Futureproofing Leadership: TD Insurance and Schulich ExecEd’s Digital Fluency and Strategic Foresight Program

On February 29, 2024, Phase 2 of Schulich ExecEd and the TD Insurance (TDI) Digital Fluency and Strategic Foresight program concluded with enthusiasm. Gathered at the Miles S. Nadal Management Centre, senior leaders from TDI delivered their final presentations as a “Futureproof Challenge” solution, amalgamating learnings and insights from their six-month program journey.

About the Digital Fluency and Strategic Foresight Program

Emerging technologies such as AI are disrupting industries and creating new opportunities. In this new world, digital fluency and strategic foresight have become leading competencies among leaders, and more and more organizations seek these skills in their management teams.

In response to these demands, Schulich ExecEd and TD Learning & Development teams partnered together to form the Digital Fluency and Strategic Foresight program, with a curriculum centring around three key objectives:

1. Enhance Digital Fluency and Strategic Foresight at All Levels of Leadership and Lines of Business Across TD Bank
2. Certify TDI Leaders On Foundational Knowledge of Core Digital Concepts
3. Provide TDI Leaders With a Framework to Sustain and Support the Digital Development of Their Teams

The Program Journey So Far

The program kicked off in the fall of 2023 with a condensed workshop for TDI’s senior leadership. Executives set the stage by exploring emerging technologies disrupting the industry and practical approaches to futureproof their business.

Phase 1: Growth Sprints:

Following the executive team, from October to December 2023, the Associate Vice Presidents and Vice Presidents of TDI delved into Growth Sprints. These were five “knowledge burst” style workshops focused on crucial Digital Fluency and Strategic Foresight topics.

Phase 2: Futureproof Challenge:

Next, the leaders from Phase 1 transitioned into a 2-month group project experience that provided a framework for applying the content from the prior phase.

This “Futureproof Challenge” was a rigorous and strategic exercise that immersed leaders into emerging technological trends and disruptions and tasked them with tackling a future challenge. The culmination of this phase was a group presentation to an executive panel.

Why The Futureproof Challenge?

This challenge was the highlight of the Digital Fluency and Strategic Foresight Program. By tackling a bold and relevant issue to the business, leaders were given an opportunity – and time – to think critically about industry-shaking forces. They were allowed to collaborate and problem-solve toward a solution, brainstorming realistic plans for “futureproofing” the business.

Six teams, each comprised of four to six diverse Associate and Vice Presidents with a Vice President team lead, chose a unique future challenge they felt ignited their “digital curiosity.” A Schulich Futureproof Challenge coach supported each team as they developed their solutions and received mentorship from a senior TDI executive with relevant expertise to their scenario.

Coming full circle, the teams showcased their final solutions to a panel of TDI, TD and Schulich leaders and colleagues, demonstrating their leadership, strategic thinking, and application of learned digital concepts and tools.

What’s Next?

The learning doesn’t stop here! Building on the Futureproof Challenge, Phase 3 of the program will focus on sustaining key learnings and behaviours.

Schulich ExecEd will continue supporting TDI leaders with group coaching and a Digital Fluency “teach back” tool, to help transfer the program learnings to participants’ teams. In this way, the skills, strategies, and innovations TDI leaders generate through the program will ripple across the business.

Futureproofing can start with one leader, but its impact ripples further beyond – it may even shape the future of the industry.