Skills Development Resources

Traditional well-intentioned women's advancement programs aim to empower women by teaching them to confidently wield the same leadership behaviors as male leaders and pairing them with powerful male career sponsors. New research conducted by Colleen Tolan, PhD, Deepa Purushothaman, and Lisa Kaplowitz shows how this approach falls short because men and women have different experiences of empowerment. Instead of focusing on transferring power from those who hold it to those who need more of it, or on pushing down traditional ideas of what women need in order to be seen as powerful, companies should ask more questions, and refocus their efforts around what actually makes women feel powerful. Men in their study more often associated power with control, while women said power is more often tied to freedom, including: ☑The power to lead in collective — not just competitive — ways. ☑The power to lead from lived experience. ☑The power to redefine ambitions and paths. ☑The power to make change. The goal of advancement programs should be for women to get to the top spots with the freedom to lead in their unique ways when they get there. Putting more emphasis on freedom may be help companies truly empower women and help them realize their full potential and power in senior leadership. https://lnkd.in/e6DY7mjY #leadership #womenleadership #empowerment

Why it’s time to use reskilling to unlock women’s STEM potential: "Women make up just 28% of the global STEM workforce and only 22% of artificial intelligence (AI) professionals. Left unaddressed, this deficit will restrict innovation and economic growth during the reskilling revolution. Fostering collaboration, cultivating mentorship and delivering tailored solutions to country-specific challenges will close the STEM gender gap. Reskilling provides an opportunity to rethink how we are planning for the future of work. We must reconsider not only how we work, but who works. If the Fourth Industrial Revolution is rewriting the rules of work, now is the time to rewrite the rules of opportunity. Enrolment among women in STEM-related university programs has stagnated over the past decade, with the causes of this disparity differing across industries and regions. If left unaddressed, however, it will compound reskilling challenges that are already expected to cost G20 countries more than $11 trillion over the coming decade. Multiple inspiring stories have shown how these barriers can be broken. Ritu Karidhal, one of the 'rocket women' of the Indian Space Research Organization has inspired a rise in the number of women pursuing STEM fields in India. And she is not alone: From Esraa Tarawneh’s work on mitigating flash floods that's helped multiple communities tackle one of our century’s largest environmental threats, to Ayanna Howard’s assistive technologies that are revolutionizing accessibility for children with disabilities, women are pioneering ground-breaking innovations. Gender-diverse teams are also more profitable and productive. Companies in which female representation exceeds 30% are significantly more likely to financially outperform those with less. Gender diverse R&D teams are also more likely to introduce new innovations into the market over a two-year period. The case for closing the gender divide in STEM is clear, but it will persist without deliberate interventions. Women face a variety of barriers to accessing STEM fields and solutions must reflect this reality. In some regions, there will be a need to break stereotypes that dissuade girls from pursuing science. Elsewhere, the challenge will be infrastructure and ensuring access to resources and learning tools. Addressing these intersectional challenges demands localized strategies, which are essential for creating interventions that have enduring impact." Read more 👉 https://lnkd.in/eryKvFxp #MentorMonth #WomenInSTEM #GirlsInSTEM #STEMGems #GiveGirlsRoleModels

Over the past 10 weeks, I’ve interviewed 35 talent and learning leaders at Fortune 1000 companies for a report I’ll be releasing this fall. One of my favorite questions has been the very first one: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰?” With 105 priorities and counting, the responses vary widely given differences in industry, scope, and role (VP of Learning, talent, talent management, leadership development) but here is a slice of what has been shared so far: ➡️ AI and work transformation: Clarify what AI means for the workforce, its implications for roles, and how teams can adopt it to accelerate development and efficiency. ➡️ AI Coaching Pilot: Launch an AI-powered coaching pilot program across the organization to scale leadership development support. ➡️ Generative AI Upskilling: Upskill employees and leaders to effectively use generative AI in day-to-day work ➡️ Future of Work & Workforce Planning: Prepare for disruptions to job architecture by integrating human and digital workforces. Rethink responsibilities, structures, and collaboration models. ➡️ Change management: Embed change management capabilities at all levels, particularly around AI adoption. ➡️ New leadership Behaviors: Equip leaders with new capabilities to thrive in a changing environment, including adaptability, resilience, and the ability to lead in an AI-augmented workplace. ➡️ Skills and Career Paths - Creating paths by prioritized skills in our organization ➡️ Rethinking the Function: Redesign the talent and learning function to reflect disruption caused by AI ➡️ Change Leadership: Navigate a period of executive turnover and transition by stabilizing the leadership team, clarifying roles, and building confidence with functional business leaders. ➡️ Facilitating Connection: Partnering with our employee experience and workplace teams to use in-office team days for learning and connection ➡️ Linking Performance and Development: Redesign performance processes to connect directly to development, helping employees understand what growth means in practical and tangible terms. ➡️ Manager Development: Continue to strengthen manager capability and resources, ensuring managers are equipped to drive performance and support employee development ➡️ VP and SVP Development: Support and accelerate the growth of new vice presidents and senior vice presidents as they step into expanded leadership roles. ➡️ Building a Leadership Bench : Develop and execute a strategy for strengthening the leadership bench, with a focus on preparing our Top 200 leaders ➡️ AI/Learning : Using AI internally within the learning function and focusing on key skills in AI for client-facing practitioners ➡️ Academies For AI/Data Roles: Developing and rolling out an academy for our AI & Data Product Employees I’d love to hear your perspective: What stands out most to you about this list, or what themes are you seeing in this list?

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱? It's an important question. Some people say yes - that they’re outdated, tokenistic, even harmful. And it’s true: too many were designed without deep gender expertise. They tried to “fix women” instead of fixing systems. They taught women to mimic male behaviours - ignoring the reality that those same behaviours are often punished in women. But here’s the reality: women’s lived experience of leadership is different. Not because women are less capable, but because the workplace wasn’t built with them in mind. 👉 Women face a penalty for deviating from gendered expectations - for example, assertiveness is applauded in men, labelled “bossy” in women. 👉 Caregiving still falls disproportionately to women, leaving them with fewer resources to compete equally. 👉 Constantly navigating these contradictions is exhausting. Generic leadership development programmes don't speak to the unique needs of women. So no, women’s development programmes aren’t dead. At least, not when done right. The best ones don’t teach women to “fit in.” They help them strip away limiting gender expectations and lead authentically. They build visibility and sponsorship. They equip women to see and navigate the barriers in front of them. And they exist alongside systemic reform - because you can’t get women into senior decision-making roles without changing the system, and you can’t change the system without women at the table. The old model is dead. But the future? It’s smarter, bolder, and still absolutely necessary. It looks like this: 👉 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 - what is the problem you are trying to solve, and how does this support business priorities? 👉 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘆 𝗶𝗻 - without which the best initiatives will be limited in their impact 👉 𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗿𝘀 - this is critical work and needs to be done in parallel to developing women, not after 👉 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 - ensuring the programme content addresses the unique barriers in your organisation, as well as creating safe, stretching spaces for development, building visibility and sponsorship, and addressing nuanced intersectional differences. This can be achieved both via women-only programmes, as well as application-based mixed gender programmes (for women, men and the non-binary community) which are designed around the needs of women but open to all genders. 👉 What do you think - are women’s development programmes still part of your solution? #GenderEquity #WomenInLeadership #TalentDevelopment

9 Lessons I’ve Learned as a Public Speaker Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking on many stages—each one teaching me something new. Whether you're just starting or looking to sharpen your impact, here are 9 lessons that have shaped my journey: 1)Know Your Audience Speak to them, not at them. Tailor your message to their context and mindset. 2)Stories Beat Slides Facts inform, but stories move people. The right anecdote is often more powerful than data. 3)Less is More A clear, concise message always lands better than a flood of information. 4)Preparation = Confidence Rehearse not to memorize, but to internalize. Know your flow so you can stay flexible. 5)Energy is Contagious Your passion, tone, and presence can elevate the room. Show up fully. 6)Pause More Often Silence gives your audience time to absorb—and gives your words more weight. 7)Authenticity Wins Don’t try to be someone else on stage. People connect with the real you. 8)Engage, Don’t Just Present Ask questions. React to the room. Make it a two-way experience whenever possible. 9)You’ll Always Improve No talk is ever perfect—and that’s the beauty of it. Keep learning, keep growing. Which of these resonates most with you—or what would you add to the list? #PublicSpeaking #Leadership #Communication #PersonalGrowth #Storytelling

Most women do not need more skills training. They already know how to communicate. They already know how to lead. They already know how to work hard, prepare well, and carry responsibility. What often gets mistaken for a skills gap is actually something deeper. It is the layer beneath the skills: people pleasing over-responsibility perfectionism fear of being disliked self-silencing external validation the pressure to be competent, warm, agreeable and endlessly capable You can teach women to speak up. But if they have been conditioned to stay safe by staying acceptable, that skill will always be harder to access under pressure. This is why so much women’s development work misses the mark. It focuses on what women should do, without addressing what has been shaping how they show up in the first place. That is where the real work is. That is the work beneath the skills. Have you ever completed a skills programme and still found yourself hesitating in the room? What was actually happening?

Digital transformation isn’t about tools or platforms, it’s about people. Technology only delivers value when the workforce has the skills, confidence, and support to use it effectively. Organisations that are seeing real impact are taking a deliberate, people-centred approach: • Assess opportunities by benchmarking skills against business priorities • Select scalable solutions that blend trusted platforms with in-house expertise • Engage leadership by positioning learning as a driver of transformation • Phase the rollout, starting small and scaling through structured hub • Celebrate progress to build momentum and confidence • Embed for impact by integrating learning into onboarding and career paths When learning is continuous and connected to outcomes, transformation lasts. Discover how Kimberly Clarke successfully established a culture of continuous upskilling, ensuring everyone is aligned to the learning and business strategy. https://lnkd.in/egwcj2ZF How are you putting people at the center of your digital transformation? Pluralsight #digitalTransformation

Being good at your job isn’t enough if you can’t communicate your value. Ever walked out of a meeting thinking, “I should’ve said that differently?” Or worse, realizing your point was completely misunderstood? I’ve seen it happen again and again. Brilliant professionals stuck in the same place, not because they lack skill, but because their communication doesn’t reflect their capability. That’s why communication isn’t a soft skill. It’s a career skill. The one that decides whether your work gets recognized or forgotten. 🟢 After 10+ years of coaching professionals, here are the biggest mistakes I see: 1️⃣ Not reading the room → Every meeting has its tone. Learn to sense energy and adapt your delivery accordingly. 2️⃣ Focusing only on speaking → Listening is 80% of great communication. The best communicators don’t just talk, they tune in. 3️⃣ Avoiding difficult conversations → These aren’t career killers. They’re confidence builders. Each one grows your leadership muscle. 💡 Here’s a simple rule I share with all my clients: ✅ Clear communication = Clear results ❌ Vague communication = Vague results If you’re often misunderstood, overlooked, or unsure how to express ideas effectively, start here 👇 🟢 Quick Wins You Can Apply Today: ✅ Confirm understanding. After meetings, recap key points to ensure alignment. ✅ Ask more questions. Replace assumptions with curiosity, it builds trust and clarity. ✅ Follow up in writing. Document outcomes and next steps. It eliminates confusion. ✅ Mind your tone. Your words may be right, but tone decides whether people listen. ✅ Practice being concise. Clarity is power. Simplicity is influence. I’ve seen entire careers transform just by mastering communication. Not because people suddenly got smarter,  but because they finally started being understood. Remember: It’s not about being the loudest voice in the room. It’s about being the clearest one. 👉 If you want to elevate your communication, strengthen your personal brand, and learn how to express your ideas with clarity and confidence, connect with me on DM if interested. I’ll help you turn your voice into your competitive advantage. #CommunicationSkills #CareerTips #Confidence  #SnehaSharmaTheCoach

My weekends are often spent mentoring, and I frequently get asked how I find the time and if it gets exhausting. For me, it doesn't. Spending a few hours each week lecturing at a college, solving issues for friends, or catching up with contemporaries is a delight. The diversity of my work is like being a space traveler: one day, it's creating music with Ankur Tewari; the next, it's discussing comedy with Tanmay Bhatt, or exploring the future of publishing with Shreya Punj. My schedule might exhaust others, but as Amit Varma says, it's like creating a picture of the universe—the more dots, the clearer the picture. And as I say, "To sprinkle stardust, you have to visit the stars." Every person is an adventure, an Aladdin’s cave filled with treasure. The question is, can you unlock them? Some steps for Learning and Mentoring Conversations - Listen More Than Talk: Truly hear what the other person is saying. - Keep Devices Away: Focus on the conversation unless taking notes, and inform them if you are. - Frame Questions Well: Ask open-ended questions to elicit more than a yes or no. - Set Goals: Establish clear objectives for mentoring sessions. - Encourage Openness: Create a safe environment for sharing. - Be Patient: Let the conversation flow naturally. - Provide Constructive Feedback: Offer supportive insights. - Summarize and Reflect: Ensure understanding and engagement. - Follow Up: Check progress and continue discussions. - Stay Curious:Maintain genuine interest in their journey. - Encourage Self-Reflection: Prompt deep thinking about their actions. - Respect Boundaries:Be mindful of sensitive topics. These strategies help create meaningful, effective learning conversations that enrich both parties.

Training. Coaching. Mentoring. Counselling. Most people use them interchangeably. But they’re fundamentally different — and confusing them can hurt growth. Here’s how I explain it (and how it shows up in consulting): 🔧 Training – Teaching the basics. When I joined consulting, training was learning how to structure slides, analyze data, build models. It’s structured, repeatable, and often classroom-style. A trainer gives you the tools to begin. 🎯 Coaching – Stretching performance. A partner once told me: “You can push this insight further. Go beyond what you think is feasible.” That was coaching, unlocking capability I didn’t know I had. 🧭 Mentoring – Sharing experience. I still remember a senior partner sharing how they navigated a tough client situation, not telling me what to do, but giving me patterns to learn from. A mentor shows you what you don’t yet see. 🪞 Counselling – Guiding behavior & judgment. This happens when someone sits you down and helps you reflect: “What’s really driving your choices? How do you want to show up as a leader?” A counselor helps you understand why you do it. Each has its place. Each works differently. And great leaders know when to use which. In consulting (and leadership), you can’t just train your teams. You need to coach them to stretch, mentor them to grow, and counsel them when they need perspective. Your team doesn’t just need answers, they need enablers. #Leadership #Mindset #Coaching #Mentoring ------------------- I write regularly on People | Leadership | Transformation | Sustainability. Follow Surya Sharma.