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THE GUIDE TO
EVOLUTIONARY DEVELOPMENT:
PART 1
Preparing Leaders to Thrive in the Digital Era
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Learning leaders are searching for new ways of
thinking about leadership development.
Because there are fast and dramatic changes impacting every
aspect of business, old ways of thinking, entrenched interests, and
established models are threatened.

This guide describes the compelling business context for a new

Evolutionary Development framework that provides a
forward-thinking model to support leaders at all levels navigate this
new terrain, and a compass to help them succeed.

WHY LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT IS MISSION CRITICAL

OUR NEW WORLD

THE CONTEXT FOR NEW PERSPECTIVE

RELATIONAL COMPLEXITY

IMPLICATIONS FOR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

A FUTURE VISION OF AN EVOLVED LEADER

EVOLUTIONARY DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK

PREPARING LEADERS TO THRIVE IN THE DIGITAL ERA

A HOLISTIC APPROACH
MINDSET, BEHAVIOR, PROCESSES

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WHY LEADERSHIP In the U.S. alone, companies spend more than
$15 billion annually on leadership development
DEVELOPMENT IS programs, according to a 2014 Bersin by
The digital revolution is reshaping the consumer
behaviors and demands, how we run our
businesses and even the way we work.

MISSION CRITICAL Deloitte study. Leadership is clearly a corporate

priority – and for good reason.
Not only are your leaders (from executives to
middle managers to new managers) the foot
soldiers of your organizational culture, they
This new era is bringing about technological
change that risks challenging the value of
humanity itself, while demanding higher-level
human skillsets and deeper forms of sharing. At
the helm of our organizations, older generations

$15Billion
maintain the competitive advantage and growth
of your business. A leader’s impact on the
are coming to terms with the aspirations of
newer ones faster and more dramatically than
bottom line cannot be ignored; leaders drive ever before.
innovation and productivity, capitalize on
business opportunities and develop and retain
How much companies spend annually
top talent. The need for leadership is only deepening and
on leadership development
broadening, setting the stage for a leader who
thrives on – and even encourages change and
A leader’s responsibilities in today’s business disruption.
environment are daunting.

84%

of organizations anticipate a shortfall Sources: Bersin by Deloitte Brandon Hall's State of Leadership Development 2015
of leaders in the next 5 years

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OUR NEW WORLD
THE CONTEXT FOR 21 century
st
NEW PERSPECTIVE
business operates in an environment characterized by
unprecedented volatility, uncertainty, change, and ambiguity.
As the corporate crises of the past ten years
continue to signal, companies are struggling
to manage the level of complexity of this
new era. Shaken by systemic problems,
many organizations seem to lack the
capacity to deal with the risk unleashed by
their own business models.
In this environment, organizations face a
constant state of disequilibrium that
requires strong adaptive skills and authentic
leadership. The fast and dramatic changes
of our time are threatening old ways of
thinking, entrenched interests, and
established models, making it difficult for all
groups to go through this transformation
without losing something. Leadership is
becoming the top imperative in the digital
era as organizations are forced to manage a
constant process of loss in order to keep
apace.
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The fear of disruption that companies face
today is heightening the need for continuous
improvement and innovation. If in the past
business could simply establish and defend
some competitive advantage, today
business needs to harness the creativity and
ingenuity of entire networks to continue to
generate transformative ideas and
solutions.
Technology is transforming well-established
business models, redesigning internal and
external delivery processes and the way
products are made. The advent of robots,
artificial intelligence, and complete
automation is also restructuring full work
processes. Not only are more and more
skillsets rapidly losing relevance, but the
workplace is at risk of becoming less
human. A whole generation of workers is
facing the threat of having to retrain halfway
through their careers.
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RELATIONAL
COMPLEXITY
The internet and the cloud, advances in computing power and big data, crowdsourcing and the sharing economy are reducing
the degrees of separation between stakeholder groups, making companies feel the weight and challenge of figuring out these
new ways of relating to one another.

While technological change is accelerating the obsolescence of traditional skills, the level of complexity organizations face
today is increasing the value of unique and irreplaceable human capacities like creativity, empathy, and critical thinking.
Employees can no longer mail it in; they must bring their whole selves to work.

The application and sharing economy forces organizations to change the way work is organized and sourced. Flatter
organizational models, such as Holacracy, Agile, and Network, are becoming more and more widespread, challenging the
merits of old top-down approaches and formal authority. In contrast, emerging organizational designs tend to hinge on
organic collaborative efforts across local networks and distributed teams. These new models presume that people have
abandoned old mindsets and already possess the maturity to self-organize.

The ongoing generational and demographic changes are hitting the workforce reset button. The labor force has never been
more diverse, evolving, and ambitious. People are looking for meaning, autonomy, and challenges, rather than jobs. And they
are also expecting flexible work arrangements that allow them to cultivate independence and remain dynamic in this
change-laden environment.

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IMPLICATIONS What leadership capacities are needed in a time
where business challenges change from day to
FOR LEADERSHIP day? And where should these capacities be
Put simply, organizations need to adapt in real
time; they need to harness the change they face
instead of succumbing to it. Like a skilled

DEVELOPMENT found? In an environment of extraordinary
change and uncertainty, leaders need to amp
their game and leadership must become
everybody’s calling. If in the past organizations
could rely on formal leaders to provide
structure, direction, and order, today’s
alchemist, they need to turn change into
positive change.
Smoothing out and harnessing the natural
resistance to change and loss will be a key

75%
of employees quit their jobs because
of ineffective leadership
leadership must extend far beyond technical
competence and formal authority.
Not only is leadership to encompass new
mindsets and behaviors, but it must evolve into
a more widespread organizational capacity. The
leader of the future doesn’t dwell at the top of
the organization but at the core of every single
team—making the new network models of this
era organic, nimble, and ready to embrace more
change.
responsibility of the leader of the future. The
leader of the future must also envision and
share an aspirational path forward that binds
people together in times of high volatility and
ambiguity, when the whole journey is still
unknown. Another key job for the leader of the
future will be developing deeply human and
agile networks in a reality that grows more
interdependent by the second. Finally, the future
leader will need to engage in self-reflection and
nurture aware self-centeredness—the most
sensitive compass to weather unpredictable

71% storms and trials that a leader can wish for—to

of organizations do not feel that their
leaders are prepared to lead their
business into the future.
consolidate the leader’s ability to inspire, adapt,
The digital era thrives on
and develop.
change itself—only those
organizations that embrace
and engineer disruption will
Sources: Gallup’s State of the American Workplace report Brandon Hall's
win in this new reality.
State of Leadership Development 2015

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A FUTURE VISION OF If the overarching leadership approach of the
past touted formal authority and brass power,
AN EVOLVED LEADER
the leader of the future is constantly journeying
between the inside and the outside—the inner
life of the organization and the remarkable
challenges of the external environment; the
intimate experience of their own personal
evolution and the bold transformation of their
colleagues; the flashy change of technology
and the corresponding subtle shift in values and
aspirations.
As they engage in this constant inward-outward
journey,
evolved leaders gain energy and insight for
themselves and others. They stand at the edge
of the old, where they can grasp the new and
still appreciate the tools and instruments of the
past that have withstood the test of time.
This new leader’s purpose is not to please
cohorts or consolidate their power, but to
exercise wisdom, challenge the status
quo, and envision the complex
interdependence of systems and
stakeholders.
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Moving from the inside to the outside, leaders
reflect on their own and others’ mindsets, look
to elevate behavior, and work on re-engineering
processes that align with the deeply-held
purpose and values that govern their leadership.
Moving from the outside to the inside, leaders
share their appreciation for new ideas and
strategies with their teams and engineers
change. As their vision develops, leaders
diagnose opportunities and problems and
design suitable solutions. In doing so, they are
already considering the impact of these
changes on people’s behavior and mindsets; in
fact, they use these transformative
opportunities to foster deeper aspirational and
behavioral alignment.
In its fullest form, this style of leadership is
all-encompassing, focusing on how people
think and feel, how they act, and how the larger
system operates. But leaders can also be
tactical and position their work at any of these
three levels, situating themselves at the edge of
that comfort zone where people are willing to
travel in order to see what stands beyond.
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EVOLUTIONARY To develop leaders to lead in today’s increasingly complex world, organizations need a new model that emphasizes the attributes that leaders
need to embrace in order to navigate organizational change in the digital age; The Evolutionary Development Model.
DEVELOPMENT
FRAMEWORK
PREPARING LEADERS TO THRIVE INSPIRE

IN THE DIGITAL ERA The ability to create

energy, motivate others
to action, and invake

INSPIRE positive emotions.

SELF REFLECT

The capacity to
exercise intospection
and the willingness to
learn more about SELF
oneself. REFLECT

DEVELOP ADAPT

DEVELOP ADAPT

The ability to master The ability to foster

complexity, grow disruption, modify, and
personally and make things suitable
cultivate growth in for a new purpose.
others.

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A HOLISTIC A Focus on Shifting Perspective
APPROACH Unlike many leadership development models which focus only on behavioral changes, the evolutionary
development model also addresses the mindset shifts that drive changes in behavior and the resulting processes
MINDSET, BEHAVIOR, PROCESSES
that create change throughout the organization.

Leadership development should entail

the full span of influence; Mindset,
Behavioral, and Processes.

Mindset Behavioral Processes

How we view people and the What we give up and what we What we envision to expand
organization based on our values start doing – your actions and organizational capacity – your
and beliefs – your line of sight. their impact on others. influence to create new systems and
tools that sustain ongoing change.

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PART 2
Stay tuned for The Guide to Evolutionary Development: Part 2
A Leadership Development Model for the Digital Era

We’ll review the model; deep dive into the holistic approach; and weave in use cases that touch on
common leadership problems
About Infopro Learning
Infopro Learning’s mission is to make organizational learning a competitive advantage for its
customers by delivering modern learning experiences that improve employee performance. As
a full-service L&D outsourcing company, we have been solving the biggest learning, training,
and performance improvement challenges for over 20 years.

We make two key promises to our customers: meaningful learning experiences, and
measurable performance transformation. Learning experience design is how we live up to that
first promise, and our strategy that focuses on the end result is how we use meaningful
learning experiences to achieve our second promise.

If you want to engage your learners with learning programs that are designed to increase
A FUTURE VISION
business results and deliver meaningful experiences, we’d love to hear from you.

OF AN EVOLVED
Contact Us LEADER
Visit: www.Infoprolearning.com
Call: (609) 606 9984
Write: info@infoprolearning.com

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