Episode 16: We Invest Too Little in Early Talent Development – And Pay Later for the Consequences 

Charlotte Boujassy has spent the past 15 years working in learning, talent and leadership development – across diverse industries, countries, cultures and organisational contexts. And she’s found there is one pattern that shows up consistently – we invest in early leadership development too late. In her role as Director of Talent and Leadership Development for Europe for a global pharmaceutical company rooted in Japan, she sees where the gap really starts – not at senior level, but at a more junior one.  

As a result, she’s putting something in place to remedy that – a structured, deliberate approach to identifying and developing future leaders early.  

In this episode, Charlotte shares her view that people are too often promoted on performance only: they know their job, they deliver. But that doesn’t mean they are ready to lead others. And though the consequences don’t show up immediately, when companies are considering succession pipelines at a more experienced stage, they notice that there aren’t enough senior leader-ready people to step forward.  

Charlotte connects those dots and makes the call for more investment much earlier. She invites you to consider supporting first-time leaders properly and recognising that leadership capability doesn’t suddenly appear at senior level.  

So that by the time you are looking for senior leaders, you have a strong pipeline of identified talents ready to step up.