, is a
generational talent. So, when we sit down
and try to draft a few words intended to
aid practicing leaders in a world bursting
with formidable challenges, we routinely
reflect upon the driving forces behind his
unmitigated success at Boeing and Ford.
And, under the umbrella of all that
constitutes upskilling or reskilling talent,
two forces we would call to your attention
are analysis and ego.
ANALYSIS
In Alan's own words: " Facts will set you
free! " Here are a few on the upskilling/
reskilling front:
* The half-life of a skill in this day and
age is five years and dropping quickly.
* More than 1 billion jobs, almost onethird
of all jobs worldwide, are likely
to be transformed by technology in
the next decade.
* 34% of employees left their previous
employers because they were
seeking better career development
opportunities.
We could go on and on here with
more of the same, but it would only
confirm the reality that sophisticated
organizational upskilling and reskilling
initiatives are an essential element of
survival moving forward.
Add to this the related trend expertly
documented by Ravin Jesuthasan
and John W. Boudreau in their book,
" Work Without Jobs. " Skills, not jobs,
will be the fulcrum around which
organizations will revolve in the future.
Net-net? Upskilling and reskilling, at
every level of the organization, are
indeed challenges of contemporary
significance! So, how should leaders in
those organizations respond?
EGO
When leaders respond to an identified
challenge, they traditionally dive in,
figure out a solution and orchestrate
its implementation, right? With Alan's
experience on the world's biggest
stages and under its brightest lights as
our guide ... not so fast, my friend!
Next-level
leaders understand
the
critical importance of putting their
personal egos aside (regardless
of how smart they are), and
empowering employees to step up
and solve problems of significance for
themselves. We would suggest this is
especially the case when the problem
is rooted within their own valueproducing
capabilities.
We have addressed the challenges
organizations have faced over the years
with employee engagement in previous
columns, but believe it is worth repeating.
For decades, employee engagement
across industry has hovered at or around
30%. How many corporate-sponsored
engagement initiatives have come and
gone since you first heard the term?
Answer: Too many! The problem with most
of those initiatives is that the wrong people
were driving them. Who knows better
than the employees themselves how their
engagement could be enhanced?
Too many leaders think it's their job to
figure everything out: It isn't! Like Alan,
those leaders need to establish and
cultivate a culture that recognizes and
supports employees for proactively
taking charge of their own upskilling and
reskilling needs. First and foremost, this
means putting their egos to the side and
taking themselves out of the problemsolving,
decision-making equation.
Mulally was famous at Ford for
referencing his Boeing experience
and saying things like, " Don't look
at me. I'm an airplane guy! " He then
facilitated development of an action
plan generated by those that would
actually be doing the work. It wasn't
his plan that they were implementing;
it was theirs. They owned it, they took
pride in it and they saw it through.
NEXT-LEVEL LEADERS
UNDERSTAND THE
CRITICAL IMPORTANCE
OF PUTTING THEIR
PERSONAL EGOS ASIDE.
When you lead from a predisposition
that openly acknowledges that
employees have the answers to their
skill gap challenges, your path forward
illuminates almost immediately. And,
while putting that ball firmly in their
hands takes courage, it also builds
trust, enhances workplace dignity and
serves to thoughtfully address a gnarly
problem that isn't going anywhere
anytime soon!
Marshall Goldsmith is the world
authority in helping successful leaders
get even better. Sam Shriver is the
executive vice president at The Center
for Leadership Studies. Email Marshall
and Sam.
TRAINING INDUSTRY MAGAZINE - WINTER 2024 I WWW.TRAININGINDUSTRY.COM/MAGAZINE
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https://www2.deloitte.com/xe/en/insights/industry/public-sector/government-trends/2022/future-government-workforce-development.html https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/we-need-global-reskilling-revolution-heres-why-denis-threlfall/ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/we-need-global-reskilling-revolution-heres-why-denis-threlfall/ https://www.zippia.com/employer/employee-training-development-statistics/ https://www.gallup.com/workplace/351545/great-resignation-really-great-discontent.aspx https://www.gallup.com/workplace/351545/great-resignation-really-great-discontent.aspx https://www.trainingindustry.com/magazine

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