This article shares three key insights from my Tech Talk at the Brandon Hall Excellence Conference 2025, where our New Lens® mobile app won an Excellence in Technology Award. For more information on New Lens and to book a demo, contact us at info@newlensleadership.com.
With only 12% of companies confident in their leadership bench strength and 82% of managers lacking critical leadership skills, organizations face an unprecedented talent development crisis. At the same time, 40% of employees report having no time for training. How can companies bridge this gap and deliver effective leadership development at scale?
As founder and CEO of Newberry Solutions and creator of New Lens®, I've spent over 30 years working with Fortune 500 companies to transform their leadership development. At this year's Brandon Hall Excellence Conference, I shared my insights about the future of leadership development and how we're meeting today's unprecedented challenges.
The timing couldn't be more critical. According to the HBR Global Leadership Development Study, expanding talent development ranks as the number two priority for human capital projects in 2025. Organizations need innovative solutions that can scale effectively while delivering real results.
Here are three key insights that highlight how New Lens is revolutionizing leadership development:
1. Democratizing Access to High-Impact Leadership Development
I've witnessed firsthand what I call the "leadership development paradox." Organizations typically identify high performers and top talent, investing heavily in their development while others fall further behind due to budget constraints. We created New Lens to break this cycle by making premium leadership development available to broader populations within organizations.
The results speak for themselves: over 75 percent of our executive coaching clients achieve promotion after working with Newberry Solutions. By packaging our most impactful tools and strategies from executive coaching into micro-learning formats, we've made premium leadership development accessible to all levels of the organization.
2. The Three Pillars of Modern Leadership Development
Through our work with leading organizations, New Lens addresses three critical areas where organizations need the most support:
Transition Support: Addressing the challenges of onboarding and role transitions in today's hybrid work environment
Readiness Development: Building foundational leadership skills for current roles while preparing individuals for next-level opportunities
Talent Retention: Providing targeted development for specific groups, including underrepresented populations and geographically dispersed teams
I've seen this approach succeed across various industries. AT&T and PepsiCo have successfully implemented these strategies, particularly in supporting women and women of color, while McKesson has utilized the platform to enhance cross-functional collaboration.
3. The Power of Micro-Learning and Collaborative Experience
Understanding that modern professionals have limited attention spans and busy schedules, New Lens delivers content in 2-7 minute segments that fit seamlessly into the flow of work.
The platform combines individual learning with collaborative experiences through:
Daily 5-minute or weekly 30-minute individual learning sessions
Monthly cohort meetings in groups of 4-6 individuals
Bimonthly manager check-ins
Regular webinars for larger group engagement
This structure, combined with customized action plans and peer-to-peer connections, has shown remarkable results in driving behavioral change and improving leadership effectiveness.
Transform Your Organization's Leadership Development Today
The leadership development landscape is evolving rapidly, and organizations need solutions that are scalable, sustainable, and customizable. New Lens® represents a new breed of leadership development that meets these criteria while addressing the practical constraints of modern workplace learning.
For more information on New Lens® and to book a demo, contact us at info@newlensleadership.com.