The Transformer CLO

The role of chief learning officer isn’t just about training anymore.

by

Abbie Lundberg

and

George Westerman

by

Abbie Lundberg

and

George Westerman

From the Magazine (January–February 2020) · Long read

Bartholomew Cooke/Trunk Archive

Summary.

In today’s fast-changing business environment, employees’ continual development is essential. That’s leading to a new and more powerful role for chief learning officers: They’re not just trainers anymore; they’re transformers who are reshaping organizational capabilities and culture.

The authors interviewed CLOs at 19 large companies and found that transformers are revamping their organizations’ learning goals, learning methods, and learning departments. Their efforts offer a road map for anyone wishing to build a stronger workforce.

With respect to learning goals, the aim should be not just to teach employees specific skills but to cultivate broader capabilities, including strong leadership, digital literacy, and a growth mindset. With respect to learning methods, the trend is to move away from traditional classroom instruction and adopt approaches that can provide learning to more employees, in more-customized ways. (Think online and audio courses, videoconferencing, interactive simulations, and formal opportunities for employees to reflect on and apply what they’ve been taught.) As for transforming learning departments, the key is to make them leaner, more agile, and more strategic by curating useful external content, encouraging peer teaching, measuring the impact of training, and providing tools to tailor learning plans to individuals.

Idea in Brief

The Situation

The fast-changing nature of business today means that employees’ continual learning is vital for organizational success.

The Response

Chief learning officers are assuming a more expansive role, aiming not only to train employees but also to transform their organizations’ capabilities and make learning an integral part of the company’s strategic agenda.

The Specifics

Extensive interviews at 19 large companies revealed that “transformer CLOs”—those who are embracing this expanded role—are driving changes in their enterprises’ learning goals, learning methods, and learning departments.

In today’s dynamic business environment, workplace learning has become a key lever for success. And with that shift, the traditional role of the chief learning officer is changing. No longer are CLOs responsible just for training—making skills-based and compliance-oriented courses available to employees and perhaps running leadership-development programs. Instead, they’re embracing a more powerful role in which they reshape capabilities and organizational culture. We call this new type of leader the transformer CLO.

A version of this article appeared in the January–February 2020 issue of Harvard Business Review.

Abbie Lundberg is the president of Lundberg Media, a contributing editor at Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, and the former editor in chief of CIO magazine. Her work focuses on the ways in which business leaders are transforming their organizations.
George Westerman is a Senior Lecturer in MIT Sloan School of Management and founder of the Global Opportunity Forum in MIT’s Office of Open Learning.

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