Why didn’t I write my first book about talent development?
You mean in that large sea of talent development books, many of which are very good? Because there was a real gap somewhere else, and I went there instead.
My book is the first on its topic. I wish it weren’t. My pending journal article would also be the first on its topic. I wish that weren’t true either. The irony is that it could be considered a talent development book. It just looks further upstream at the blockage before the pipeline even forms.
There are many talented talent development leaders and professionals, and we need them. But we don’t all bring the same lens. Mine has always been about democratizing access to talent development, not just delivering programs or leading efforts.
The social justice mission of opening the door to every person has been a lifelong throughline that later found its shape academically and professionally. When you bring a lens like democratization, how you do the work looks different.
For me, that lens came from a lifetime of experiencing blockages myself and watching others face them, some hidden, some unintentional, but barriers all the same, with no savvy advocate in the room to help navigate them.
So no, I didn’t write a book about a traditional talent development topic. That space is crowded. I wrote something else, for a different reason.
What’s your lens? What drove it?
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📖Ready to open doors and improve experiences? Check out my book, particularly if you are an enrollment, student success, and higher ed UX champion, and if you work in HR, talent development, and OD as the principles transfer to job applications, onboarding, and employee experience as well: https://a.co/d/0d0tKI46