There are always themes that emerge from a conference. While AI certainly dominated the agenda and vendor booths at the CLO Exchange in Park City this August, what I’ll remember most is the conversations.
One of the things I’ve come to appreciate about the CLO Exchange is the willingness of chief learning leaders to be candid with one another. There was very little posturing and a great deal of curiosity. CLOs from some of our nation’s biggest companies openly shared what they’re experimenting with and where they’re noticing gaps. Ideas were exchanged generously, successes were celebrated, and challenges were discussed honestly.
As I reflect on the conference, I realized the conversations weren’t really about AI. They were about how organizations can develop leaders to thrive in a rapidly changing world.
Here are some of my insights from the conference:
1. AI is becoming a capability builder
Last year, much of the conversation centered on what AI could do. This year, the conversation centered on what AI could help people do.
Organizations are using AI to strengthen sales conversations, improve customer service, support call center teams, and help leaders prepare for difficult conversations before they happen. The most exciting application wasn’t content generation.
It was practice.
AI is making deliberate practice scalable. People can rehearse, receive feedback, reflect, and try again before the real conversation ever takes place.
One panelist summed it up perfectly: “Practice creates competence. Competence creates confidence. Confidence creates retention.”
That has enormous implications for how we develop leaders. The future isn’t just Ai-assisted work; it’s AI-assisted growth.
2. The question is changing
For years, organizations asked Learning & Development, “Can you build us a training program?” Increasingly, the question L&D is having the courage to ask the business is, “What outcome are you trying to create?”
Learning leaders are now thinking less about designing courses and more about solving business problems. They’re recognizing their role as strategic thought partners to the business rather than providers of training. I’ve always thought that L&D should have a seat at the business strategy table, and now is the time for them to take it.
Another mindset that really stuck with me was this:
Everything is a pilot.
Every initiative is a proving ground. Test, learn, measure, question, refine, and keep iterating. In a world that’s changing this quickly, waiting for “perfect” may be the biggest risk of all.
3. The capabilities that matter most remain profoundly human
Pam and I had the opportunity to facilitate a conversation among CLOs where we asked one simple question:
“What leadership mindsets and capabilities matter most in the age of AI?”
After brainstorming together, the conversation consistently centered on these capabilities:
- Ruthless prioritization
- Influencing up and across the organization
- Courage
- Relentless engagement
- Adaptability
- Developing an innovation mindset
No one suggested the future belongs to leaders with the deepest AI expertise. Instead, the conversation consistently returned to distinctly human capabilities.
As one participant put it: “AI answers the ‘what.’ Leaders answer the ‘how.’”
Judgment, influence, empathy, and courage don’t become less important because of AI. They drive its use.
4. Random Acts of Training are giving way to integrated leadership systems
One phrase I heard at the conference perfectly captured another shift underway: Random Acts of Training. I can’t take credit for the phrase, but it immediately resonated.
Many organizations have accumulated excellent workshops, coaching, assessments, learning technologies, and leadership programs. Each creates value on its own. But when those experiences aren’t connected, they’re much less likely to build lasting leadership capability.
Increasingly, CLOs are asking a different question: “How do we connect these experiences into one integrated leadership system?”
This is a question we’ll be answering for quite some time and I expect that we’ll hear the words pilot and proving ground more and more as we iterate.
5. Measurement is growing up
One of the most sobering conversations was around how organizations measure the impact of their programs. A few organizations have developed sophisticated approaches for connecting leadership development to business outcomes. Others openly acknowledged they’re still early in the journey.
One presenter jokingly referred to program participation and satisfaction scores as “vanity metrics.” Everyone laughed, but it’s true.
We know that participation matters and satisfaction matters.
But today, these metrics are merely the starting point, not the finish line.
The conversation has shifted from “Did people attend?” to “What changed?” Are leaders thinking differently? Leading differently? Creating better business outcomes?
This brought me back to the conversation about integrated leadership systems. When learning, coaching, reinforcement, AI, and measurement are connected, organizations are in a much stronger position to understand what is actually driving behavior change and business results.
My Biggest Takeaway
After a decade in leadership development, I left this conference feeling more optimistic than I have in years.
Not because I have all the answers, but because the environment we find ourselves in is challenging us all to ask better questions. More importantly, the leaders who influence how talent is developed are coming together to share ideas, collaborate, and shape the future of leadership together.
I keep thinking of the design thinking prompt, “How might we…?”
- Create better outcomes for leaders and businesses?
- Elevate the human capabilities that matter most?
- Create the conditions for leaders to grow, together and individually, over time?
For me, these feel like exactly the right questions to be exploring.
