The human-centered leader: How to develop talent and build influence with Al Dea

In this episode of How to Make a Leader, we're joined by Al Dea, founder of Edge of Work consulting and a respected voice in talent and leadership development. Al breaks down why true leadership success hinges on a human-centric approach focused on two essential drivers: viewing leaders as developers of people and building social capital within organizations.

Drawing from his extensive experience as a consultant, keynote speaker, and podcast host, Al shares practical insights on how day-to-day leadership actions directly impact talent development. He challenges the notion that employee growth belongs solely to HR and L&D departments, revealing the common mistakes leaders make when developing their teams and offering actionable strategies that extend beyond traditional training programs.

You'll discover:
Why developing your people is the highest-impact leadership investment
Practical ways to implement human-centric leadership principles
How to build and leverage social capital to enhance team performance
Effective development strategies that don't require formal training programs

Things to listen for:
(00:00) Introducing Al Dea
(01:13) The evolution of workplace dynamics
(07:10) Defining human-centric leadership in real terms
(09:41) Leaders as developers of people
(12:09) Building growth into your weekly workflow
(15:28) How HR and L&D scale development
(18:02) Why investing in people ultimately saves time
(20:23) Common mistakes leaders make when developing others
(25:02) How to build social capital (and why it matters)
(31:26) A leadership development program that built real connections
(34:35) How to measure development and social capital

To learn more about Al and his work, check out his   / itsaldea   profile, his website https://al-dea.com/ and his podcast https://theedgeofwork.com/
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