Learning to future-proof our workforce

Last week I joined Toni Townes-Whitley, Josh Bersin and chief learning officers from around the world at the Microsoft Global Learning Summit to discuss the importance of future-proofing your workforce through learning and skill development. It was a pleasure to present to this group, and it reminded me of my own (very recent) experience in learning and skill development: When our CEO, Satya Nadella, asked me to lead HR at Microsoft. At that point, I'd led Microsoft Services for six years, and before that I held operations, strategy, management and development roles. What made Satya think I could take on a role as Chief People Officer for a global workforce of 115,000 people? We both took a leap of faith, and with his help, the help of the Microsoft Senior Leadership Team, my industry peers, and all 1,500 employees in HR at Microsoft, I have leaned into--and learned into--my role.