Why Courage, Curiosity and Compassion Beat Any Title with Scott Switalski of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Scott Switalski, Director of Enterprise Learning and Development of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, joins us to explore why leadership is the most critical skill in any organization, how L&D professionals can function as cultural tugboats, and what it really means to develop people with courage, curiosity and compassion.
Scott brings three decades of L&D experience across healthcare, human services, contact centers and Native American tribal government. He shares how his team at CHOP thinks about AI as an augmentation tool rather than a replacement, why participant-centricity is reshaping how learning experiences are designed, and how L&D teams can earn their seat at the table by speaking the language of the business.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
00:00 Introduction.
01:30 How Scott’s path from practicing law to teaching Windows 95 in an HR office accidentally launched a three-decade career in L&D.
06:05 The two biggest shifts reshaping L&D right now and why one of them has nothing to do with technology.
08:09 What participant-centricity looks like in practice and why it’s one of the most powerful engagement tools available.
10:45 Why L&D teams that can’t speak the language of the business won’t survive as a function.
11:10 The metaphor Scott’s team lives by and how it defines every piece of learning work they do at CHOP.
15:16 The mentor who hired Scott on a hunch and gave him a front-row seat to building a training function from nothing.
18:15 The three skills Scott believes every person in an organization needs right now — titled leader or not.
21:30 Why Scott uses a Brené Brown definition of leadership as the foundation for all leadership development at CHOP.
23:21 The resource Scott turns to when he wants to think like the business leaders he serves.
23:50 The book Scott keeps returning to, and how he uses it as a live leadership development tool with executives.
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RESOURCES MENTIONED
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Website
“Strong Ground” by Brené Brown
“Nine Lies About Work” by Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall
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