You’ve likely heard of the 70-20-10 guideline for learning and development, which says that 70% of learning comes from on-the-job experiences and challenges; 20% comes from other people; and 10% comes from courses and formal training. This classic talent development principle emerged from over 30 years of our research, and essentially says that the bulk of a leader’s learning actually happens at work.
That’s why, as important as formal coursework and training are, the most effective talent development programs put experience at the center of the process. Challenging assignments give individuals the opportunity to learn and refine their approach to be more successful in the future.
Experience-driven talent development is when experience — carefully designed and executed — becomes the core driver of learning in the organization. Working and learning are bound together, aligned with the business strategy and shaped by a talent development strategy that’s focused on attracting, developing, motivating, retaining, and engaging employees. The key is to make experience-driven development intentional.
That’s where we come in. We can help ensure your talent development program takes a systemic approach to learning by working with HR leaders to create a leadership architecture that can cascade both formal learning and on-the-job experiences throughout the entire organization.
Organizations around the world and in every sector are noticing a growing skills gap among existing employees. However, when learning from experience is embedded in the culture, the gap between doing the work and developing others shrinks. Learning isn’t added on, and coaching and mentoring aren’t initiatives — they’re what everyone does.
An experience-driven talent development program requires a shift in your organization’s mindset and culture, along with changes in strategy, process, and roles.
Not sure where to start? Our experts can help you pinpoint the critical leadership competencies needed to achieve success in your organization’s unique culture — and show you how to ensure your talent development initiatives unlock the power of experience to make it happen. Build a talent development pipeline that’s agile, resilient, and future-ready.
Whether you’re looking to support top talent, increase self-awareness, strengthen fundamental leadership skills, or create a stronger organizational culture, we have a talent development solution that will help you get you the results you need. Our holistic approach means we look at your organization’s unique context, and then we help you unlock the power of learning from experience as you develop leaders at all levels.
Whether you’re looking for a customized, top-to-bottom solution tailored to uplift and transform your entire organization, or scalable talent development programs designed to build your leadership pipeline, we offer a variety of human-centered, research-based talent development solutions for every budget, available both virtually and in-person.
Executive leadership coaching is a key tool in the talent development arsenal. It creates self-awareness, helps drive lasting transformational change, and provides critical challenge and support.
Our customized talent development programs for executives are tailored to your succession planning and executive development needs, from a selection of executive assessments to executive up-leveling experiences that can be interwoven into the executive coaching program.
We can partner with you to help you make investments in talent development that give you the greatest possible return on investment.
With a combination of leadership analytics, talent diagnostics, 360 assessments, and other instruments, we can do a deep dive into your leaders, your culture, your business priorities, and your employee engagement levels to help inform your investments in talent development and make sure you secure your organization’s future and retain your top leaders.
Our highly personalized leadership programs can all be customized to develop the leadership competencies most needed for your organization’s unique context and culture.
Increase the capacity, reach, and impact of your talent development initiatives by licensing our world-class leadership training content.
Choose the scale that’s right for your organization — from a single-topic workshop kit or foundational leadership course to CCL Passport™, a comprehensive library of talent development content for your leaders at all levels.
Our trusted, turnkey, research-based solutions are designed to be delivered by your in-house staff, giving you the convenience and independence you want — while ensuring you always have the support you need. We have train-the-trainer and certification options. Explore options for licensing our content to support your organization.
At CCL, we measure success by lives touched and impact made. That’s why the organizations we work with and the leaders we empower consistently tell us the same thing: their experience with us isn’t just a game-changer, it’s a life-changer. We’ve helped to align talent development with business strategy for organizations around the world.
But don’t just take our word for it — take theirs.
“We put leadership quite high on the agenda. We need people that have the capacity not only to organize a business, but also people who are able to create adherence to a strategy and culture, who create enthusiasm to empower people and who, at the same time, are available if people need help.”
Bart De Smet
Chairman and Former CEO
Ageas
Multinational Enterprise Achieves Leadership Alignment on Business Strategy
“The idea of looking at talent across the system was still foreign. The instinct at the local level was to develop talent — and then protect it. It was clear that to implement succession planning in a meaningful way, we needed to change our vision. We had no way to create meaning around systemwide succession planning when our culture was in many ways locally focused.”
Jon Abeles
Senior VP of Talent Management and Diversity
Mercy Health
Health System Creates Academy to Change Culture & Strengthen Leadership
Our experts are here to help. Get in touch us about your needs and how we can support your organization’s talent development approach and strategy.
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At the Center of Creative Leadership, we focus on experience-driven talent development, which is when on-the-job experience is carefully designed and executed to become the core driver of learning and development in an organization. Talent development strategies can be aligned with the business strategy and organizational culture to create a leadership learning journey that can cascade both formal learning and on-the-job experiences throughout the entire organization.
Talent development is beneficial for organizations because it builds a pipeline of future leaders who are agile, resilient, and future-ready. Talent development initiatives also increase engagement and retention of top talent, increase self-awareness and effectiveness, strengthen fundamental leadership skills, and create a stronger organizational culture. Learn how managers can take responsibility for their role in talent development with this checklist for developing employees.
Our talent development program solutions assess your organization’s unique context and help you unlock the power of learning from experience. Additionally, we ensure that your program takes a systematic approach to learning by working with HR leaders to create a leadership architecture that trickles down from formal learning to on-site experiences throughout the organization.
If you want to develop a talent development program within your organization, but you’re not sure where to start, our experts can help. We’ll help you pinpoint the critical leadership competencies needed to achieve success, given your unique culture and challenges, and show you how to ensure your initiatives unlock the power of learning from experience. An experience-driven talent development program requires a shift in your organization’s mindset and culture — and we can help.
According to our widely-recognized 70-20-10 framework, while professional training and formal coursework are important, they only account for about 10% of overall learning, while typically about 70% comes from on-the-job experiences and challenges, and 20% comes from other people. That’s why the most effective organizational talent development programs put experience at the center of the development process, and leverage traditional training and coursework to hone skills as needed. Overall, experience-driven learning serves as the core of talent development.
Your organization’s talent development strategy can focus on a number of priorities, including supporting and retaining top talent, increasing self-awareness, strengthening fundamental leadership skills, improving collaboration, or creating a stronger organizational culture. The key is to align your talent development strategies with your business strategy and goals.
More questions? Our experts are here to help. Let’s have a conversation!
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