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ALLENCOMM BLOG | Insights

Designing An Effective Leadership LX Model: Critical Resources For Maximum Success 

January 6, 2025 Avatar image of AllenComm By AllenComm

This article was written by the eLearning Industry founder, Christopher Pappas.

For many years, leadership development has been high on the agenda for most organizations. As a result, numerous courses have been developed to help aspiring and current leaders refine their skills and help their teams reach new levels of success. However, it has become increasingly evident that courses cannot drive leadership the same way experiences do. Therefore, Learning and Development leaders should consider focusing more on the learner experience (LX) and tangible outcomes rather than the content itself to enhance leadership skills within organizations. 

But how can organizations develop an effective leadership LX model without adequate experience or support? While experience comes with time, a partner with the right expertise can be found much faster. With their help, you will be able to perform all the right steps to create a leadership learner experience that is truly impactful, starting with the most important step: a needs analysis. This will provide a clear picture of your organization’s current leadership development strategy and highlight the gaps keeping you from optimizing the learner experience. This information can serve as a benchmark for designing a leadership LX model that is perfectly tailored to your needs. 

When planning the transformation of leadership training in your organization, you must pay special attention to the specific resources you will provide to your employees. This article discusses 6 essential resources you can introduce to your strategy and how partnering with experts can help improve your LX design. 

Essential Resources For Developing A Leadership LX Model 

Learning Management Systems 

Learning Management Systems (LMSs) are essential for effective leadership development, helping you deliver and manage the learning content as well as track learner progress and engagement. To align with the emphasis on experience rather than just content, choose an LMS that offers customization, flexibility, and user-friendliness. While it is possible to replace your LMS with a Learning Experience Platform (LXP), which focuses more on learner preferences, only make this switch if your budget permits it or if you don’t already have an LMS in place. 

Interactive Collaboration Tools 

A significant element of experiential learning is interaction and collaboration, which enhance learning through knowledge sharing, exchange of ideas and opinions, and reflection. But which tools do you need to integrate into your leadership LX model to foster collaborative learning? Collaboration platforms enable employees to communicate easily in different ways (chat, voice messages, video) and brainstorm leadership concepts. You can also utilize social learning platforms that promote learning and interaction by mimicking social media models, thus supporting community building. 

Experiential Learning Resources 

A leadership LX model requires experiential learning resources that enable employees to practice their skills in real-world situations. Two examples of effective learning resources that can transform the learner experience of your aspiring leaders are virtual simulation tools and digital role-playing platforms. These can immerse employees in a virtual work environment where they can practice their leadership skills in realistic yet risk-free conditions. To further enhance engagement and encourage participation, make sure to add gamification elements to these simulations. 

Assessment And Feedback Tools 

To ensure the success of your leadership learner experience model, it’s crucial to regularly monitor its effectiveness and your employees’ reactions to it. To achieve this, you must incorporate some key assessment and feedback tools into it. These will enable you to keep track of key metrics such as engagement and learning outcomes as well as collect feedback from employees through surveys and quizzes. This information can be turned into valuable insights to continuously optimize the LX model by making data-driven adjustments. 

AI-Powered Personalization Tools 

If you want to enhance learner experience and achieve better learning outcomes, then a one-size-fits-all approach is out of the question. Instead, you should focus on personalization so that the training experience you offer employees can adapt to their needs and preferences. And what better way to do that than by using Artificial Intelligence (AI)? AI can increase engagement by suggesting content based on user interactions or quizzes, providing real-time progress feedback, or even shifting the focus of the learning journey to address areas that require extra work. 

Coaching And Mentoring Platforms 

It is common knowledge that mentoring programs can have a significant impact on learner progress, as they provide employees with personalized support that adapts to their needs and directly addresses their concerns and challenges. Their effectiveness is further enhanced when they are implemented through specialized platforms with exciting capabilities. Some platforms focus on actionable strategies, while others promote community building and knowledge sharing. Whatever platform you choose to integrate into your leadership LX model, you can expect long-term engagement and optimized performance. 

Why Should You Collaborate With Experts For A Successful LX Model Design? 

Designing an impactful leadership learner experience model and incorporating the right resources may seem daunting, and it often is, as organizations sometimes lack the necessary resources and expertise. For guaranteed results, it is best to collaborate with experts who can help you achieve your vision with efficiency and success. 

Specifically, you can rely on their expertise to identify what you want leadership to look like within your organization and decide on the best strategy to bring that vision to life. This involves designing a learner experience framework that not only aligns with organizational goals and objectives but also addresses the specific needs of your employees. Moreover, leadership experts can ensure that the content included in the leadership training program is relevant and directly applicable to employees’ daily tasks. Additionally, you won’t have to worry about making the wrong choice in resources. They will help you choose tools that fit your vision and are compatible with your existing tech stack. Finally, they will streamline the measurement and assessment process, allowing you to evaluate the effectiveness of the LX model at any moment. 

Conclusion 

The time has come to breathe new air into your business’s leadership development strategy. Content alone can no longer bring the desired results, which is why the emphasis needs to be placed on experiences. By embracing tech solutions and incorporating AI, you can transform leadership training and achieve results beyond your imagination. All you have to do is choose the right expert partner so that you can fully benefit from a well-designed and personalized leadership LX model. Embrace innovative learner experience journeys and make a real difference in how you design and deliver leadership initiatives. 

Useful Links 

Are you interested in learning more about how AllenComm has helped businesses realize their leadership potential? Read these real-life success stories to find out: 

Resources For L&D Leaders

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representative talent profile

instructional writer

Position(s): Lead or supporting writer
Years of Instructional Experience: 2+
Number of Completed Projects: 15+

Key Skills: Instructional Writing, Technical Writing, Instructional Design, Content Curation, eLearning Development, Curriculum Development, Course Authoring, Storytelling, Learning Assessment, Editing, Proofreading, AI Prompt Engineering

Media Skills: Use of stock media libraries

Strengths: Problem-Solving, Clear and Concise Writing, Tone and Style, Formatting, Consistency, Creativity, Communication, Active Listening, Research, Brainstorming, Collaboration, Attention to Detail, Adaptability

Career Highlights:

  • Scripted over 100 hours of learning content and supporting materials for different modalities for both US and global audiences  
  • Adapted writing style and reading grade level to suit design specifications and learner needs in several different industries (finance, healthcare, manufacturing, etc.) 
  • Used generative AI to supplement source content and to accelerate the writing process (without plagiarism) 

Technical Skills:

representative talent profile

learning experience designer

Position(s): Learning Experience (LX) Designer or Strategist
Years of Instructional Experience: 7+
Number of Completed Projects: 30+

Key Skills: Learner Experience Design (LXD),  Instructional Design, Learning Assessment,  Hybrid Learning, Learning in the Flow of Work, Project-Based Learning Methodologies, Cohort and Social Learning, Learner Experience Platforms

Media Skills: LX journey maps and representations of other interconnected or integrated learning strategies 

Strengths: Systems Thinking, Stakeholder Communication, Instructional Design Strategy, Learning Theory, Training Effectiveness

Career Highlights:

  • Designed personalized learner experience (LX) journeys for an organization of 30k (with 5 tiered tracks) 
  • Curated existing LXs that could be leveraged in new learning journeys for other roles, with measurement at key milestones to evaluate progress and success 
  • Wrote up the specifications for branching scenarios, question libraries, options for audio/visual media, and more, connecting each learner experience to a personalized journey 

Technical Skills:

representative talent profile

instructional media specialist

Position(s): Lead or supporting graphic designer, lead motion video artist
Years of Instructional Experience: 6+
Number of Completed Projects: 40+

Key Skills: Visual Design, Illustration, UX/UI Design, Storyboarding, Animation, Audio Engineering

Media Skills: Engaging illustrations, 3D models, character design, storyboarding, live-action and motion graphic video creation, audio recording and editing, client branding, and more to enhance media and create engaging touchpoints that resonate with learners 

Strengths: Brainstorming, Collaboration, Visual Communication,  Color Theory, Typography, Layout and Composition

Career Highlights:

  • Completed projects with extreme attention to fonts, colors, spacing, and more that ensured integrity with client branding requirements 
  • Designed and integrated media based on project-specific content that reflected the learner audience, established realistic learning environments, allowed for hands-on practice in virtual environments, and promoted diversity and engaging storytelling
  • Created quick-reference illustrations learners could access on the job to help them make fast, effective decisions   

Technical Skills:

representative talent profile

lms admin

Position(s): Admin or sub-admin for Learning Management System (LMS)
Years of Instructional Experience: 5+
Number of Completed Projects: 15+

Key Skills: LMS Configuration, User Management, Course Management, System Maintenance, Reporting, Data Analysis, System Integrations

Media Skills: Network and tech-stack diagrams to communicate system architecture and integration 

Strengths: Troubleshooting and Analysis, Learning Analytics, User Administration, Technical Proficiency, Documentation, Adaptability

Career Highlights:

  • Managed a curriculum of more than 1,450 course offerings in the LMS for more than 10,000 learners 
  • Uploaded, tested, and ensured the readiness of new and relaunched programs 
  • Created and maintained reporting workflows to meet stakeholder needs 
  • Provided on-demand support to the learning team to answer questions and promptly address concerns 

Technical Skills:

representative talent profile

learning project manager

Position(s): Learning project manager, project lead, or coordinator
Years of Instructional Experience: 5+
Number of Completed Projects: 35+

Key Skills: eLearning Development, Resource Coordination, Project Management (PMP Certified), Agile and Waterfall PM Methodologies, Budgeting and Forecasting, Scheduling, Quality Assurance

Media Skills: Visual reporting of project plans via Gantt charts and other standard formats

Strengths: Problem-Solving, Communication, Active Listening, Collaboration, Decision-Making, Attention to Detail, Adaptability, Time Management, Risk Management, Budget Management, Team Coordination and Delegation

Career Highlights:

  • Managed concurrent award-winning projects without missing deadlines or wasting resources 
  • Completed several projects earlier than the expected timeline and under the anticipated budget 
  • Built strong relationships with returning client partners for multi-phase initiatives or course maintenance projects 

Technical Skills:

representative talent profile

SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT (SME)

Position(s): Industry-specific specialist
Years of Instructional Experience: 5+
Number of Completed Projects: 5+

Key Skills: Content Curation, Specialized Content Development, Industry-Specific Expertise, Domain Expertise (e.g., Leadership, Onboarding, Compliance), Content Review

Media Skills: Recommendation and review of technical diagrams or industry-specific images

Strengths: Specialized Content Knowledge, Content-Gathering, Simplifying and Organizing Complex Material, Brainstorming, Collaboration, Documentation of Source Content, Decision-Making, Technical Content Review

Career Highlights:

  • Helped create, gather, and organize over 50 hours of content for projects with specific industry or learning needs and contextual nuances
  • Facilitated the decision-making process and collaboration between internal and external teams to consolidate feedback into actionable next steps 

Technical Skills:

representative talent profile

LEARNING STRATEGIST

Position(s): Lead strategist or performance consultant
Years of Instructional Experience: 7+
Number of Completed Projects: 20+

Key Skills: Needs Analysis, Learning Theory, Learner Experience Design, Learning Analytics and Measurement, Performance Mapping, Behavioral and Performance Analysis, Content Curation, Curriculum Analysis, Change Management

Media Skills: Curriculum maps, learner experience journeys, and conceptual program wireframes

Strengths: Big-Picture Thinking, Critical Thinking and Analysis, Problem-Solving, Creativity, Stakeholder Communication, Research, Design, Collaboration, Facilitation

Career Highlights:

  • Conducted a comprehensive learning needs analysis for customer services representatives that included both product knowledge and interpersonal skills development 
  • Prioritized alignment of business and learner needs, such as high-impact accessible design solutions within budgets or agile timelines, for award-winning projects
  • Designed strategies for measuring performance and results over time to inform continued client success 

Technical Skills:

representative talent profile

Instructional Designers

Position(s): Lead or supporting designer
Years of Instructional Experience: 3+
Number of Completed Projects: 15+

Key Skills: Instructional Design, Adult Learning Theories, eLearning Development, Learner Experience Design, Curriculum Development, Course Authoring, Writing, Learning Assessment

Media Skills: Simple graphic design using stock imagery, audio production

Strengths: Adaptability, Problem-Solving, Creativity, Communication, Collaboration, Technical Proficiency, Attention to Detail

Career Highlights:

  • Led the design and development of an onboarding program for new manufacturing employees
  • Scripted technical instructional content for high-tech, product knowledge training
  • Developed hybrid materials for both instructor-led training (ILT) and microlearning tutorials

Technical Skills: