How Ginni Rometty, former IBM CEO, Grew a Global Company with a Skill-Based Approach

We have all heard about the skills gap, but there are growing signs it is getting worse. LinkedIn data shows that by 2030, 70% of the skills used in most jobs will change. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s recent DEI guidance reinforces this shift by emphasizing skills as a way to create fair and equitable opportunity. With AI advancing rapidly and Gen Z projected to make up one-third of the workforce by next year, it is clear that HR needs a new approach to keep workforces relevant amid accelerating technological and demographic change.

I recently came across Ginni Rometty’s book, Good Power: Leading Positive Change in Our Lives, Work, and the World, through Harvard Business Review’s Leadership podcast, “When Hiring, Emphasize Degrees.” Rometty is a compelling example of what is possible when organizations focus on skills.

Developing people and teams was central to her success. Rometty has said it was “a delight to watch others excel.” Investing in people became one of her most meaningful pursuits and ultimately helped her lead IBM, one of the oldest companies in the United States, a survivor of multiple economic downturns and two wars, and once nearly bankrupt, back to strong Fortune 500 performance. Her biggest takeaway was simple but powerful: when employees feel invested in, they invest back.

That raises important questions for today’s organizations. How do we make employees part of the solution? What does it look like to truly invest in people rather than treating them as transactional resources or a means to an end? When you consider the employee lifecycle alongside your organization’s five-year goals, do they actually align?

Most organizations cannot afford to constantly rebuild their workforce by hiring new talent with in-demand skills like AI, especially when much of that talent is learning in real time. It is far more efficient to invest in the teams and leaders you already have than to continuously onboard new employees who must learn your culture and institutional knowledge from scratch.

When IBM needed to recruit new talent, Rometty recognized a critical barrier. Nearly 80% of the workforce, particularly individuals from underrepresented backgrounds, did not have a college degree. She understood that degree requirements were preventing IBM from accessing capable talent that could succeed with the right training.

She described this as a multi-decade commitment to what she later called the SkillsFirst hiring and training movement. In a SkillsFirst world, education and training are not one-and-done events, even for those with college degrees. SkillsFirst shifts the focus from credentials to capabilities.

Under this strategy, IBM focused on “building people, not just buying them,” and challenged leaders to ask whether the company was over-credentialing roles. Rometty leveraged IBM’s internal trainers and expert leaders to teach needed skills through trade schools and targeted programs. With the right investment, IBM accessed a broader and more diverse talent pool. After one year on the job, she noted, there was no meaningful difference between employees with degrees and those without. Everyone landed in the same place.

The results showed that when people have strong problem-solving skills and a willingness to learn, organizations can transform both roles and talent pipelines. Achieving this required leadership buy-in and a top-down commitment, particularly to dismantling the bias that only college degrees equate to capability.

Activating a skills-based strategy required more than training. It demanded a mindset shift among leaders. At the core of Rometty’s SkillsFirst approach was a commitment to serving employees and clients. Investing in people begins with understanding what they value and how they want to grow. People do not strive solely for business outcomes. They want to feel part of something meaningful, and effective leaders know how to tap into that motivation through learning and development.

To grow the business, IBM had to inspire its people, individuals with their own perspectives, ambitions, and beliefs, to expand their skills. Rometty found that the key was helping people believe in what they could achieve.

During a critical merger between IBM and PwC, she intentionally matched internal consultants to clients that would stretch their skills and challenge them to grow. Her goal was for people at both organizations to feel part of the future being created. When employees felt their ideas, individuality, and needs were valued, they were more motivated to contribute.

This is where upskilling and learning initiatives truly take hold. As Jay Jones, SHRM’s Talent and Employee Experience expert, notes, the most important factor is avoiding blanket learning policies that employees will not adopt. Employees must be at the center of any development initiative, with growth strategies that align business needs with individual motivation.

“Everyone had a chance to contribute ideas and see how they fit in, and, I hoped, to feel a sense of belonging.” – Rometty

Beyond developing new skills, leaders must motivate people to want to grow. Managers play a critical role by articulating a clear vision and inspiring their teams to pursue new capabilities in service of both the business and themselves.

Rometty emphasizes that building belief means helping people imagine a new reality for themselves and willingly participate in creating it. This was especially important in initiatives designed to support low-income and underrepresented groups. True buy-in cannot be forced. It requires clarity, honesty, and trust.

Belief unlocks discretionary effort. The opposite, ordering people to comply without commitment, may achieve short-term results but is not sustainable. Long-lasting behavioral change cannot be dictated.

Focusing on skills reminds leaders of what truly matters: developing people and helping them reach their full potential. Inspiration alone is not enough. Emotional connection sparks belief, but belief is sustained through transparency, information, and a clear path forward. Facts and feelings together create momentum.

When organizations invest in the people they already have, they build engagement and long-term loyalty. Growth becomes collective rather than transactional. Developing people sits at the intersection of organizational success and individual fulfillment.

“Time is the most valuable thing someone can give and you must give them value.” – Rometty

Learning and development is ultimately about stewardship. It requires understanding employees’ goals, trajectories, and definitions of success, and helping them move toward those outcomes. When leaders step into their employees’ shoes, growth becomes a shared win.

This perspective shifts learning from a checkbox or incentive to a meaningful investment. It explains why one-size-fits-all programs and disconnected incentives often fall short. When development aligns with an employee’s path and purpose, it transforms both teams and businesses.

Do not treat learning and development as a perk. Treat it as a philosophy. A skills-based culture strengthens performance, deepens engagement, and aligns individual passion with organizational needs. When people feel seen, supported, and invested in, productivity follows.

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