UNICON research was highlighted on September 18 in an online webinar featuring Kelly Bean and Jenny Stine, and moderated by Aldemir Drummond, where Jenny & Kelly discussed their commissioned research report, “University Executive Education Talent and the New World of Work.”
This research is framed by two big questions: What are the big trends in the talent space? And How are they impacting university executive education talent?
Talent trends they explored included:
- Quitting and disengagement
- Demographic and generational change
- Motivation and burnout
- Automation and transformation
Overall, executive education has continued to build and maintain a strong talent pool.
While many people end up in our field by chance rather than design, executive education roles and career paths are multi-faceted and engaging.
University mission, values, and purpose are often at the forefront of people’s motivation, but they thrive based on the multi-faceted experiences and opportunities for learning on the job – a sentiment that was reinforced by the webinar audience.
Bean & Stine’s research also highlights opportunities for us as professionals to build mid-career skills that cross business development, client management, and program design, as well as to engage in succession planning.
They also highlighted the need to actively engage with team members around their career goals and provide cross-organization experiences. An initiative that Stephen Hyde, one of the attendees and President of UNC Executive Development, shared addresses this cross-functional engagement through an internal “talent marketplace,” created by Shayma Ouazzani, a program coordinator on the UNC team. She says, “this is a way members share opportunities for project collaboration, ranging from being a creative thought-partner to conducting research or supporting some aspect of implementation.”
Jenny & Kelly closed by emphasizing that we all contribute to growing strong talent by sharing our career stories. The report includes stories from current and past executive education leaders – both in universities and corporations – including Shalini Bhatia, Susan Cates, John McCusker, Molly Nagler, Jeff Rosenthal, Marco Serrato, Cheryl Stokes, Angela Thomas, and Shonna Waters.
Join the Conversation
We are eager to hear stories and career advice from ExecEd professionals from across the globe.
- How did you start your career?
- What were your most important learning experiences?
- How have you supported the development of others?
About the Authors
