Shaping the Future of Leadership: Key Insights from the LHH Talent Conversation in Toronto

The LHH Talent Conversation Series landed in Toronto at the start of 2025, bringing together HR professionals and business leaders for an engaging discussion on leadership strategies, talent development, and succession planning.

This event served as a platform for thought-provoking conversations, offering attendees the opportunity to connect with industry peers, exchange insights with one another, and explore innovative approaches to building and sustaining high-performing teams. With a focus on the evolving workplace landscape, our expert panel shared valuable perspectives on the future of leadership and workforce planning in an era of rapid change.

The event, featuring a range of experts, focused on helping businesses understand and adapt to the changing nature of work. Below are some of the key insights shared by the panelists.

Key Takeaways

• Tailor Talent Development: Avoid one-size-fits-all approaches to succession planning. Instead, invest in personalized development for top talent and ensure they are placed in roles that challenge them and grow their abilities.
• Broaden Talent Definition: Recognize the value in steady, core employees who keep the business running. Don't overcomplicate talent management—honest, open conversations about individual motivations are essential.
• Invest in Multi-Directional Careers: Embrace the idea of non-linear career paths. Create opportunities for employees to move across functions to gain diverse skills and build organizational agility.
• Create Radically Candid Conversations: Implement a framework for honest conversations about aptitude, attitude, and skill. This should involve both structured and unstructured feedback to promote growth and self-awareness.
• Optimism Bias in Succession Plans: Challenge the "optimism bias" in succession planning and ensure leaders are held accountable for effectively developing their teams.

Continue reading for a comprehensive overview of some of the crucial business insights shared by top industry leaders.

1. Beyond the Traditional Tools: Tailored Development

Panelists stressed the importance of moving beyond rigid, one-size-fits-all succession planning tools—such as the 9-box grid and standardized career mapping—that often fail to capture a candidate's full potential.

Instead, businesses are finding greater success with a tailored approach that aligns with each employee’s unique strengths, challenges, and career aspirations. By placing individuals in roles that stretch their capabilities and encourage growth beyond their comfort zones, organizations can accelerate leadership development while fostering stronger, more adaptable teams. This personalized strategy also deepens employee engagement and commitment, leading to higher retention rates—particularly among high-potential talent.

Organizations that have already adopted this method have seen notable success in retaining high-potential employees, especially those in their second year of receiving tailored development plans.

Ultimately, recognizing that career growth is not a linear path allows businesses to develop a more agile, motivated workforce—one that is better equipped to navigate the demands of the future workplace.

2. The Value of Steady Employees

While high-potential employees tend to take center stage in talent management, and for good reason, steady, core employees are just as essential—if not more. These individuals are often the backbone of an organization, providing stability and ensuring smooth day-to-day operations.

However, in order to effectively engage this group of workers, leaders must have open and honest conversations about what motivates them in their careers. Not everyone aspires to be a manager or climb the corporate ladder, and the outdated “up or out” mentality no longer applies in today’s workforce.

By understanding and supporting the unique motivations of steady employees, organizations can promote stronger connections, increase engagement, and improve employee retention. Recognizing the value of both high-potential and core employees will help build a more balanced and resilient workforce that can withstand the evolving demands of the present and future.

3. Non-linear Career Paths: Embrace the Jungle Gym

Instead of adhering to a traditional upward trajectory, organizations should embrace the concept of "multi-directional careers," where employees are encouraged to move across various roles and functions.

The traditional career ladder is being replaced by a more unique approach—one that encourages movement across various roles and functions rather than just upward movement. Organizations that embrace multi-directional careers unlock greater opportunities for skills development, broadened experience, and more adaptable leadership.

By embracing non-linear career paths, organizations foster agility within their workforce, allowing individuals to grow and learn in different contexts, which builds resilience.

4. Radically Candid Conversations

One of the central themes of the event was the need for “radically candid conversations.”

Candid conversations have become critical for career growth and alignment. Implementing frameworks that assess both attitude and aptitude helps clarify where individuals stand in their development journey, ensuring a more transparent path forward for them as individuals and for their roles within an organization.

These conversations should be open and honest, allowing leaders and employees to discuss expectations, challenges, and goals with mutual trust and even a degree of vulnerability.

This kind of feedback—both structured and unstructured—helps eliminate assumptions, encourages self-awareness, and ensures that workers are aligned with the organization’s direction. The goal is not just to identify where someone is, but to co-create actionable plans for their growth.

5. Challenging Optimism Bias in Succession Planning

A common pitfall in succession planning is optimism bias: the tendency to assume that high-potential employees are fully prepared for promotion when they may actually need further development. This overconfidence can lead to premature promotions, misalignment, and leadership gaps.

To build a truly effective pipeline, business leaders need to take accountability for recognizing and nurturing talent at every level. Succession planning isn’t just about filling roles quickly but ensuring that candidates are genuinely prepared to take on increased responsibility and leadership.

For long-term success, succession planning must be closely aligned with organizational objectives and supported by ongoing, tailored development of its employees.

In Summary

The LHH Talent Conversation in Toronto shed light on the growing cruciality of leadership development and succession planning in 2025 and beyond. Key takeaways included the need for personalized talent development, recognizing the stability core employees provide, and embracing non-linear career paths to build agility within organizations. The event also underscored the value of having candid conversations and the importance of challenging optimism bias in succession planning.

Implementing these strategies can help organizations build a more engaged, adaptable, and future-ready leadership pipeline, one that drives long-term success in an evolving business landscape. And isn’t that what every organization strives for?

Speakers

We want to extend a huge thank you to our expert panel of speakers from some of Canada's most successful companies for making the LHH Talent Connect Summit so inspiring, insightful, and informative. A special shoutout goes to our moderator, Tim Hewat, LHH Knightsbridge Head of Executive Search, North America, for guiding our conversation with his own expertise and vision.

Meet Our Speakers:

• Sarah Lockhart
  Vice President of People and Culture at Softchoice
  With a strong background in employee experience, engagement, talent management, and learning & development, Sarah brings invaluable insights into building vibrant workplace cultures.


• Gerald Wu
  Vice President of Human Resources at TMX Group
  A globally experienced strategist, talent developer, and behavioral scientist, Gerald is passionate about driving both people and business performance.


• Kira James
  Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO)
  A strategic HR leader and trusted C-suite partner, Kira is dedicated to crafting exceptional workplace cultures.


• Carmen Spencer
  Vice President of People Experience at Sony Music Entertainment
  Carmen brings a forward-thinking approach to people experience, ensuring that organizational dynamics remain agile and innovative.

The LHH conversation series offers a valuable platform for professionals to connect, network, and stay informed on the latest talent trends. To attend in the future, connect with one of our LHH Team specialists today.

Get started on your succession plan strategy with our “Identify & Develop Your Next-Gen Leaders” guide.