Monthly Archives: August 2022

Christopher Shryock began his role as the SVP and Chief People Officer of Sam’s Club nearly two years ago, in the midst of the pandemic. Responsible for all aspects of human resources for Sam’s Club, Shryock had (and still has) his work cut out for him. How, for example, does he scale leadership development and culture to 100,000 associates across 600 locations? And, with so much under his purview, how does he decide which problems and ideas to focus his attention on? 

Most organizations leverage some form of coaching. Leadership coaching programs have a proven positive impact on performance, well-being, coping skills, engagement, and attitude. Business coaching is one type of coaching that tends to focus less on people and leadership skills, and more on business processes, performance, and strategy.

In the ocean of some 50,000+ leadership books, it’s all too easy to get lost trying to decipher which are actually the most useful. Which books will best give your leaders that competitive edge? Which would be the most engaging? And, which would make the biggest difference for their teams and their greater organization?

A strong leadership development program is the lever for engagement and culture. Managers account for 70% of engagement. And, engagement is directly tied to results. For example, companies scoring in the top 25% of engagement saw 95% better earnings per share. Research also shows that companies scoring in the top 25% of employee engagement are 17% more productive and 21% more profitable.

The LinkedIn 2022 report showed that “leadership development” was the number one priority for L&D pros in 2022. That’s because leaders are the backbone of company culture and employee engagement. Employees who don’t feel like their manager cares about them are nearly 50% more likely to apply for a new job.

Coaching in business settings has risen to prominence over the last several years, no doubt accelerated by the unique challenges the pandemic brought to bear. There’s a growing awareness that leaders at the very top of growing organizations need outside support for their development.