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Gloria Tam has designed, customized and facilitated numerous executive and corporate training programs on leadership. Prior to joining Abilitie’s network, she was the Head of Global Onboard Learning at McKinsey, and was the Associate Dean at Minerva University and the Managing Director of Learning Innovation at the edtech startup Minerva Project.
Gloria has also served as a columnist and content contributor to the World Economic Forum Blog and Forbes on business and learning innovation topics. At Abilitie, Gloria has been a stalwart member of the McKinsey delivery team as well as delivering Business Challenge, Finance Challenge, and Enterprise Challenge with a broad array of clients.
She is currently based in Connecticut.
Q: What are pro tips on preparing for onsite deliveries?
A: For on-site deliveries, I typically invest even more time to integrate our SIM learning to the learners’ overall development journey.
For example, if it’s a multi-day program on-site, I will take note of what it is in their learning program before/after the SIM, and integrate those into our learning. Sometimes it’s about things shared from the CEO speech at the kickoff, other times it’s insights from other sessions on communications, writing a business case, strategy etc.
The other connection I try to make is the linkage to their day-to-day work. In the Finance Challenge for example, I usually ask the client contact if we could get hold of their financial data, to integrate some simple exercises on how to derive insights from their own financial statements into each round of debrief. For the Enterprise Challenge, I typically create a digital board where everyone could capture key learnings, leadership commitment and/or action items with their team members or managers, to orchestrate a reflection moment at the end of the day. Helping learners integrate what they’ve learned with their teams (upward and downwards) help them create a supportive environment for learning transfer.
Q: Have you had any A-ha moments or other notable interactions on a recent Abilitie delivery?:
A: Together with Nick, we recently delivered a Business Challenge for a PepsiCo cohort, where both the SIM debrief as well as the SIM interface (think diet drink vs light industry) were customized for the client. I was particularly amazed at how we were able to seamlessly fit the various components of the internal revenue management framework of PepsiCo into the 3-4 rounds of SIM debrief, and how well the learning is all integrated including the use of PepsiCo’s specific “unexpected events”. It occurs to me that Abilitie’s simulations, although currently mostly delivered as standardized programs, are actually pretty versatile and could be customized for different learning purposes if needed.
Q: What is your favorite destination?:
A: I am based in the US, and while my extended family are in the UK, that’s my “go-to” destination- for bringing my little one to visit her grandparents when I take a break from work. Other than that, I had fond memories of Maldives when I visited almost 10 years ago on a birthday, and would love to go back (with a sustainable stay option).
