Dan Norenberg Executive Ownershift

The destructive and horrendous COVID-19 virus has touched all of us in some way. Yet through these experiences, we have risen to the occasion and learned new ways to support others, redefined how and where we work, and developed new approaches to collaborate with customers for results. While deeply tragic, such dark and seemly desperate times call on our resilience, our ability to innovate and our desire to serve those around us.

The Corona experience reminds us that we can change faster than we believed was possible. Like those who watched Roger Bannister destroy the four-minute mile barrier, we too have broken numerous barriers and overcome unimaginable obstacles to stay in the game and find new ways to win.

This reawakened ambition and warp speed velocity to change will stay with us, even as we stamp out the Corona virus this year. Reflecting on how this will influence the Human Resource function, and the organizations they serve, here are my predictions for 2021 and beyond:

10X learning becomes the rule, rather than the exception. L & D takes the lead role to develop, design and execute step change learning experiences that are vastly more impactful than in the past. The most successful 10x learning functions will also advise and provide services for third parties, outside the organization, thus creating an additional profit center in the organization.

A war for talent emerges as professional and top amateur gamers are highly sought-after resources to help companies develop best in class virtual work environments.

Artificial intelligence and state of the art simulators are used in all aspects of the employee and customer lifecycles, enabling employees to develop digital trust, work effectively with virtual platforms and manage conflict in the virtual environment with speed and scale not previously experienced.

Developing customer centricity is a core pillar of the human resource function of the future. Anchored in mindset, math and metrics, the customer is at the center of everything and this is supported by advanced technology, data analytics and client groups that are embedded in the company.

Leadership development as we knew it in the past, with a major focus on developing individual competences (first time & strategic leader initiatives, talent pools and homogeneous groups), are replaced with a leadership team development focus. Top L & D groups commit far more resources and effort to an organization approach to leadership as a team construct that starts with the top senior leadership teams. Executive and strategic leadership teams across the business become more transparent and more accountable to systematic improvement and growth, exemplifying an ownership culture for the entire of the organization.

Learning and development creates learning alliances and partnership constellations, including customer organizations and selected supply chain vendors and suppliers. Learning constructs from the past that involved only company employees are now seen as too narrow and confined.

A crisis is an opportunity riding a dangerous wind, says an old Chinese proverb. Like the COVID-19 virus, it is hard to say when the next dangerous wind will blow. Yet when we face such challenges with resilience, intention, and optimism, we harvest previously unseen opportunities, as we have done in the past, and will continue to do in the future.