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Marshall Goldsmith is the author or editor of 35 books, which have sold more than 2 million copies, been translated into 30 languages, and become bestsellers in 12 countries. Along with the bestselling Triggers, he has written the New York Times bestsellers Mojo and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There—a winner of the Harold Longman Award for Business Book of the Year, and one of the BookScan top five bestselling management books of the past 10 years. Marshall’s other books include Succession: Are You Ready?—a Wall Street Journal bestseller—and The Leader of the Future—a Businessweek bestseller. Three of his books have been American Library Association Choice Award winners for Best Academic Business Books of the year. Marshall received a PhD from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, and he teaches executive education at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business. He is one of a select few executive advisers who has worked with more than 150 major CEOs and their management teams. Marshall served on the board of the Peter Drucker Foundation for 10 years, and has been a volunteer teacher for U.S. Army generals, Navy admirals, and Girl Scout executives, along with international and American Red Cross leaders. His professional acknowledgments include: Harvard Business Review and Best Practices Institute—World’s Number 1 Leadership Thinker Global Gurus, Inc., and Fast Company magazines—World’s Number 1 Executive Coach Institute for Management Studies—Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Teaching American Management Association—50 great thinkers and leaders who have influenced the field of management over the past 80 years Businessweek—50 Great Leaders in America Wall Street Journal—Top Ten Executive Educators Economist—most credible executive advisers in the new era of business National Academy of Human Resources—fellow of the academy World HRD Congress—global leader in HR thinking.

Marshall Goldsmith

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In the talent development field, we talk a lot about “getting a seat at the table.” The idea is that the talent development function of an organization should be aligned strategically with the mission of the business or organization, and its head (such as the chief learning officer, or CLO) should be at the same level as other senior executives (like the chief information officer and the chief marketing officer). Regardless of the title used, the head of talent development needs to be a part of the strategic leadership team.But every executive “seat” needs to be filled with a strategic leader in its respective discipline. So, how do you make the leap from training manager to CLO? Well, there are three areas you should pay particular attention to as you plan for your development and your leap into the executive suite: technical skills, business savvy, and strategic leadership. Let’s look at each.Technical SkillsEach person in the “c-suite” brings to the table their professional background and expertise. And even at the highest levels of executive leadership, they’re still called on to provide that expertise in leading the enterprise. In talent development, that means the CLO needs to have a clear understanding of—and experience in—the various functions of that department, including assessment, design and development, andragogy, measurement, knowledge management, and more. You probably won’t be an expert in every aspect of the talent development field, but having a good handle on each one is vital to your role as an executive.So, how do you get this expertise? Here are some questions to ask yourself. Have you done a professional credential like ATD’s Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD®) or the Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD®)? Or perhaps a certificate program? Are you engaged with your local ATD chapter? Do you keep up to date with the latest trends in the field found in magazines, journals, and books? In short, how engaged are you with the profession’s body of knowledge?Technical skills are one piece of the developmental ladder to the executive suite. Let’s look at the others.Business SavvyWhat do you call a member of the US Air Force who spends their entire career on the ground, never setting foot in a plane? Airman. Everyone is an “airman,” regardless of what specialty they hold and perform. Why? Because a key to cohesiveness and mission performance is that everyone understands the mission and embraces the organizational culture.What do you know about your enterprise’s mission beyond your own contribution to it? For example, if you are a leadership trainer for a nationwide homebuilder, do you understand the dynamics of that field? Do you know how land is acquired and planned, how homes are constructed and financed, how they’re sold, and how customers are serviced? If you’re going to move into an executive role, you will need to understand the context in which you operate—and understand the people and culture surrounding you—if you’re going to make meaningful contributions to the leadership of the business.Strategic LeadershipLeadership comes in two varieties: interpersonal and strategic. Interpersonal leadership centers on employee engagement, performance management, interpersonal communications, and more. It is a management function. Strategic leadership, on the other hand, is focused on the direction of the business or organization into the future—into the unknown. Strategic leaders need to be able to anticipate new trends and developments, create new solutions and innovations, and situate the business into the greater society. Effective strategic leaders relate to people, are highly self-aware, embrace authenticity, examine issues systemically (not in a vacuum), and achieve results.How do you develop your strategic leadership skills? The first step is awareness—what are your strengths and weaknesses? Where do you excel and in which areas do you need to improve? Evaluations—for example, a 360-degree assessment—can give you insights and help you to create a development plan. Universities, companies, and professional organizations offer training in strategic development skills. And, books specifically written for the developing executive are all means you can use to elevate your strategic leadership game.SummaryIt’s easy to get trapped in our technical expertise as we grow into our profession. After all, that’s what we get paid to do, right? But if we want to move beyond growing and we want to develop to later career stages, we also need to ensure our understanding of the business environment (business savvy) and strategic leadership skills are highly developed, as well. As Marshall Goldsmith reminds us, “What got you here won’t get you there.”

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