Maria Kolesnikoff spent 20 years across every HR function—recruitment, compensation, organizational design, and change management—before becoming head of talent management at the corporate investment business unit of a large bank, and now works as an ICF PCC coach. In this episode of Built by People Leaders with Daria Rudnik, Maria Kolesnikoff argues that effective learning and development must be built as infrastructure across performance management, compensation, succession planning, and recruitment—not delivered as one-touch training events that end when people leave the room.

The friction Maria Kolesnikoff unpacks matters most for People teams in the 100–1,500 employee range, where informal oversight breaks down and standalone programs stop working. Content-only training covers learning but skips practice and feedback, so behavior never changes. Maria Kolesnikoff shows how systemic incentives—not entertainment—push people out of their comfort zone and make new behaviors stick.

Challenges Addressed

• Training that delivers content but no behavior change: Maria Kolesnikoff explains that content-focused programs only cover learning, leaving out the practice and feedback that the full development cycle requires.
• Low buy-in and disengagement in talent programs: After running a talent program for one year at her banking organization, Maria Kolesnikoff found weak engagement because stakeholders were never involved in the design.
• The HR–business language gap: Maria Kolesnikoff notes that most HR and L&D professionals speak in behaviors and psychology, while leaders respond to numbers and business outcomes.

Actionable Takeaways

1. Embed development into promotion and compensation criteria: Maria Kolesnikoff redesigned her banking program so candidates needed set study hours, assessment scores, strong talent reviews, an identified successor, and evidence of sharing expertise—all tied to bonus and promotion eligibility.
2. Use design thinking to co-create programs: Interview representatives from every stakeholder group—business units, HR functions, leaders, and participants. People advocate for programs built from their own ideas.
3. Engage stakeholders horizontally and vertically at the design stage: Involve peer HR functions and business units alongside leaders and leaders-of-leaders before launch, so the whole system supports the change.

Questions This Episode Answers

• Why does our leadership training never change behavior? Maria Kolesnikoff explains that content-based training covers only learning and skips practice and feedback. Behavior change requires systemic infrastructure—performance management, compensation, and incentives—that pushes people beyond their comfort zone and rewards new habits until they become the default.
• How do I get buy-in from stakeholders on a new L&D program? Maria Kolesnikoff recommends design thinking: interview business leaders, HR peers, and participants during the design phase and build the program from their input. People support programs built on their own ideas, which raises engagement and adoption.
• Does gamification or edutainment make training more effective? Maria Kolesnikoff argues that edutainment masks the real problem of low motivation. Instead of entertaining participants, clarify the personal and career benefits of the program and build systems that make participation advantageous.

Links & Resources Mentioned:

• Connect with Maria Kolesnikoff on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-kolesnikoff/
• Maria Kolesnikoff's website: https://www.yourwayup.coach/