A week ago, I ran a LinkedIn poll asking:

Who, in your opinion, is responsible for an organization’s talent development?

Here’s how the respondents answered:

• CEO – 18%
• HR/L&D – 24%
• Employee themselves – 29%
• Other (comments) – 29%

This split reflects what I see in many organizations: No one truly owns talent development. And that’s what makes it dangerous.

We’re witnessing rapid technological change and yet, when it comes to staying relevant, people are pointing fingers instead of taking coordinated action.

The Leadership–Employee Disconnect

There’s a clear disconnect between leadership and employees. I’ve had countless conversations on this topic, and one thing is clear:

Talent development is one of the most poorly led processes in most organizations, large or small.

Here’s what I often hear from leaders:

“People need to take more ownership. They should be self-driven.”
“We’re not a daycare. It’s their job to own their personal development.”

And here’s what I hear from employees:

“I don’t know what our strategy really is.”
“No one has told me or shown me what skills we need for the future.”
“I’ve suggested some trainings I'd like to attend, but they’re usually rejected because they’re ‘not relevant to the business.’”
“I paid for 10 courses myself last year. Maybe 2 are connected to our customer work. I’m just trying to stay relevant and skilled.”

It’s no surprise that many employees feel stuck and demotivated. They want to grow, but without clear direction or support, they try, get blocked, and eventually become frustrated and disengaged. We can’t expect people to “own” their development if we’ve failed to create the framework, systems, and culture that make meaningful development possible.

Talent Development Must Be Strategy-Driven and Co-Created

Talent development isn’t a perk. It’s a strategic function. Like all strategic initiatives, it must start at the top but it can’t stay there. Here's how it should be:

• The CEO and leadership team are responsible for setting and communicating the direction: where the company is going and what capabilities and skills are needed.
• Once the direction is clear, talent development must become a co-created effort, involving people from all parts of the organization.
• Often, the best outcomes come when people outside the leadership team are invited to help map future skills and capabilities.

As a CEO myself, I’ve seen this firsthand that the wisdom lives in the organization. When people are included in sharing their insights, and having a say in shaping the future, they take ownership of it.

The role of HR and L&D is to enable this collaboration

Here are some of the responsibiities HR and L&D should take to drive and support strategic people and talent development:

• Facilitate the conversation between strategy and operations
• Help teams identify critical skills, strengths, and gaps
• Design shared frameworks for learning and growth
• Ensure relevant, accessible learning content
• Support collaborative goal-setting that connects personal growth and business needs
• Equip team leads borrow skills across silos
• Train team leads to run development processes and understand their role in the process and why they matter

Team leads and employees are not passive recipients, they are active contributors

Once the strategy is communicated clearly and not just once in the yearly townhall but over and over again, team leads and employees can start taking responsibilities:

• Team leads localize the strategy, coach their people to set and follow outcome-based growth plans, and ensure aspirations are heard and matched when possible
• Employees contribute ideas, express their ambitions, and commit to action while surfacing blockers early
• They also lead their own development

When everyone has a voice, and the system is clear, ownership becomes natural. That’s when talent development transforms from a top-down initiative into an organization-wide practice, embedded in culture and aligned with strategy.

What Happens Without a Clear Framework?

When the strategy is unclear...
When future skills aren’t visible...
When learning suggestions are dismissed...
When content only covers a narrow set of needs...
When development is disconnected from daily work...

People lose motivation.
Development becomes scattered.
Talent gaps grow.
And no one stays relevant.

What We Need: A Strategy-Led, Outcome-Based Framework

To make talent development effective, organizations need a structured approach that includes:

• Clarity on direction and required capabilities
• Structures for both formal learning and learning through work
• Leadership capabilities at every level
• Opportunities to apply skills through tasks, projects, and stretch roles
• Reflection points like feedback, reviews, and knowledge sharing
• Transparent progress tracking across individuals, teams, and the organization

So, Who Owns Talent Development?

Here’s how I see it:

• The CEO is ultimately responsible because talent development is a strategic lever.
• HR and L&D are enablers designing systems, processes, and content to close capability gaps.
• Team leads are translators connecting business goals to everyday development and coaching people to reach milestones.
• Employees are owners of their growth, once the environment is clear and supported.

Talent development is not one person’s job - it’s a shared system of responsibility. If we want people to own their development, we must first own our responsibility to make that possible.

Final Thought

Let’s stop treating talent development as something employees should “figure out.” When it's embedded in the business, strategy first, communicated openly, and led like any other critical business process, that’s when development becomes a driver of growth, performance, and engagement.

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