Closing the skills gap for leaders includes AI, constant burnout, and communication across generations of workers. Professional development has to change what it delivers and how it delivers it in today’s world. On this episode of the Build a Vibrant Culture Podcast, Nicole Greer sits down with three leaders from UNC Charlotte’s School of Professional Studies, Anna Mullen, Taylor Faulkner, and Krystle Kunnathur, to talk about how certificate programs, corporate training, and a lifelong learning mindset help close the skills gap and build a genuinely vibrant culture.
Anna, Taylor, and Krystle each oversee corporate training and executive education, HR and learning and development certificates (including a brand-new Certified Financial Planner certificate), and leadership development programs that range from online courses to in-person, hybrid training for fire and EMS departments. What they see across all of those programs is remarkably consistent, and it says a lot about what today’s workforce actually needs.
CLOSING THE SKILLS GAP THAT NEVER CLOSES
Ask Anna, Taylor, or Krystle what’s changed in the last five to ten years, and they’ll all tell you it’s human skills. Communication, adaptability, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence keep coming up as the gap employers call about, whether the group is 10 people or 200. As Taylor put it, the gap is usually how they apply what they know in a messy, real workplace. Anna’s team customizes on-site training and in-person training around that problem. It lets a team slow down long enough to talk to each other, which still moves the needle more than another framework does.
What Adult Learners Actually Need to Succeed
Adult learners juggle careers, families, and financial pressure, and many are afraid to start. Krystle said her programs support them with flexibility. That means payment plans, asynchronous options, and a human perspective that meets people where they are instead of asking them to fit into a rigid mold. Taylor added that career changers bring more transferable skills than they realize. Once someone sees that their experience already applies, their confidence (and their momentum) takes off.
AI Is a Tool, Not a Crutch
The conversation around AI in professional development is loud right now, and Krystle and Taylor both use it daily. They tell their learners that AI is confident even when it’s wrong, so the human element- judgment, editing, and critical thinking- matters more, not less, as the technology gets smarter. The goal is to teach people how to think alongside AI so their productivity and their team’s output both level up.
Building Leadership Development Into Your Promotion Pipeline
Several North Carolina fire and EMS departments have built Krystle’s leadership development program directly into their promotion process. Firefighters and EMS leaders go through the program either on the way to a promotion or right after one, and the results compound. Graduates are now battalion chiefs bringing the next generation of captains and lieutenants through the same program. It’s a model any organization can borrow. They can tie professional development to the moments that already matter to their people.
The Two Qualities Future Leaders Need Most
When Nicole asked Anna, Taylor, and Krystle for rapid-fire answers, they chose the following: The ability to listen and slow down, adaptability and curiosity, and leading with humanity and care. Simple to say, harder to build, which is exactly why ongoing development matters.
CONNECT WITH UNC CHARLOTTE SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES TEAM
CONNECT WITH ANNA MULLEN
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-mullen-88921a81/
CONNECT WITH TAYLOR FAULKNER
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-faulkner-a80552260/
CONNECT WITH KRYSTLE KUNNATHUR
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krystle-kunnathur/
BUILD YOUR VIBRANT CULTURE WITH NICOLE GREER
Learn more about Vibrant Culture and how Nicole Greer can help your team succeed.
Download the Speaker Packet: https://vibrantculture.com/speaker-kit-request/
Explore the Employee Training Catalog: https://vibrantculture.com/catalog-request/
Join Nicole and UNC Charlotte for a free live webinar, Leading Without Authority: How to Influence, Inspire, and Lead From Where You Are, on September 14, 2026, at 12:00 PM Eastern. Register here: https://charlotte-edu.zoom.us/webinar/register/7217827384850/WN_GsHNcxOSRTGv6zqxXS4eJA#/registration
