September 16, 2021 Training, Accreditation, and Capitalizing on the Promise of Open Talent

The open talent moment is coming to a point of maturity. The groundwork was in place, COVID hit the accelerator, and we’re entering the next level of understanding, education, and adoption. John Winsor recently published a piece, Top Down, Bottom Up, and the Transformation of Work, reflecting on Open Assembly’s progress towards “Transforming work for a billion people by 2025.” 

From Theory to Practice

‘Transformation’ is a buzzword that is pleasantly aspirational but frustratingly abstract. Thankfully, Open Assembly is doing the concrete work of bringing together the businesses, platforms, workers, thinkers, coaches, and academics to standardize the knowledge and language of Open Talent. The new Networked Organization Playbook is a part of that effort to “move our ecosystem from something often on the fringes to something “ordinary and boring” – something that could be widely adopted.” 

Training and Accreditation

A big part of that push will be about accreditation and prepping next leaders to be certified in these neo skill sets. In the article, John shares key learnings from Open Assembly’s first coaches training – the Open Talent Professional Certification Program (OTPCP). Since open talent initiatives are largely being driven by external consultants or internal coaches, there’s a real need to equip new professionals with the skills to lead in the space.

The following is an excerpt from John’s article which first appeared on Open Assembly’s blog:

Key Learning and What’s Next

As we stepped back from the OTPCP, debriefed with participants, and surveyed everything else happening in the market, some clear themes emerged: 

  1. We still have a lot of work to build a common language and set of processes. OTPCP participants learned great approaches, but it was more like multiple unique and parallel streams of thought, than one merged river
  2. We essentially started with the graduate class, the 401 level course on transforming organizations
  3. We have been focused on the playbook for a top-down (C-Suite and consultant-led) approach
  4. Organizational transformation remains the goal for massive outcomes, but is a long, complex process
  5. On behalf of our new coaches, and for the technology platforms who bring forward talent and innovation process, there is substantial work to be done at the foundational level

I think for a long time (maybe always), coaches and consultants will be a core piece in the puzzle. I want to continue to support and grow those coaches. And I do think top-down, C-Suite support, is required for this project of work transformation to get the traction it needs. In the next few months, we’ll be advancing the coaches training and the framework mainly through the writing of a book alongside Jin Paik of the Laboratory for Innovative Science at Harvard (working title Open, Agile, and Networkedto be published by Harvard Business Review sometime next spring).

On the other side of the coin, I think our movement needs practical, 101 “bottom up” learning. So many people are already using freelancers and the human cloud to get work done, but haven’t yet named that as something important. They are sitting on a competitive advantage that they don’t yet know how to harness. Additionally, there is obvious friction (some known and some unknown) that keeps people as infrequent users instead of becoming super users of open talent solutions. 

Grab the New Networked Organization Playbook

The Networked Organization Playbook is totally free e-book by Open Assembly, a leading organization in the Open Talent Economy. Go grab this free world-class resource right now. No download and no other email required.

There’s a pretty good chance you’re already using third-party and external staff. Step up your effectiveness by integrating them into your network. The playbook will show you how you can adopt a framework that will evolve your organization’s staffing process by tapping into the power of a global workforce.


Annika Nagy


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