The Netflix of Leadership: Preparing for the skills of tomorrow

The Netflix of Leadership: Preparing for the skills of tomorrow

When we think of Netflix, we may think of an entertainment ecosystem that is responsive to our needs as viewers, thinkers, and dreamers. Navigating the tiles of media helps us to engage with the multitude of options available to us, learning from us as much as we learn from them. Much in the same way, LCI^LX’s LTEN workshop is designed to outline Pfizer’s approach to fresh and innovative leadership, where we can dive down the rabbit hole of best practices available to suit the needs of a growing and increasingly digitized community of leaders. Notably, the World Economic Forum has identified a variety of key traits that are most needed for success, including leadership, social influence, analytical thinking, and complex problem solving. Furthermore, according to the WEF’s Future of Jobs Report, 50% of all employees will need reskilling by 2025, and many of those skills will be impacted by the adoption of technology. How best to cultivate these skills is what Pfizer and LCI^LX (winner of this year’s LTEN Innovation Award) are setting out to do.

Previously, Pfizer offered a traditional global schedule of face-to-face workshops over the course of 2 or 3 days for a variety of audiences by level in the organization. However, in 2019, Pfizer recognized that with the digitization of our work and lives, this approach could be improved by creating an innovative online learning community for First Level Leaders around the world. Occupying a crucial position in Pfizer’s culture, First Level Leaders need be prepared for their roles and responsibilities with a view towards the leadership skills of the future, keeping the intimacy of a face-to-face interaction while simultaneously making learning accessible anytime, anywhere. That program design is modeled after a Netflix-like interface and is hosted on Pfizer’s SharePoint site.

With the success of its new training program, Pfizer has partnered with LCI^LX to create a living learning ecosystempowered by bite-sized synchronous and asynchronous learning resources. These resources push through the boundaries of traditional training programs, instead turning to curated content, events, videos, online challenges, activities, gamification, and community-building components. LCI^LX’s workshop thereby focuses on key touchpoints in this ecosystem: content, functionality, and engagement.

Content

Redefined foundational skills and learning assets add to Pfizer’s context and culture. Specific foundational skill sets, such as leading by example, time management, and emotional intelligence, also engage elements of Pfizer’s leadership ethos:  Courage, Excellence, Equity and Joy. Pfizer curated thousands of learning assets, selecting only the best that are then offered in different modalities, including podcasts, videos, and articles. They can be personalized and tailored through learning pathways, allowing for practice with assignments, checklists, and exercises.

Functionality

Functionality is more akin to Netflix’s interface, where learning assets are arranged as tiles that include descriptions, duration, type, and source. It is easy to be a self-starter – hit pause, take a break, and pick up where you left off. Personal progress drives learning paths, and it set up future credentialing of competencies – in 7 languages, no less!

Engagement

Keeping a community alive and supported requires engaged members. LCI^LX offered these elements to encourage the community to grow: an Events Series, Yammer Groups, and Influencers in the Network. The Events Series provides relevant topics that highlight content in interactive sessions. The Yammer Group allows for instantaneous communication with all participants, fostering relationships by sharing posts, content, and events – much like a social media account. Volunteer influencers keep the conversation going as participants engage with supported content and new ideas.

With 70% participation (of 7K First Level Leaders) and over 60,000 views, the collaboration between LCI^LX and Pfizer is a resounding success!

About LCI^LX

A world leader in digital training, LCI^LX has offices in Montreal, Casablanca, and Barcelona. LCI^LX designs and implements digital training solutions for academic institutions and companies such as Pfizer, the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the Bank of Canada, Maroc Telecom, and many more.