‘Virtual’ leadership development at Hootsuite

The use of resources like Lynda.com and YouTube can help in leadership development, the global VP of Hootsuite told HC.

BY Hannah Norton 27 May 2015

When it comes to fostering leadership in talent, look no further than the internet, Ambrosia Humphrey says.

She’s the global VP of talent for Hootsuite, a Canadian-based social media management company has grown to include offices around the world.

Humphrey told HC the company was “just scratching the surface of leadership development”.

“Our organisation is six years old – so we are at that point where we really need to look at career progression of our leadership team and our emerging leaders as well.”

Some of the things the company has towards leadership development include adopting Workday, which Humphrey said brings in real-time performance management and real-time training resources into the business.

“So we are able to mobilise our team and give them different resources that they can grab – just-in-time, or they can incorporate into their own practices.

“We feel strongly that as leaders, the larger your team gets the harder it is to feel connected and know what’s going on.”

The company has also put in place various feedback mechanisms such as 360 surveys and Puls checks.

“We are constantly doing Puls checks and checking in on our employees, to make sure that the leaders have resources from things like Lynda.com, even YouTube or Harvard Business Review – wherever those tools are coming from – but also the insight of their team to apply that academic learning into the organisation.”

And the likes of online training platform Lynda.com, which was acquired by LinkedIn for $1.5billion last month – a price tag testament to its value, are tools HR simply cannot ignore.

“Millions of people have used lynda.com to easily and effectively acquire a skill needed to advance their careers,” LinkedIn chief executive Jeff Weiner said at the time.