Thoughts by Brenan German, Founder and President of Bright Talent
November 12, 2025
Gartner’s October 2024 survey of HR leaders highlighted “Leader and manager development” as the #1 HR focus area for 2025, with 75% of HR leaders believing their managers are overwhelmed and 70% reporting their current programs are not preparing managers for the future. How has that played out over the last year?
In our experience, leadership programs often miss the mark because change – and the needs they create – are happening more rapidly than training teams can keep up with. We agree with Gartner that fostering peer connections and building learning opportunities into daily work allow for more flexibility.
In addition, we see a lot of value in mentorship programs, as we discussed in our webinar: What is the key to upskilling? Mentoring. The mentorship model taps into internal expertise to help managers grow their leadership skills.
But what do you do if your bench is a bit thin? This is where bringing in outside help can be a boon to your organization. Bringing in experts to fill interim leadership, training and mentoring roles gives your managers a leg up on learning that will build your leader and mentor team for the future.
#HRLeadership #ManagerDevelopment #LearningAndDevelopment #FutureOfWork #PeopleStrategy