School of ROCK

Development. Development is defined* as the process of growth or new information or an event.

Talent.  Talent is defined* as a special natural ability to do something well, or people who have this ability.

Transformation.  Transformation is defined*, in an organizational context, as a process of profound and radical change that orients an organization in a new direction and takes it to an entirely different level of effectiveness 

At Gannett we are continuously trying to evolve and find new ways to develop our talent during our transformation.  One way we do this is through a new program we call School of ROCK.  This April we launched the 2017 Gannett Leadership Development Program – School of ROCK – a six-month experience designed to focus on enhancing capabilities that can accelerate our digital transformation.   I know Jack Black would be envious if he could attend.  As Jack said in the movie, “Yes! But, you can't just say it, man. You've gotta feel it in your blood and guts! If you wanna rock, you gotta break the rules.”  How are we breaking the rules?  Well… we are looking for new and innovative ways to develop our talent.

Our employees who were selected to participate: are exposed and interact with our senior leaders, work on strategic projects in teams directly related to our new strategy, engage in their own specific personal development and feedback, and have fun along the way. 

School of ROCK is one of our One Gannett leadership development experiences focused on accelerating transformational capabilities of our high potential leaders.  It is one way we invest in our employees as we become THE DAILY DESTINATION for our consumers and marketers seeking meaningful connections with their communities.  In 2015, the new Gannett | USA TODAY NETWORK was founded and we set far-reaching strategic pillars to better define the ambitions for the next era of our business. We’ve built remarkable momentum in the two years since we spun out and became our own company, but times have changed and keep changing. The industry has changed - rapidly.  We need to help our employees keep current with these changes. We need programs that not only focus on leadership development, but also help focus on business needs development.  We are in an industry of constant change: our readers are seeking a wider variety of content (no longer just news, sports and business), new content delivery platforms are evolving (echo dot?), mobile is where people get their news (what did we do before smart phones?), trust in media is eroding (fake news or bad news – people need to pay attention to sources), social media has become a news source (sadly, this is true), and thankfully most consumers still seek out quality brands for their news and information.

Our unique local-meets-national presence has established an unprecedented network that spans our nation’s communities.  Our passion for finding the common ground has made us the definitive source for those looking to transcend bias.  In order to keep pace, we need to ensure our leaders are well equipped to push us forward and keep pace with the change.  Our employees realize they are part of a bigger network—USA TODAY NETWORK—that brings critical benefits to all American consumers and businesses.  The size of our NETWORK also provides our employees the ability to move to other areas of the organization, or to learn from colleagues in multiple disciplines in addition to what we offer formally for development.

Our employees are our most important community—and we will be transparent and communicative about the impact of their work.  We want every employee to feel part of our community—activated and empowered to help push our strategy forward.  Our employees are a great barometer for our content—we will tap into that community more frequently to see what they find engaging.   Our employees are also part of the communities we support amongst our consumers and advertisers—we will seek to discover how they are creating positive impacts in those communities as well.  Our employees are our most important asset.  We need to communicate with and develop our employees every step of the way.  We are transforming.

So, what is School of ROCK really about?  A few big things we try to accomplish for our leaders: how to inspire a transformational culture through their own leadership, how to personally impact the transformation through an expanded view of the business strategy and our future, and how to fast-track real change through their new network and relationships.  As an example, during a recent session I attended where our employees experienced the workshop “Leading into the Unknown”, - they focused on the leadership practices critical in this era of ambiguity and constant change – and in building a transformational culture. 

Some of the areas we focused on for their development were:

Optimism: Leaders who see and help others believe in possibilities 

Creativity: Leaders who see things from a new perspective and prototype a way 

Authentic Communications: Leaders who engage their teams honestly

Humanity: Leaders who tap into the greatness of their people

All this hopefully, will help lead our employees to take “Brave Action” – we want leaders who take imperfect information and drive our company forward.  As Jack Black says in School of Rock, “It will test your head, and your mind, and you're brain, too.”   Together.  We.  Win.

Dave Harmon

People Division

“Kindness is Currency”

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidharmonhr

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*definitions from Websters Dictionary