Meet the CLO Advisory Board: Molly Nagler

This week, Molly Nagler answers our questions about her career, her role at PepsiCo and what advice she has for fellow learning leaders. Before joining PepsiCo in February 2019, Nagler served as the senior associate dean for executive education at Yale School of Management. She joined the CLO Advisory Board in December 2020.

Chief Learning Officer: Where is your hometown?

Silver Spring, Maryland. I now live with my family in North Haven, Connecticut.

CLO: What was your first job in learning and development?

Director of academic planning at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. I worked with faculty on hiring, promotion, tenure, workload management and academic policy. I got to know faculty very well, and learned to appreciate their perspectives on both life and work.

CLO: What lessons did you learn in 2020 that you’ve brought with you into 2021?

First: No matter what happens, we will rise to the occasion. Under extreme stress and disruption, PepsiCo associates stepped up to delight consumers. PEP U wrote a case study series on “what PepsiCo learned in 2020,” and the common themes were teamwork, resourcefulness, dedication, imagination and perseverance. I am going into 2021 with solid confidence that together, we can thrive through anything.

Second: Role-modeling is still possible and crucial in a virtual environment. Under stress, people need more than bland reassurances that it’s OK to work in different ways. Talk to your team about your hopes and fears, show through your actions that you unplug and take time for yourself, giving them permission to do the same. Show up without makeup. Let your kid interrupt you. Be relatable to put everyone at ease.

CLO: Can you share some of the biggest differences and similarities between higher education and corporate learning and development?

Higher education prioritizes ideas and debate more than concrete action. In corporate learning, you have to produce. How many people are you training and how have you improved their lives and their performance? Is the company better off because of your work? The accountability is higher, which is both motivating and intimidating!

CLO: How do you enjoy spending your time outside of work?

I have a husband and two kids with lots of activities (normally), but these days we mostly just hang out. I am a lifelong swimmer; I once swam 4.4 miles across the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. I’m also obsessed with the The New York Times crossword. I have a whole book just of the Sunday versions. They offer just the right amount of challenge.

CLO: What book, either audio or physical, or podcast has gotten you through 2020 and the pandemic?

I read every night before bed, but never work-related books. My range is wide — right now I’m reading about the origins of the MS-13 gang. I also love everything Samantha Irby has written — she is the doyenne of personal disasters and is utterly hysterical.

CLO: In your opinion, what are some components of a robust L&D program?

Are you a strategic enabler of the business? Do you help the organization build the capabilities needed to achieve strategic goals? Those questions should drive your portfolio decisions. And then, are you creating a great employee experience? Make sure you have the right range of technologies, content, and communications so learners can find the right learning at the right time on their preferred device. Finally, are you contributing to career growth? Learners should understand what skills are valued today, what’s on the horizon and how to create a development plan to reach their next career milestone. A robust L&D portfolio isn’t just about L&D, it’s about how the entire HR function works together to help employees do their best work.

CLO: What advice do you have for CLOs and learning leaders as they take on 2021?

Lean in to the “great online-ing” of 2020. Your colleagues now (hopefully) buy into the idea that online learning is stimulating, fun, network accretive and a real thing. Now you can reach more people in less time for less cost. It’s a huge step forward.

ALSO READ: Chief Learning Officer’s profile on Nagler, “From higher ed to PepsiCo CLO.”