How do you encourage continuous learning and provide opportunities for employees to engage with new tech to drive organizational growth? How do you adjust this strategy when you’re focusing on growth opportunities for leadership roles?

In a startup, it's challenging to maintain formal development plans due to the chaotic environment. Initially, we had quarterly reviews with set goals, but it became difficult to sustain. Now, I focus on constant conversations with team members about their growth and readiness for future roles. Cross-functional collaboration is key. For example, we have someone from another team who helps build our dashboards, and I ensure my team gets cross-training to handle these tasks independently. It’s mostly internal and involves a lot of cross-functional collaboration. We rely on team members from other departments to help with specific tasks, and I ensure my team gets the necessary cross-training to handle these tasks independently. This approach helps us adapt to new requests and challenges efficiently.

I believe in situational leadership, meaning I tailor my approach based on individual needs. For example, American employees might understand career architecture and take charge of their development, while my Portuguese employees might need more guidance. It's important to recognize that not everyone aspires to be a leader. Some are content in their current roles, and that's okay. However, with the rise of AI and automation, lower-level positions might be the first to be eliminated. I am open with my team about this and help them plan their careers accordingly.

At Philips, we implement Individual Development Plans (IDPs) from the get-go. We discuss employees' motivations and career aspirations to tailor their career paths. I emphasize that if you're not developing, you're not adding value to the organization or yourself. Continuous development is crucial for retaining talent. Employees need to have the desire to learn and push themselves. We also integrate new technologies, sometimes top-down, to ensure that our team adapts and evolves. It's important to give real-world examples of companies that didn't evolve and failed, to motivate employees to embrace change.