Show case: Rabobank

EMANCIPATION OF PROFESSIONALS

A great amount of effort is been put in the development of leadership and organizational talent. Most corporates are proud of their leadership and talent development practices, and with good reason. Effectively training and empowering organizational professionals is integral, not only are these professionals assets, they are also key in answering the question: what do we know?

In most corporates, professionals that want to develop a career are forced into leadership positions. The result: losing an excellent professional and gaining a mediocre manager. This should change due to the fact that we are dependent on the impact knowledge workers (i.e. the professionals in an organization) have while lacking formal hierarchical authority.

Professionals have to be well connected in order to have an early stage impact within the organization’s value chain and also be well connected outside of the organization to be able to assess the need for adaptability and sense for co-creation opportunities to ensure sustainability and success. Of course, this differs per level within each organization. For instance, two different programs are offered at Rabobank. One is focused on the mid-level professionals that need to increase their impact on co-creation within the current value chains, and the other program is for senior/executive-level professionals who are focused on the orchestration of value, which is at a more strategic level.