Cynthiann King leads the design, development, implementation, management, and maintenance of company-wide employee training initiatives and programs for Toll Brothers, a national, luxury homebuilder firm with more than 5,000 associates.

The success of any organization depends in large part on its top leaders, who establish strategy, direct and align resources, and help shape the company culture. Although CEOs are the most influential individual leaders, the collective C-suite is just as important—or perhaps more so. The executive team’s performance sets the pace for the rest of the organization. Despite the importance of executive teams’ effectiveness, research from the Center for Creative Leadership suggests that most executive teams are underperforming. 

Why do sports fans love opening day? The brand-new season brings with it infinite potential, renewed passion, and belief in new possibilities.

An organization's talent development function exists, among other reasons, to develop employees so that they're able to contribute to achieving organizational goals. But if employees likely won't remain with one company throughout their entire careers, and given the evolving work dynamics in place, it's to employees' advantage to take professional development into their own hands, to achieve their personal goals. Right?

Rob Lauber is chief learning officer at McDonald's, where he oversees a staff of 250 people across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Under his purview are the L&D Center of Excellence and seven Hamburger Universities around the world, as well as education and accreditation programs. In all, L&D's audience is about 1.9 million McDonald's employees.

President Donald Trump has tasked his administration with creating 25 million new jobs, but a lack of jobs may not be what's holding back American business. Many experts believe a skills gap is the real problem.

Creating and filling a leadership pipeline is a common challenge across organizations, especially for C-suite positions. It was logical that senior leaders be replaced by internal employees the company just needed to develop a group of viable candidates.To prepare for these and other key executives retirements, executive leadership including Gina Smith, head of organization development the CEO COO and HR director formed a steering committee.

The argument: Despite companies' best efforts, most leadership development programs don't work. Two thought leaders share their contrasting viewpoints on the topic.

Building and launching mentoring programs can seem daunting. Yet despite the initial challenges, mentoring programs are increasing in popularity, with more than two-thirds of top executives reporting to have a mentor.

Bestselling author, brilliant orator, and effective champion for abolition, Frederick Douglass is an inspiration to all Americans. Born a slave in 1817, Douglass escaped to freedom in 1838 while continuing to advocate for the freedom of all slaves.

The ability to understand and manage ones own emotions, and to recognize and influence others emotions, is a critical leadership skill. The emotions of individuals can either activate and motivate the team, or move them to disassociate from the goal and passively comply.

Key attraction, retention, and engagement issues that influence the employee experience.

Not enough organizations develop leaders at all levels.

Cignas talent development team estimates that less than half of physician-leaders worldwide perform well in their roles, and believes that a lack of leadership development programs for clinicians may be contributing to the problem.As a result, Cignas corporate university set itself apart in 2013 by launching the Physician Leadership Development Program (PLDP). PLDP aimed to help a select group of doctors evolve into leaders by developing their business acumen and interpersonal, leadership, and networking skills.

A small telegraph company was founded in the 19th century with the simple goal of creating an efficient communication system. However, this program was not as rigorously tied to the leadership capabilities as it could have been.Despite the launch of LEAD, the employee survey in fall 2014 showed that confidence in leadership at the company still needed to improve.

They fail because they do not mesh with company culture or the people on their teams.Thus, Genpacts company officers and talent development team understood how important it was for the executives to undergo smooth transitions to their new roles. If they didnt, the companys 72,000-plus employees in 25 countries would perform below their peak.To protect Genpacts interests, the organizations talent development function created the Global Integration Program to introduce the executives to company culture and the demands of their jobs.

In 1945, Ralph F. and Alice Stayer opened a butcher shop in the quaint town of Johnsonville, Wisconsin. In particular, this growth required Johnsonville to develop leaders in manufacturing who could successfully scale up operations, lead teams, and exemplify Johnsonvilles corporate culture, which valued integrity, respect, and innovation.Following the results of a survey that identified current manufacturing leaders skills gaps, the senior leader team recommended that the organizational development and learning (ODL) team launch the Building Leaders and...

The year 2007 represents a watershed moment for Louisville-based Signature HealthCARE, a leading provider of long-term nursing care. Yet despite establishing that culture early on, it became clear to Steier and other executives at Signature that they still faced challenges.

They designed and implemented the Haworth Leadership Institute (HLI), which included development programs for managers and leaders at all levels of the organization. Thus, in 2014, Harten and the HR team set out to design and launch a program to help them build these skills: The Aspiring Leader Program.

In 1945, Ralph F. and Alice Stayer opened a butcher shop in the quaint town of Johnsonville, Wisconsin. In particular, this growth required Johnsonville to develop leaders in manufacturing who could successfully scale up operations, lead teams, and exemplify Johnsonvilles corporate culture, which valued integrity, respect, and innovation.Following the results of a survey that identified current manufacturing leaders skills gaps, the senior leader team recommended that the organizational development and learning (ODL) team launch the Building Leaders and...