Chief Learning Officer recently sat down with Christyl Lucille Murray, VP Academy lead and vice president of firmwide talent development for JPMorgan Chase & Co. Murray, who has experience in change management and is an expert in diversity and inclusion, talent development, communication, coaching and management consulting, previously served as a senior manager with Accenture and was a former consultant with LRN. She is also an adjunct professor teaching courses in leadership and human capital management.
Chief Learning Officer: Where is your hometown?
I was born in Sacramento, California, but grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. I loved my hometown of Hercules, California, and am so grateful to the Hercules Rotary Club for sponsoring me for the Rotary International Graduate Ambassadorial Scholarship which enabled me to live and study for a year in Madrid, Spain.
CLO: What was your first official job in learning and development?
Upon graduation from the Wharton Business School, I worked as a management consultant with Accenture in their organization and change strategy practice. There, I had the opportunity to work with a variety of top organizations on their most pressing talent and development issues. However, it was here at JPMorgan Chase & Company where you can say I enjoyed my first dedicated role in L&D.
CLO: What lessons did you learn in 2020 that you’ve taken with you into 2021?
My experiences teaching online at NYU coupled with COVID making it necessary to re-design the VP Academy from an in-person development experience to an online journey have taught me both the beauty of being able to scale and reach more people in a virtual setting, with the need to intentionally build into virtual experiences: active engagement, accountability partners, action-oriented learning and more intimate connectivity. As we look to leverage virtual learning’s benefits of scale and reach, I’ll also take new opportunities for digitization, on-demand learning, learning bites versus long events and gamifiction.
CLO: You’re not only an L&D lead at JPMorgan, but a diversity, equity and inclusion lead as well – how has the focus on DEI strategy driven the organization’s talent development at JPMC?
We’ve identified and developed a library of capabilities deemed to be important critical success factors for ALL top talent. Additionally, we do acknowledge that also key to development is the access to mentors, sponsors, platform and strategic projects. To leverage the words of Jamie Dimon, “Talent is distributed equally, opportunity is not.” The focus on DEI strategy is driving intentional efforts on providing more access to underrepresented groups to mentorship, visibility and strategic work opportunities.
CLO: How do you enjoy spending your time outside of work?
There’s a song that comes to mind which states something like, “ I have six jobs, I don’t get tired.” I smile and think of this when pondering this question. I have two children, so I am a driver, a laundress, homework and online school tutor. I adore teaching adjunct at NYU to students pursuing their Master’s in human resources management. And selfishly, for me, I love jogging and trying to stay grounded and fit.
CLO: What book, either audio or physical, or podcast has gotten you through the pandemic?
I am a fan of the inclusion and diversity work of Stephanie J. Creary, Ph.D., an identity and diversity scholar and field researcher and assistant professor of management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. I listen to the Knowledge@Wharton Leading Diversity at Work podcast series.
In your opinion, what are some components of a robust L&D program?
I do lead the VP Academy at JPMC, so I may be partial to the acronym, but I like the work of Nick van Dam and the McKinsey & Company ACADEMIES framework:
1) Align with business strategy
2) Co-ownership between business units and HR
3) Assess capability gaps and estimate value
4) Design learning journeys
5) Execute and scale effectively
6) Measure impact on business
7) Institutionalize and integrate L&D interventions
8) Enable 70:20:10
9) Systems and learning technology applications
What advice do you have for CLOs and learning leaders as they take on 2021?
Just continue to remember L&Ds unique role in creating both, one, differentiating capabilities which fuel business objectives and also, two, L&D’s unique role in influencing differentiating corporate cultures, which can either invite or deter top talent. Rapid technological advances, digitization and a knowledge-based economy necessitate an intentional focus on continuous upskilling and reskilling. As such, I feel it is important to infuse a growth mind-set and a culture which not only promotes learning, but also facilitates and supports ease of access to on-going L&D and specific learning paths. L&D also plays a pivotal role as a culture champion to inform and shape an environment and space where everyone feels that they can show up, yes, with the skills, but also with the authenticity to deliver their best work, valued for being their true selves.
ALSO READ: Career Advice from Christyl Murray
