Podcasts

Using over 1.5 million assessments from leaders worldwide, renowned psychometrician Dr. Joseph Folkman and leadership legend Dr. Jack Zenger are here to settle the debates and let the data speak for itself. Each week they analyze different leadership traits, trends, and what it really takes to get to the 90th percentile. These short episodes feature compelling stories, research, and actions that leaders can take to improve.

Episode 103: Skills, Skills, and More Skills— Finding What the Organization Values Most

The 90th Percentile: An Unconventional Leadership Podcast

Published: April, 2026

Details

What skills do you really need from your workforce? What skills are most valuable What are the critical issues? If the answers were clear, every organization would likely change. There are literally thousands of variables that leave leaders baffled as they sift through the clutter of needs and options to decide what is really crucial. Most organizations are not able to fix everything; therefore, they need to prioritize the capabilities that, if changed, would have the greatest impact on the organization’s results. Today, we are exploring how to navigate which skills you need to develop that your company will value the most.

Key Learnings

“A skills-based organization is using this data to focus on specific business problems: whom to hire, whom to promote, how to develop people for increased performance, and whom to consider for an internal position. Many companies are now “paying for skills,” encouraging employees to figure out what skills are in demand and go out and build them.” Credit: Josh Bersion 2023 HR Report
Zenger Folkman’s organizational effectiveness research: 122,000 employees in 10,000 groups from different organizations. The research distilled thousands of variables down to a few key capabilities that leveraged organizational effectiveness.
There are many areas in every group that need improvement, but there is a much smaller list of key areas that are valued most by the members of a particular department or team.
The problem we have is that most leaders are so preoccupied with “fixing weaknesses” that they don’t seek feedback from group members to identify which of the changes they would appreciate most.
Word of warning about that: discovering only the needs for improvement should not be the priority when companies are seeking to increase their effectiveness.
In short, balance is vital. Organizations should do the following:

1) Identify items in the organization that are both needed and valued by different work groups.

2) Identify organizational strengths, and build on them.

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Zenger Folkman hosts an exclusive live webinar every month, where you can meet Jack Zenger and Joe Folkman and join in a conversation about their latest research in leadership development. Find out more information and register here.