Chief Learning Officer Podcast

There is no single path to becoming a leader. Lisa Doyle is a case in point. She’s been a public servant, consultant, a Fortune 100 executive, as well as recipient of the CLO of the Year award from Chief Learning Officer magazine.

Each situation was different. What is consistent is her approach to leadership – combining a passion to serve others with the courage to try new things and the humility to realize she doesn’t have all the answers.

“In order to teach people you have to meet people where they are – where they’ll hear you, understand you and make it their own” said Lisa, now vice president of global learning at Booz Allen Hamilton.

In this episode of the Chief Learning Officer Podcast, Lisa talks about her path from federal procurement officer to chancellor of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Acquisition Academy as well as her head-first dive into the private sector as head of learning for Lowe’s Companies. Through it all is a commitment to serving others by building something that lasts, a mission that guides her new role as head of global learning at the Virginia-based management consulting firm.

Lisa shares the leadership lessons she’s learned along the way, how she builds productive partnerships with business executives, why “Tea with Lisa” is a key team-building strategy and why so much of CLO success comes down to having an individualized exposure plan in addition to a development one.

Plus, co-host Mike Prokopeak learns what the phrase “a pig looking at wristwatch” means and Justin Lombardo talks about the difference between being a builder CLO and a maintainer.

This episode of the podcast is brought to you by the Chief Learning Officer Breakfast Club. The CLO Breakfast Club is part professional development and part hackathon, where you and other local learning leaders talk about what’s on your minds. The next Breakfast Club takes place in San Francisco on November 7, 2019. For more information, go to www.sanfrancisco.clobreakfastclub.com.

Podcast Producer: Jesse McQuarters.

It can be hard to say no. But learning how to do so effectively is one of the most critical skills a CLO can learn. It reinforces the point that not every problem is a training problem.

“Executives like the shortcut of, ‘I have an issue, put training program X together,’” said Greg Friedman, vice president of HR, organization and leadership development at Parexel, a Boston-based specialist in clinical drug trials. “And I think we need to be strong enough to say what result are you going for?”

In this episode of the Chief Learning Officer Podcast, Greg talks about the perspective his background as an organizational development professional brings to the work of employee learning and what CLOs can do to set aside busy work to do what's meaningful.

Greg also shares why culture change is risky ground for CLOs and how and why he’s rethinking performance management to focus less on ratings and more on meaningful conversation.

Plus, co-hosts Mike Prokopeak and Justin Lombardo discuss the differences between learning, OD and HR and why they sometimes come into conflict.

This episode of the podcast is brought to you by the Chief Learning Officer Symposium, the premier gathering for senior learning executives. The fall event takes place in Chicago from Oct. 14-16, 2019. For more information go to CLOsymposium.com.

Podcast Producer: Jesse McQuarters.

Talented people don't want to work for your company for decades. Simply put, the incentives to do so no longer exist.

"There's no gold watch for anybody anymore," says Zoe Harte, senior vice president of HR and talent innovation for Upwork, a Silicon Valley-based technology company that matches companies and freelance workers.

So why wouldn't you consider freelancers when designing your learning and development programs? In this episode of the Chief Learning Officer Podcast, Zoe makes the case for crafting targeted programs to onboard and develop them as part of your learning strategy.

How do you do that? Here's a hint: Freelancers are people, too. Just like everyone else, they need to understand the purpose and mission of your company in order to do their best work.

Plus, she and co-host Justin Lombardo talk about the value retired executives can bring to the company and how to make sure your internal team is ready to work with freelancers.

This episode of the Chief Learning Officer Podcast is brought to by Bridge, the makers of Practice. Practice can scale the competency and confidence of your teams to ensure your organization thrives in today’s fast changing, unpredictable world. Visit getbridge.com to learn more.

This episode is also sponsored by BetterUp. Help your organization cultivate a coaching culture with BetterUp, the industry’s first mobile platform that provides personalized coaching at scale. Learn more by visiting betterup.co. 

Podcast Producer: Jesse McQuarters. 

Centralization. Decentralization. Consistency. Flexibility. There’s a constant push and pull taking place in the learning function. Sometimes there’s a need for more control and consistency across the organization. At other times, flexibility and local ownership takes precedence.

Stephanie Speights has been at the forefront of that debate for more than a decade. In this podcast recorded live in front of an audience at the House of Blues in Dallas, the chief learning officer of Children’s Health shares how to navigate centralization conversations with executives, tips to overcome organizational skepticism and how important it is to focus on getting the right people on the learning team.

Her insights are practical, useful and informed by experience. And that ability to tie learning into the organizational strategy is in demand. Since this episode was recorded, Stephanie took on the CLO role at Parkland Hospital and Health System, one of the largest health systems in Dallas.

Plus, co-host Justin Lombardo talks about the three things to look for in a new CLO role and why he thinks centralization is the way to go for the modern learning function.

Thank you to our episode sponsors:

This episode of the Chief Learning Officer Podcast is brought to by Bridge, the makers of Practice. Practice can scale the competency and confidence of your teams to ensure your organization thrives in today’s fast changing, unpredictable world. Visit getbridge.com to learn more.

This episode is also brought to by O’Reilly Media. O’Reilly’s online learning platform can help your employees learn on the job, get quick answers on the fly and advance your organization’s goals. Learn more at oreilly.com. 

Podcast Producer: Jesse McQuarters.

If you don’t already know Karie Willyerd's work, you should.

She’s been at the forefront of corporate learning for a couple of decades, leading the learning function at companies like Lockheed Martin, Heinz, Sun Microsystems and SuccessFactors/SAP. She's an author, futurist and a successful tech entrepreneur who took her education technology company from startup to sale in just over a year.

And now, after years away, she's a chief learning officer again. She took on the brand new role of global CLO at Visa in 2019. In this conversation recorded on stage at the Spring 2019 Chief Learning Officer Symposium, Karie talks about why she decided to take the job at Visa, what it means to be strategic in corporate learning and how she manages the function at a high-growth company.

But what's most important about this conversation is what she has to say about the future of the chief learning officer role. Her insights are sharp, practical and informed by her years of experience. 

Thank you to our episode sponsors:

This episode of the Chief Learning Officer Podcast is brought to by Bridge, the makers of Practice. Practice can scale the competency and confidence of your teams to ensure your organization thrives in today’s fast changing, unpredictable world. Visit getbridge.com to learn more.

This episode is also brought to you by DXC Technology. DXC's human capital management solutions are powering the next-gen workplace. Learn more by visiting dxc.technology.

Podcast Producer: Jesse McQuarters.