It is ‘critical’ for CEOs to ‘champion’ a talent development strategy – HR Consultant Mariella Galea

Human Resources (HR) Consultant and Trainer Mariella Galea on Saturday shared that business leaders and CEOs must support a talent development strategy and culture within businesses.

Posting on social media, Ms Galea, who has worked as an HR Consultant and Trainer at HR TalentLEAD for more than eight years, said that developing people and embracing learning is a “question of choice”.

“You either adapt, develop and grow, or you stay put, shrink and die,” she added.

She noted that key indicators of a “true leader” are a “growth mindset”, an “appetite for learning” and a “strong focus on creating and supporting a learning culture”. This is a culture that ultimately encourages people to grow, learn, and “move out of their comfort zone and push the boundaries” through curiosity and learning.

“This belief in learning, and in the ability of their people to learn and to grow stems from an understanding that people will grow the business and that they are the ones who will take the organisation into the future,” Ms Galea continued.

She stressed that the business leaders must be the ones to ensure that the people who have the potential to make a business grow are “nudged out of their comfort zone” and “pushed to think outside the box”, doing so through learning and development which is in line with the organisation’s vision and goals.

“It is critical for leaders and CEOs to champion and actively support a talent development strategy and culture. Ultimately, such a choice is one that leadership needs to make and commit to, because it comes with a cost,” she remarked. Ms Galea noted that developing people requires time and money, yet true business leaders recognise and understand that if this is done correctly, then it can serve as an “investment” in the business.

She clarified that it needs to be done in the right manner because learning and development “needs to be strategically aligned with the business vision and goals”.

Ms Galea said that even though the decision on whether to develop or not ultimately rests on the business leaders, strategic talent development and learning is the HR department’s responsibility.

“It is the responsibility of people managers to ensure that talent development and learning structures are aligned with business goals,” she said, before listing five key ways this can be done.

Firstly, it is important to have a “clear understanding” of business goals, vision, direction and challenges, obtained through regular and focused communication with organisational leaders.

It is also vital for the HR department to “know and understand the business”, as it must have a “good business acumen”. This allows it to create a learning and development architecture that is aligned with the company’s goals.

The HR department must also communicate to teams the ways the programme was designed and how it aligns to strategic goals. In this respect, Ms Galea noted that HR leaders must also be “flexible to change, adapt, and amend” in line with changes in the business.

“A change in mindset of leaders in favour of learning and development has the potential to create significant changes in people and organisations,” she added.

She concluded by quoting American businessman and Neuronetrix Solutions CEO Matt Bevin, saying: “While it may seem small, the ripple effects of small things is extraordinary.”

Aside from her role at HR TalanetLEAD, Ms Galea is also Head of HR at retail importing company Michele Peresso Group, a position she has occupied for more than a year. Over the course of her career, she has led and handled projects in HR, leadership development, training programmes, employee engagement, succession planning, and various other areas. She holds a Master of Science in HR Management and Development from University of Leicester and a Bachelor of Education from University of Malta.