John Deere

Chelsea Carter is a nationally certified Counselor, Leadership SME, and Human Resources Professional with over 20 years of experience implementing HR policies and processes, leading and rallying teams, driving results, and building bridges. An exemplary collaborator and communicator committed to exceptional employee experience and future-focused leadership development.

As the Head of People Development, Chelsea led the creation and integration of a new leadership model designed to highlight the future-focused mindsets and behaviors needed to navigate John Deere’s Smart Industrial journey successfully.  

Reinvention: Charting a new path

Traditionally, John Deere has been viewed as a hard-iron company rather than an industry leader in talent management. But its refreshed business and leadership strategy has shown the world that it is reinventing itself as a Smart Industrial company, and with that reinvention, its talent management and leader development approach.

Once the Smart Industrial strategy was announced and changes began to occur, it became apparent that there was clarity on why the company was embracing a new business operating model and what organizational changes would need to take place. However, there was an uncertainty on how leaders would galvanize the workforce to bring the new business operating model to life.  

 From/To

To successfully operationalize the new business strategy, everyone was expected to work differently, which meant leaders would need to lead differently. This fresh perspective challenged the existing leadership model: The John Deere Leadership Success Model.  

Although The John Deere Leadership Success Model was beneficial, it was found to be conceptual, static, and generalized. The model did not reflect the complexity of the environment in which leaders worked. Lastly, it was ‘individual’ focused versus ‘other’ focused. 

"The model of the future needed to be behavioral and dynamic and address both the leader as an individual and emphasize the importance of their leader's presence. The leadership landscape had changed, and new leadership needs had emerged."

The model of the future needed to be behavioral and dynamic and address both the leader as an individual and emphasize the importance of their leader's presence. The leadership landscape had changed, and new leadership needs had emerged.  

 The John Deere Leader Model

The refreshed John Deere Leader Model is a persona-based behavioral framework that is laser-focused on key leadership behaviors critical for John Deere’s future success.   

What is a persona? It is a composite description that communicates primary characteristics and behaviors. Creating a persona-based framework provided the platform to explore the interconnected, complex nuances of leadership. It was a springboard on which the company could grow and expand. It emphasized the importance of leader presence and the role leaders play in creating organizational culture, sparking energy, and contributing to an environment in which employees can thrive and, by association, the Company.   

The six personas constituting the new framework align with strategic business challenges and embody the behaviors expected of John Deere leaders. The goal is not for individual Deere leaders to align with one persona but to consider all personas' values as they lead change and develop employees toward the future. High-performing leaders are skilled in elements of all personas, can flex and integrate when needed, and are willing to use the model to develop other leaders. 

Together…We Lead

Upskilling leaders to lead highly effective teams and embody the personas required intentional efforts. To set the tone, guide the learning, and keep the importance of leadership behavior at the forefront, a number of tools, training, and resources were created (e.g., John Deere Leader Learning Journey, John Deere Leader Playbook, John Deere Leader Assessment, Persona Resources). Additionally, and most significantly, persona language was integrated into the Global Performance Management process.

Leading with Purpose: The John Deere Leader of the Future

‘Leading with purpose’ is not jargon within John Deere– it is an expectation. John Deere leaders are expected to purposively lead the company into the future through relentless pursuit of organizational goals and metrics, expedient delivery of high customer value, continuous learning and innovation, and creating a culture in which every employee thrives. 

The quality of a company is expressed through the quality of its leadership. The John Deere Leader is critical to unlocking and fully realizing the employee and economic benefits of the Smart Industrial strategy.