Affiliates

Compliance

Content partners

Learning and development

Learning technology

News

Product updates

Wellbeing

The official Go1 blog. Bringing you the latest insights into learning technology, professional development, thought leadership, and Go1 product news.

Blog

petrol_green

True

The official Go1 Blog. Bringing you the latest insights into learning technology, professional development, thought leader opinion, and Go1 product news.

Subscribe to the Go1 Blog

Accounting and Finance

Time Management

Sales and Customer Service

Digital Marketing

General Management

Housing and Real Estate

Human Resources

Industrial Skills

Investment and Trading

Leadership

Legal

Marketing

People and Communication Skills

Project Management

Business Skills

Language and Literature

Health and Well-being

Writing and Publishing

Audiovisual and Music

Personal Development

Health and Safety

HR Compliance

Data Compliance

Financial Compliance

Crisis Management

Safety and Compliance

IT Software

Web Design and Development

Data & Analytics

Design and Animation

Gaming and Games Development

Devops, Networking and Security

Programming and Web Development

Computer Science and Engineering

Technology Skills

Privacy

Global settings

Twitter

LinkedIn

Youtube

We are extremely excited to be at number 6 of the Top Australian Startups named by LinkedIn. 

This is the third consecutive year that Go1 joins some phenomenal businesses in the list. 

“At Go1.com we’re humbled to be named alongside such great Australian companies. At a time where the world is undergoing immense change, startups are shaping and creating the jobs and industries of tomorrow,” says Vu Tran, Co-Founder and Chief Evangelist of Go1.

The list is released every year, compiled by LinkedIn’s editorial team who work hard to spotlight rapidly growing companies. They utilize proprietary LinkedIn data and the expertise of their global editorial team to pinpoint companies that have high platform engagement, high employee engagement, and attract top talent through LinkedIn. 

This year, LinkedIn utilised data from January to July 2020 to ensure that it captured startups that were resilient through COVID. 

Chris Eigeland, Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer said:

“We're honoured to be included on this list of amazing Australian startups that are transforming industries, in the middle of a challenging and changing economic environment. As an organisation focused on learning in the context of the 'new normal' for professional development and work life, we're proud to be supporting the Australian workforce.” 

Go1 is working hard to ensure that employee mental health and wellbeing are its core focus through the COVID period and beyond. Teams have been forced to move away from office environments, and Go1 has enabled the People and Culture team and Leadership team to foster personal and professional growth through remote working. 

It’s key that all employees are comfortable and have the resources that they need to do their jobs from their homes. With the prominent return to office date potentially in the next few months, we are ensuring our team’s health and safety is at the forefront, as we move towards a more flexible working environment.

Go1 makes it easy for organisations to learn, with the world's most comprehensive online library of learning resources. Go1 pulls the world’s top online learning providers into one place, delivering all the learning an organization needs in a single solution. With over 1.5 million learners – and growing – Go1 is a world leader in online learning.

Go1.com has raised over US$80 million in total funding from investors including M12 - Microsoft’s venture fund, Madrona Venture Group, SEEK, Salesforce Ventures, Shark Tank investor Steve Baxter and Oxford University. 

False

Go1 named #6 in LinkedIn's 2020 Top Startups in Australia

When we released the Go1 Learning app for Microsoft Teams, we received a tremendous response from organizations who were able to bring learning into the flow of work in Teams.

Today, Go1 is excited to announce our integration with Microsoft Search, extending the reach of learning content into the flow of work for employees.

Go1 integration with Microsoft Search

Organizations use Go1 to collect content they’ve built internally and content from the Go1 Content Hub. The Go1 Content Hub is the world’s largest content library, containing hundreds of online learning providers that cover every topic imaginable.

Now, in partnership with Microsoft, all of this learning content is available in Microsoft Search, using Microsoft’s Graph Connector framework. End organizations are able to use Microsoft Search to find Go1 learning resources in places like Office.com, SharePoint, and Bing. Relevant Go1 learning content will appear alongside other content in your organization, like Office 365 files. Employees can find and access this learning content in their normal day-to-day routine, reducing barriers to up-skilling.

With these new capabilities, it’s easier than ever for employees to learn from Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Search, redefining the ability to learn in the flow of work.

To learn more about the Go1 integration with Microsoft Search, visit go1.com/go1-microsoft-search. Questions can be directed to support@go1.com.

If you are a learning management system or content provider, Go1 would love to speak with you about being a part of this new learning experience. Please reach out to support@go1.com for more information.

Employees can now find learning content in Office.com, SharePoint, and Bing through Microsoft Search.

Announcing the new Go1 integration with Microsoft Search

Go1 is excited to announce a partnership with Acendre, an award-winning talent management solution which helps organisations recruit, onboard, measure, engage, and develop their people to improve workforce performance.

Since being founded in 1997 with an eye to revolutionising talent management, Acendre has grown to service over 200 of the world’s largest organisations, while processing over two million resumes per year and two million transactions per week. 

Inquisiq, Acendre’s Learning Management Solution, has been carefully designed to seamlessly blend the most advanced eLearning technology with time-tested conventional training methods - all within a rich learning ecosystem that fosters collaboration and communication.

Acendre’s APAC Managing Director Liam Ackland is excited by the new partnership:

“By partnering with Go1 we are now able to provide high-quality content across a range of topics from the best providers around the world accessible within our Learning Management System. The Go1 course catalogue is full of off-the-shelf and mobile-ready eLearning courses without the need for third-party integration which will enhance our customer's experience on the Inquisiq platform.”

Go1 co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer Chris Eigeland is equally enthused by the partnership, saying, “Go1 helps millions of people in thousands of organisations engage in learning that is key to their personal and professional development. This partnership will provide organisations with a pathway to upskill their workforce, especially at a time when remote working and learning is in high demand. I have no doubt that our offering will enhance employers’ ability to equip their staff with the best tools for learning and career progression.”

To experience this seamless integration first-hand, request a demo today!

Acendre is a leading provider of highly secure cloud-based talent management software that empowers organisations to enhance their workforces. The company’s innovative solutions provide data and insights that address the unique needs of organisations in regulated industries that require a high level of configurability to manage complex workflows and interoperability challenges. Acendre serves both public and private sectors, including government, education, healthcare, utilities, and mining. To learn more about Acendre, visit Acendre.com.

Go1 makes it easy for organisations to learn, with the world's most comprehensive online library of learning resources. Go1 pulls the world’s top online learning providers into one place, delivering all the learning an organisation needs in a single solution. With over 1.5 million learners – and growing – Go1 is a world leader in online learning.

Go1.com has raised over US$80 million in total funding from investors including M12 - Microsoft’s venture fund, Madrona Venture Group, SEEK, Salesforce Ventures, Shark Tank investor Steve Baxter and Oxford University. To learn more about Go1, visit www.go1.com.

Acendre unlocks seamless learning integrations with Go1 partnership 

There are a range of theories that inform the design of effective learning experiences, ranging from behaviour change to cognitive psychology. 

One school of thought behind learning efficacy that is gaining traction in both research and practice is neuroscience - where we consider the way the brain functions in designing learning experiences. That is, learning is more impactful when we harness the structure and mechanics of the brain.   

Neuroscientists are starting to map the brain to show how people learn and the range of factors that influence learning. By understanding learning as a physical process, content creators and trainers can leverage the brain power of their audiences to create more effective instructional materials. 

That’s why Go1 has partnered with How Too, who are experts in human centric learning design. How Too helps organisations and educators turn their content into engaging online experiences through proven (and beautiful!) digital learning templates. They’re here to break down the jargon of neuroscience and learning, and outline the very best learning practices as backed by science.  

In this paper, they analyse and explain the role our brain plays in impacting the way we learn, and what learning methodologies are best to make sure we are retaining content as effectively as possible. The whitepaper was written for anyone who has knowledge to share, and is passionate about making that knowledge engaging and memorable to learn.   

Download this free whitepaper to discover how to embed the principles of neuroscience and human centric learning design into your content creation.  

By understanding learning as a physical process, content creators and trainers can leverage the brain power of their audiences to create more effective instructional materials. 

Harness the power of brain science to create effective learning  

In over 7 years of recruitment and hiring, I've met and spoken to all types of people for all types of roles. Roles I hire for can range from graduate development positions, administration positions, and digital marketing coordinators, all the way to corporate law positions, engineering managers, and C-level executives. While these roles may vary, a few things remain constant. 

Up until now, I haven't put pen to paper to examine the distinct traits, practises, and behavioural patterns both myself and other key recruitment leaders across Australia have found in successful candidates. So, the goal of this article is to provide you with a few valuable techniques that you might not have considered when applying for a job or interviewing for your dream role.

I'm going to break these tips down into a series of articles covering the entire hiring and recruitment process. In today’s article, I’ll take a closer look at resume submission, while future articles will cover the initial phone call, first round interview, second round interview, and finally, the offer. In these articles, I'll also provide additional insights into the routines I follow as a prospective hiring manager during each phase, to give you more context on the process. 

Let’s get started with step one of the hiring process: 

Most of us have probably only been on one end of the resume submission process. You find your dream job listing on Seek, click through to submit your resume, and cross your fingers for good news. I thought it would be valuable to provide some insight into what it’s like on the other side of the resume submission process. 

Depending on the role, I could be receiving hundreds of resumes per day. Keep in mind I'll likely have multiple active positions at one time. Hundreds of resumes for multiple job listings is a lot to keep on top of. As such, there simply isn’t enough time to devote 5 to 10 minutes to read each applicant’s resume in depth. Instead, I'll read most resumes within the first week of a roles' creation. Then, out of potentially hundreds of applicants, I will have a shortlist of around 10 preferred candidates.  

To improve your likelihood of making it into the top 10%, here are some things that will instantly hurt your chances of reaching the 'initial phone call' stage. To me, these things can make all the difference between standing out and being overlooked:  

Make a good first impression with your resume 

Resumes are a glance into your life and career. Just like your home, a messy resume indicates that you are potentially unorganised and lack attention to detail. To stand out, spend quality time making an eye-catching resume. You don’t need to be a graphic design whiz; as long as it's easy to read and well laid out, you'll start things off on the right foot. 

It’s better to apply for 10 jobs where you know at least 4 to 5 relevant facts about the business, rather than 20 jobs where you know nothing about them at all. This point applies to the ‘initial phone call’ stage as well, but it’s something you should do prior to submitting your resume -  or at least very soon after resume submission.  

When you take the time to learn about a business and retain that information for a prospective call, you demonstrate a level of proactivity which sets you apart from applicants who are too lazy to do some basic Googling. The more you know and retain, the more impressed a hiring manager will be in an interview. 

Triple-check your grammar: Grammar errors in your resume show me you lack attention to detail.  


Don't include a photo in your resume: This is a question I get a lot: "should I put a professional photo in my resume?" As a rule of thumb, I would say no. In my opinion, they are non-essential page fillers. A photo of you detracts from what's really important to a hiring manager, which is your professional experience, goals, education, and professional/extra-curricular achievements.  


Don't include your referees’ contact information: While this is certainly not common practise and something I rarely see in resumes, it’s still worth pointing out. I would advise against including your referees’ contact details in your resume. This is because your referees may receive unsolicited calls from internal hiring managers and external agents willing to break Australian resume confidentiality laws and approach them directly regarding the same vacancy or other vacancies. 


I hope this has given you a few helpful pointers to consider next time you submit your resume. Make sure you keep your eyes peeled for the next article in this series, where I’ll take a closer look at the ‘initial phone call’ stage of the recruitment process! 

Until then, be sure to check out our articles on Tips you need to read before your next interview and How you can improve your job prospects with online learning for more helpful insights on becoming the successful applicant. 

Most of us have probably only been on one end of the resume submission process. You find your dream job, submit your resume, and cross your fingers. So, I thought it would be valuable to provide insight into what it’s like on the other side of the resume submission process. 

Resume submission: tips to improve your chances of being the successful applicant

In the past 12 months, one in five Australian employees have reported that they have taken time off due to feeling mentally unwell. 

On top of that, many employees do not actively seek support through their workplace because of a lack of policies, procedures and practices to support mental health … or, they don’t know these resources are available.

We know that starting a conversation by asking “Are you ok?” can change, and even potentially, save someones life. But how do we keep the conversation going? How can workplaces provide support and create safe spaces, so that their employees can feel more comfortable raising their concerns and reaching out when they need to?

In today’s article, we will explore what you can do once the conversation around mental health has started, and offer advice to help anyone approach it with a little more confidence.

We can all make a difference in the lives of those who are struggling by having regular, meaningful conversations about things that matter.

If you're looking for information on how and when to ask R U OK?, the R U OK? organisation’s website is well worth taking a look at. This free course created by Allara Learning is also an excellent place to start. 

This year, R U OK? is asking all Australians to learn what to say if someone in their life says they are not OK, which aligns with the theme that ‘There’s more to say after R U OK?’. This message focuses on building confidence and skills in people so they know how to navigate a conversation with someone in their life who is doing it tough.

While you don’t have to be an expert to keep the conversation going, when someone says they’re not ok, knowing how to proceed with that conversation can make them feel supported and get access to the help they need. 

If you find yourself in any of the following scenarios below, here is some advice on how you could respond:

1. They just brushed it off and said ‘they’re fine’

It is important to acknowledge that some people might not be in the right place to talk. They might be busy, they might not be ready, or they might want to open up to someone else. Whatever the case is, don’t criticise them. Tell them you’re someone they can talk to if they ever need to or suggest other people that they may prefer to talk to. At the end of the day it is their personal choice to talk about it or not, and you should never put pressure on them to open up. 

💡  Course suggestion: Warning Signs – iAM Learning 

This short course is designed to help you recognise key ‘warning signs’ in yourself and others so that you can take appropriate action.

2. They opened up to you but don’t need help or guidance 

In this scenario, it is important to recognise and validate how they are feeling - everyone’s experience is unique. Building trust is important so keep what they told you private (unless they’re at risk of hurting themselves or someone else). Stay in touch and actually be there for them when they may reach out to talk about it again. Genuine care and concern can make a real difference. 

💡  Course suggestion: Stress, Anxiousness and Anxiety - ViaUp

This course empowers your organisation to identify and address the causes and symptoms of anxiety by providing them with the tools they need to make meaningful and positive progress.

3. They opened up to you and are asking for help and guidance

In this scenario, check your understanding of the situation and what you might be able to do to help. Reassure them they are not alone and there is hope that things can get better. Help them explore their options for feeling better. 

If someone’s been really low for more than 2 weeks - or is at risk - please contact a professional as soon as you can.

💡  Course suggestion: Support Networks - Mental Health Movement 

This topic will provide you with an understanding of what a support network is and the different types of support networks available. 

4. You weren’t in the right headspace for the conversation

We do our best to be prepared however sometimes we get more than we bargained for. When you are supporting someone with mental health issues it can become overwhelming so remember to look after yourself too, and seek support when you need it.

There are many resources available to help break down any fears or concerns someone might be feeling when approaching a meaningful conversation with a family member, friend or workmate who might be doing it tough. The below websites offer further advice on how to approach these difficult conversations:

Previously on the Go1 blog, we have taken a look at the steps you can take to create more open and positive conversations about mental health in the workplace. 

While R U OK? Day is indeed just one day a year, it’s about promoting conversation and openness about mental health all year round.

An effective way of equipping employees with the skills and knowledge they need to manage their own mental health and support others in their workplace is through providing mental health training for staff.

Here at Go1, we are committed to continuing the conversation and breaking down the stigma around mental health. That is why we have curated a selection of resources designed to protect employee mental health and promote mentally healthy workplaces. This will be available for free from the 1st of September. We will also be running a series of webinars and activities in October for Mental Health Awareness Month - so stay tuned.   

Please remember, if you are experiencing significant distress, please reach out to Lifeline 131 114 or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636. If you, or anyone you know, is feeling suicidal you can also call the Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 for immediate support. 

We know that starting a conversation by asking “Are you ok?” can change, and even potentially, save someones life. But how do we keep the conversation going?

There’s more to say after R U OK?: Keeping the conversation going

While R U OK? Day is indeed just one day a year, it’s about promoting conversation and openness about mental health all year round.

Today, we’ll look at how you can take steps to create more open and positive conversations about mental health in your workplace, and provide the people around you with the support they need.

R U OK? Day is a day that encourages Australians to open up about how they’re feeling and start conversations about mental health.

The R U OK? organisation aims to reduce the number of suicides in Australia, by urging people to reach out to each other and create supportive networks across our communities. It’s about being prepared to ask friends, family and workmates who may be struggling “are you ok?” and then knowing how to respond appropriately and safely to anyone who says that they’re not.

As the R U OK? organisation says, “a place where asking the question “are you ok?” can really work is in the workplace. As employers or staff, we can all create a culture where people feel confident asking and answering this most important question.”

Pedro Diaz, Workplace Mental Health Institute founder, talks about the impact of workplaces on mental health:

“We spend most of our time at work and it can be a really good place. You can give to others and that can be good for your mental health. But it can also be a place where we are judged a lot. Are you good enough? Are you part of the tribe? If you don’t behave in a certain way, you may not be. It can be a place where you are rejected a lot.”

These negative thoughts can contribute to feelings of self-doubt, rejection and isolation – all of which are very detrimental to our mental health and sense of wellbeing.

It’s no secret that people are often reluctant to talk about how they’re feeling, particularly when they’re not coping. And particularly to their boss or co-workers. R U OK? Day doesn’t dismiss this fact – what it does do is act as a reminder, and an opportunity, to share mental health concerns with our managers or employers. And that it’s ok to do so.

Establishing zero tolerance for discrimination or harassment

For managers and employers, it’s also vital to make sure that your company has proper policies in place against bullying, harassment and all forms of discrimination. In Australia, it’s your responsibility to create a safe work environment for all staff. Having strong policies in place, that show zero tolerance for discrimination, will help you create a more open and positive work culture within your organisation.

In addition to these legal requirements and policy matters, there are things you can do to make the workplace environment more comfortable for workers experiencing low mental health. And the fact is, at any given time 1 in 5 Australian employees are likely to be suffering from depression, anxiety, OCD or other mental health concerns. By being flexible, providing support and creating safe spaces, people can feel more comfortable raising their concerns and reaching out when they need it.

The R U OK? organisation’s website has steps on how to ask someone if they are ok and is well worth looking at.

“You don't need to be an expert – just a great mate and a good listener. So, if you notice someone who might be struggling – start a conversation.”

By starting the conversation, and showing that you’re there and present for them, you could help that family member, friend or workmate open up.

It’s also really important to know how to respond if someone says they’re not ok. If they confide that things are tough for them at work, or in life in general, right now. When a friend, family member or workmate opens up to you that they are not ok, it’s important to know how to proceed with that conversation. The R U OK? website provides help with clear steps you can take to show someone that they’re supported, and also how to help them find strategies to cope during this time.

Sometimes, you might also need to acknowledge that a situation is too big for you to take on alone. And that you can’t help someone as well as an expert can. If someone’s been really low for more than two weeks, or is talking about suicide or self-harm, encourage them to contact a professional as soon as possible. It’s not palming them off, or dismissing their feelings – it’s the responsible thing to do in this scenario.

That part is really critical: “if you're not in the right headspace or you don't think you're the right person to have the conversation, try to think of someone else in their support network who could talk to them.”

Because before you can look out for others, you need to look out for yourself. And that’s also ok.

Keeping the conversation going all year round

So before you dismiss it as something that’s ineffective, or a token gesture, think about how it’s opening up important dialogue for Australians that can be carried throughout the whole year. As the people behind R U OK? Day are the first to admit, “conversations need to happen every day.”

There is never any harm in asking someone if they are ok. Because if they are ok, they’ll know you’re someone who cares enough to ask. And if they’re not, you could significantly change their life with just one question.

Please remember, if you are experiencing significant distress, please reach out to Lifeline 131 114 or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636. If you, or anyone you know, is feeling suicidal you can also call the Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 for immediate support.

How to Talk About Mental Health in the Workplace

In this article, we’ll look at how you can take steps to create more open and positive conversations about mental health in your workplace, and provide the people around you with the support they need.

Steps to create more open and positive conversations about mental health in your workplace

Leaders are at the forefront of your business. With any luck, they’re the glue that binds your teams together, constantly striving to put your best foot forward. 

In an era defined by rapid advancements, your leaders play a crucial role in driving innovation and overseeing team culture. As such, it should come as little surprise that leadership development is now a $366 billion dollar industry worldwide. That’s right, billion. With a b. While this might seem like a lofty price tag, we all know that effective leaders are priceless. 

Unfortunately, this investment isn’t quite matching up with the current output. Go1’s recent State of Learning Report identified developing leaders as by far the biggest challenge faced in delivering organisational learning. 

This disconnect between price tag and outcome leaves a leadership chasm. Put simply, this is bad news for everyone, from new hires all the way up to C-suite executives. The good news? We’ve decided to get to the bottom of this leadership development problem by analysing what leadership development is, why it’s important, how to identify common leadership development issues, what success looks like, and solutions to deliver effective leadership development training. 

Ready to lead the way on leadership development? Let’s start with two simple questions. 

What is leadership development (and why is it important)?  

At first glance, this might seem like an obvious answer. Leadership development is the process of developing leaders within a business, often via coaching, mentorship, or online learning. To expand on this, Business Dictionary defines leadership development as “teaching of leadership qualities, including communication, ability to motivate others, and management, to an individual who may or may not use the learned skills in a leadership position”. 

There are a few common methods of administering leadership development. According to a survey of 28,000 business leaders by Chief Learning Officer magazine, 73% of organisations currently rely on instructor-led leadership development, while a further 63% employ executive coaching. 

Further, this survey identified the most valuable leadership development attributes as improving coaching skills (priority for 34% of respondents), communication (31%), employee engagement (27%), and strategic planning (21%). These ‘soft skills’ align with the priorities identified in Go1’s State of Learning Report, which found the top leadership topics on Go1 are emotional intelligence, negotiation, mentoring, and team building & teamwork. 

Of course, the question is less what and more why. According to Forbes, 95% of learning organisations plan to either maintain or increase their current leadership development budget. Remember, this is a $366 billion global industry, so we’re talking big money here. Similarly, a recent Deloitte survey found that 80% of organisations rate leadership development as a high priority. This highlights the value that organisations place on effective leadership development. 

Again, the answer to why leadership development is so important is relatively straightforward. Think back to all the roles you’ve worked in. What separated the good jobs from the bad? If you’re like most people, your team leader probably factors heavily into this answer. An effective leadership culture can be the difference between a positive, enjoyable workplace, and dreading showing up to the office on Monday morning. This isn’t just anecdotal evidence, it’s a fact. Research by LinkedIn shows that, of 1 million surveyed employees, 75% of those who have voluntarily left their jobs did so because of their boss or immediate supervisor, not because of the role. Accordingly, poor management is the #1 reason people quit their jobs. 

Putting a purely business-focussed lens on for a second, effective leadership can also be the difference between optimising your output, getting the most out of your workforce, and increasing revenue, or high employee turnover and lagging behind the competition. 

This is before even considering the benefits of leadership development compared to the high costs of leadership recruitment. Not only does developing leaders from within ensure they come equipped with an understanding of your organisational context, values, strategy, and branding, but it can also save you plenty of money in the long run. A recent survey of 1,500 ANZ region HR professionals by Human Resources Director Magazine found that the average cost of an executive-level hire is $34,440, while a senior-level manager will set you back $23,059 on average and a mid-level manager costs $17,841 on average. 

Effectively, leadership development can be what sets your company apart. So, it should be concerning that many businesses are failing to deliver in this area. This begs the question, how do you identify poor leadership development? 

Identifying common leadership development problems 

One of the biggest challenges of leadership development is that it is extremely difficult to quantify. Because leadership development focuses primarily on ‘soft skills’ such as communication, emotional intelligence, and developing interpersonal relationships, it is hard to objectively measure success. As Go1’s State of Learning Report emphasises, “leadership training needs to consider the context and needs of a specific organisation and individual. It is not a ‘one size fits all’ exercise, which adds to the complexity and challenge of developing effective leadership training.” 

Basically, you can’t deliver the same leadership training program to different people and expect to produce fully-formed leaders every time. This is where many leadership development programs fall short. Each person is different, necessitating a tailored approach to their leadership development journey. An effective leadership development program should account for this, and be adaptable to each learner’s individual context and learning style. 

Another common leadership development problem is the knowing-doing gap. As the name suggests, this is the gap between what people know and what they are actually able to do in practice. In a leadership development context, this may mean that employees have all the theoretical knowledge to be an effective leader, but lack the ability or opportunity to practically apply these skills. For tips on closing this gap, be sure to check our article ‘What is the knowing-doing gap?’. 

Additionally, a comprehensive analysis by McKinsey identified common leadership development pitfalls. We’ve already touched on two of them. Firstly, context trumps content, meaning there is no such thing as a ‘one size fits all’ leadership development program. Rather, each program should account for the context of your learners, company culture, leadership style, and organisational objectives. 

As their report emphasises, “focusing on context inevitably means equipping leaders with a small number of competencies that will make a significant difference to performance. Instead, what we often find is a long list of leadership standards, a complex web of dozens of competencies, and corporate-values statements”. Remember the old saying: keep it simple, stupid. This is definitely relevant in a leadership development context. Don’t overload potential leaders with an intricate web of jargon and boxes to tick, rather, let them focus on a few core skills and watch them excel. 

Secondly, their report finds most leadership development programs focus too heavily on reflection and not enough on application. This is where the knowing-doing gap can rear its ugly head. Per McKinsey’s analysis, “adults typically retain just 10 percent of what they hear in classroom lectures, versus nearly two-thirds when they learn by doing”, meaning it is crucial to find a balance between theoretical learning and practical application. In other words, less knowing, more doing . 

Another common leadership development problem is implementing effective measurement strategies. In general, companies are more likely to respond positively to leadership development when they can view and analyse concrete results. Yes, it is difficult to quantify soft skills, but difficult doesn’t mean impossible. Tools such as surveys on current leadership development methods, company-wide leadership feedback, monitoring participants’ career progression, and measuring business impact in relation to leaders' key projects can all be useful methods of measuring leadership development. 

No company is perfect (no, not even us), so chances are one of these problems probably rings a bell. Luckily, the first step to solving a problem is identifying that problem exists, so it’s worth analysing your current leadership development efforts to see if any of these issues are applicable. 

Closing the leadership development chasm 

We’ve identified common leadership development problems. Tick. Hopefully, you can’t relate to too many of them. This leaves us with two final, pressing questions. If we know what bad leadership development is, then what does successful leadership development look like? And, perhaps most importantly, how do we close this leadership development gap once and for all? 

The answer to the first question is tricky. Basically, it varies. Successful leadership development will mean different things to different companies. As mentioned, there is no perfect, one size fits all approach to leadership development, so successful leadership development will change depending on your culture, strategy, industry, organisational values, and your employees’ needs. But don’t let this answer discourage you. Instead, it should be seen as an opportunity to put your own unique stamp on the leadership development process and show off what makes your business great. 

To do this, we have a few suggestions for closing the leadership development gap. Too often, L&D teams can get bogged down dealing with the admin of managing individual content providers and a complex ‘stack’ of L&D tools. This means wasting time and resources on unnecessary administrative and technical issues, instead of focusing on strategically valuable tasks like developing programs, effective needs analysis, and raising the maturity of your organisation's L&D.

Go1 removes the need for multiple content vendors by finding, integrating, and managing these vendors for you. This enables you to access a network of world class providers, who cover a huge variety of topics, all via a single subscription. We can also plug our comprehensive library of content directly into existing tools instead of adding something else to an already over-complicated HR ‘stack’.  

This solution addresses two of the most common leadership development problems. By providing access to a huge library of content, there is no longer any need for a one size fits all approach to leadership development. Rather, users can participate in self-guided learning, accessing content that best suits their individual requirements. This also helps to close the knowing-doing gap, by providing content tailored to a wide variety of learning styles. 