Meet the CLO Advisory Board: Judy Whitcomb

Chief Learning Officer recently sat down with Judy Whitcomb, senior vice president of human resources, learning and organizational development at Vi. Whitcomb is an award-winning HR, leadership and talent development executive with more than 20 year’s experience across various industries, including transportation, financial services and health care.

Chief Learning Officer: Where is your hometown?

I was born and spent 10 years of my childhood growing up in beautiful Minneapolis, Minnesota. My dad worked for United Airlines and was transferred to Chicago when I was in grade school. Leaving the beautiful lakes and outdoor life in Minnesota was hard. I was excited to hear we were moving to Mt. Prospect, Illinois. I thought we were going to live near the mountains. Little did I know, there were no mountains in Mt. Prospect, and the town was literally 10 miles from O’Hare Airport. I spent the remainder of my childhood and teenage years growing up in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago.

CLO: How did you become interested in learning and development?

During my career at United Airlines, I learned early on that I had a knack for distilling complex — and at times voluminous — amounts of information, and training my colleagues. I also discovered I very easily was able to create training materials, job aides and tools. I started as a journalism major in college. Writing was always easy for me. Bringing life to a story in words and pictures was always easy for me. Leveraging these natural talents and applying them to real-life experiences in the workplace with strong mentors and formal education in adult learning sparked my interest and passion in learning and development. Regardless of the organizations I worked or roles I’ve held (including business functional roles), I’ve always led with learning.

CLO: What lesson(s) did you learn in 2020 that you’ve taken with you into 2021?

As I think about the leadership lessons I’ve leveraged in 2020, I consider the similarities to the crisis we all experienced on 9/11, and during my time at United Airlines. The 2020 pandemic reinforces some key lessons I continually lean into and encourage other leaders to do the same:

Communications. Do not underestimate the power of frequent and repetitive communications leveraging all available communication channels in your organization. While you may not have clear answers or a path forward, employees need to hear from leaders frequently to reinforce your organization’s mission and values, to inform, to listen, to provide empathy, to recognize, to build confidence and calm during uncertainty, to paint a path forward, even when you don’t know all of the answers. Transparency and providing two-way communication channels are key.

Remain focused on the health, morale and wellbeing of your employees. Ask your team members how they are doing and what you can do to support them, and then listen. Consider pulse surveys to gauge employee sentiment and needs. Employees need to feel safe and secure. They need to know their leaders care about them. Maintaining important company rituals — albeit maybe different during the pandemic — such as employee recognition, celebrating holidays, milestone individual and team accomplishments all contribute to an employee’s sense of wellbeing. Bringing team members together virtually for informal, formal discussions, education or company updates reinforces a sense of community, shared purpose and connection that is so important during times of unprecedented change.

Maintain balance and calm. It’s important in the midst of a crisis for a leader to maintain a balance that is neither too negative nor overly optimistic by being deliberately calm. In times of crisis and uncertainty, you need leadership to show stability. While there may be incredible change — and internal and external stressors and pressure — one can still bring stability by structure. Being intentional with check-in on individuals and team calls (even short ones) brings structure into the lives of your team and reinforces mental health and stability of employees, which one should not underestimate in a time of crisis. Oftentimes it’s just about listening, even about personal challenges.

Less is more. It may be difficult to let go of a project, initiative or practice you’ve had in place or planned for some time. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned over the years is to constantly re-evaluate your priorities, practices and timelines, and be comfortable letting go, and giving your team members permission to do the same. Agility is important in times of crisis, and removing barriers to focus your employees and your ability to respond, sustain and adjust will give you and your team members time to focus on what really matters.

CLO: Through the various leadership positions you’ve held during your career, are there any personal skills or skill sets that you’re especially proud of growing or developing as a leader?

I am particularly proud and fortunate as a human resources and learning executive to have had so many opportunities to lead business functions in finance, operations, marketing and sales and in the airline, financial services and health care sectors. Building strong business acumen and successfully leading business functions outside of HR and learning [and] alongside strong mentors has allowed me a unique perspective as a human resources and learning executive. These experiences have shaped me as a leader, influenced my perspectives and, I believe, have made me a stronger business partner and a more effective business leader. One of my mentors at United Airlines encouraged me to step into a human resources role without any experience. Many years later, another mentor at United recommended I step out of HR and work in “the business.” I would encourage every human resources and learning professional to do the same.

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

Travel is in my blood. My dad worked for United for 38 years. I couldn’t stay away and took an entry level job just so I could travel. When I left United, I told my family that we’d never stop exploring the world. I love to travel worldwide, volunteer my time, teach and spend time with my family, friends and dog, Santa (she’s a “she” Santa). I also love studying and honing my skills as a Gallup Strengths Coach. Coaching others to maximize their strengths is one of my favorite things to do, and I love continuing to build my strengths as a coach.

CLO: What book (audio or physical) or podcast has gotten you through this year/the pandemic?

We’ve continued to focus on our Vi team members wellbeing and host regular all-leadership calls with our company’s president and a guest speaker. Over the summer, I asked Dr. JP Pawliw-Fry, co-founder of the Institute for Health and Human Potential and New York Times best-selling author of “Performing Under Pressure,” to lead our call with a focus on mindfulness. What I recommend is JP’s podcast, “Last 8% Morning.” His talk and this podcast have been behavioral changing for me and so many of my colleagues. This podcast personally guides you through a morning routine which integrates movement (walking), mindfulness and mental training exercises. So, as opposed to starting the day by picking up your phone and reading news feeds or texts, which only spikes your cortisol and wears you out, put this podcast in your ear and let JP guide you to start the day.

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

A robust L&D program should support an organization’s ability to attract and retain talent. In fact, optimally, this ability should be a differentiator. Additionally, a robust strategy should contain strategies to motivate and engage employees. For instance, at Vi, we heavily use career ladders to provide employees the opportunity to self-direct their careers.

Likewise, an organization’s learning strategy should support and reinforce the employment brand. Learning executives should define their learning organization’s value proposition and strategy proof points to support the value proposition. This commitment should be clear to external candidates and employees alike through deliberate employment branding, employee success stories, and measured through new hire and employee engagement surveys.

A winning learning strategy also builds employee capabilities to improve business outcomes and support the organization’s future strategy. Measurements of success should be defined jointly by business partners and the learning organization and results communicated frequently throughout the organization.

Lastly, a winning learning strategy aspires to foster a culture that learning does not just belong to the “learning organization,” but builds on a culture of enabling leaders as teachers. Leaders as co-owners in the success of a learning organization.

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

Recognize the potential balance between building back business and employee wellbeing. With changes in the way we work (some may be permanent), there will likely be a need to shift focus on reskilling employees. Given the challenges associated with 2020, I believe that organizations that focus on the whole employee and prioritizing wellness and resilience will benefit from higher levels of employee engagement and commitment.