This highlight video is from October 31, 2025 session Kick-off: ELE Executive Innovation Sprints | High-Performance Coaching with AI
This innovation sprint kickoff provided a powerful launch to ELE’s new Executive Innovation Sprint model — a peer-powered framework for co-creating solutions that matter.
“We’re not talking about innovation — we’re doing it together.” — Dirk Tussing
At the October 20th Talent Development Conference, this idea took root. In our follow-up sprint, leaders across industries explored how AI can transform coaching — not by replacing the human connection, but by scaling it.
The first sprint challenge tackled the performance gap that happens after learning: why employees so rarely apply what they’ve learned once the workshop ends.
“Define the problem well, or the solution won’t be usable.” — Deepa Kartha
Using a defendable-problem framework, participants surfaced a shared reality:
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Post-learning coaching is inconsistent and depends too much on manager availability.
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Limited time and unclear expectations erode follow-through.
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The opportunity? Use AI to extend coaching capacity and deliver personalized, real-time feedback when managers can’t.
“Learning ROI is lost when post-learning coaching doesn’t happen.” — Nicole DeFalco
The conversation reframed AI as a performance enabler, not a threat — a way to make feedback timely, scalable, and rooted in real behavior change.
🔍 Key Takeaways for Talent Development Leaders
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Co-create, don’t outsource. Innovation accelerates when peers design and test solutions together, not when we wait for vendors.
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AI scales the human touch. Generative AI extends coaching capacity so managers can focus on the conversations that matter most.
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Close the post-learning gap. Coaching after training is where behavior change and ROI actually happen.
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Start with a clear problem. Great innovation begins with defining the right problem — not chasing trendy solutions.
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Experiment, measure, and share. Treat every sprint as a learning lab to test, refine, and spread what works.
⚙️ Practical Actions to Apply Now
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Run a 2–3 week mini-sprint inside your organization to tackle a specific challenge like improving post-learning application.
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Audit your feedback flow. Identify where and why coaching stops between training and performance.
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Pilot AI coaching tools. Test digital nudges or conversational AI to provide scalable, real-time feedback.
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Measure what matters. Track engagement and behavior change before and after coaching interventions.
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Capture and share learnings. Document insights to strengthen your organization’s innovation and coaching culture.
The High-Performance Coaching with AI innovation sprint reminded us that technology doesn’t replace leaders — it amplifies them.
When we define problems clearly, collaborate across boundaries, and use AI to make coaching continuous, learning becomes performance. The next sprint will explore how scalable, data-driven feedback can accelerate learning transfer and drive real business impact. Because at ELE, innovation isn’t theory — it’s a shared practice that turns insight into action.
