Episode 187: The Future of Employee Development

Published: June 17, 2026

The Future of Employee Development

For decades, employee development has largely been reserved for leaders and high-potential talent. But as organizations face growing succession challenges, talent shortages, and a rapidly changing workforce, many are beginning to ask an important question:

What about everyone else?

In this episode of The 90th Percentile, BreAnne Okoren sits down with Susan Christensen to discuss the hidden development gap affecting organizations today. Together, they explore why traditional development models leave so many employees behind, how that impacts engagement and succession readiness, and what organizations can do to build a stronger talent pipeline from the ground up

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why succession challenges are really development challenges
• How the retirement of Baby Boomers is exposing weaknesses in organizational talent pipelines
• Why employees don’t need leadership titles to deserve meaningful development
• What happens when development opportunities are reserved for only a small percentage of the workforce
• The barriers that have historically made development difficult to scale
• How Extraordinary You was designed to bring research-based development to individual contributors earlier in their careers

Whether you’re an HR leader, talent development professional, manager, or executive, this conversation offers a fresh perspective on how organizations can create a more engaged, capable, and future-ready workforce.

Interested in bringing Extraordinary You to your organization?

Visit Zenger Folkman to learn how Extraordinary You helps individual contributors identify their strengths, accelerate their development, and make a greater impact—long before they step into formal leadership roles.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 18:23 — 16.8MB)

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