Scott Switalski, Director of Enterprise Learning and Development of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, joins us to explore why leadership is the most critical skill in any organization, how L&D professionals can function as cultural tugboats, and what it really means to develop people with courage, curiosity and compassion.

Scott brings three decades of L&D experience across healthcare, human services, contact centers and Native American tribal government. He shares how his team at CHOP thinks about AI as an augmentation tool rather than a replacement, why participant-centricity is reshaping how learning experiences are designed, and how L&D teams can earn their seat at the table by speaking the language of the business.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

00:00 Introduction.

01:30 How Scott’s path from practicing law to teaching Windows 95 in an HR office accidentally launched a three-decade career in L&D.

06:05 The two biggest shifts reshaping L&D right now and why one of them has nothing to do with technology.

08:09 What participant-centricity looks like in practice and why it’s one of the most powerful engagement tools available.

10:45 Why L&D teams that can’t speak the language of the business won’t survive as a function.

11:10 The metaphor Scott’s team lives by and how it defines every piece of learning work they do at CHOP.

15:16 The mentor who hired Scott on a hunch and gave him a front-row seat to building a training function from nothing.

18:15 The three skills Scott believes every person in an organization needs right now — titled leader or not.

21:30 Why Scott uses a Brené Brown definition of leadership as the foundation for all leadership development at CHOP.

23:21 The resource Scott turns to when he wants to think like the business leaders he serves.

23:50 The book Scott keeps returning to, and how he uses it as a live leadership development tool with executives.

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RESOURCES MENTIONED

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia website:

https://www.chop.edu

Harvard Business Review:

https://www.hbr.org

“Strong Ground” by Brené Brown:

https://www.amazon.com/Strong-Ground-Lessons-Leadership-Tenacity/dp/1984855743

“Nine Lies About Work” by Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall:

https://www.amazon.com/Nine-Lies-about-Work-Freethinking/dp/1633696308

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