Podcast Summary “Pausing and Reflecting: Soft Skills in Leadership Growth with Cherie Aplin of Edwards Lifesciences”
A Consultant’s Heart in a Global Company
Cherie Aplin may work for a major global medical device company, but her L&D team operates more like a boutique consultancy. As the Senior Director of Leadership Development at Edwards Lifesciences, Cherie leads a small but mighty team that designs and delivers leadership programs for all levels of the organization, from self-leaders to executives. With 72 offices across the globe and a workforce of 25,000, her team’s mission is to create meaningful, scalable leadership experiences that empower people to lead more effectively and, ultimately, contribute to Edwards’ life-saving work in heart valve therapies.
Her role is a blend of creativity, speed, and strategy. Cherie and her team aim to “lift and shift”, designing core programs that can be adapted rather than rebuilt each time. It’s efficient, thoughtful, and scalable, all essential qualities when serving a dispersed and highly intelligent workforce.
The Path to L&D
Cherie didn’t set out to be in L&D. With a degree in communications from UC Santa Barbara and dreams of becoming a news anchor, her early career involved media, HR, and corporate communications. But the “aha moment” came when she stumbled into an internal training class at 21. She was instantly hooked.
After relocating for her husband’s promotion, she landed a job training bank employees after an acquisition, her first formal role in learning. It was love at first delivery. The experience married her natural inclination to teach with her energy for engaging people. She later built leadership development and customer service programs from scratch and found a true passion in creating learning journeys that elevate not just performance but also the human side of work.
Adapting to a Rapidly Evolving Industry
Cherie has seen L&D transform from in-person training to a tech-enabled, agile function. One major shift: the acceleration of virtual learning. Long before the pandemic normalized virtual instructor-led training (VILT), Cherie and her team were experimenting with blending eLearning modules with virtual application sessions.
She’s a fan of VILT’s efficiency and engagement potential, especially when peer-to-peer learning is involved. Today, she’s exploring everything from cohort-based platforms to AI-assisted design to meet learners in the flow of work, whether that’s on their phone, in a simulation, or late at night (she’s a self-proclaimed night owl learner).
Cherie emphasized the increasing importance of data-driven learning and behavioral measurement. In her words, L&D professionals need to provide evidence that development programs move the needle. It’s not just about content, it’s about outcomes.
The Future of L&D: Skills, Agility, and Real-World Learning
Looking ahead, Cherie sees several trends shaping the future of corporate learning:
- Human Skills as Differentiators: Emotional intelligence, critical thinking, collaboration, and relationship building are more important than ever, especially in a world where AI can produce content, but not connection.
- Social and Peer Learning: As people rely more on networks and internal communities, L&D must facilitate these ecosystems.
- Immersive Learning: Simulations and real-world practice environments are high on her wish list. These offer safe spaces for learners to test behaviors before applying them on the job.
- Speed and Agility: Long gone are the days of year-long course development. Her team uses rapid design tools and iterative thinking to get content out quickly, and still make it meaningful.
The Most Critical Skill Today
If she had to choose just one, Cherie says creative problem solving is the most important skill for today’s L&D professionals. In fact, she doesn’t see her team as “trainers,” but as performance consultants, people who diagnose, design, and deliver solutions that accelerate impact.
She also points to agility and relationship-building as non-negotiables. When hiring, she looks for people who can listen deeply, respond quickly, and design with the learner’s real-world context in mind.
Mentors and Influences
Cherie credits many leaders—good and bad—as teachers along her journey, but she’s particularly inspired by thought leader Marshall Goldsmith. His book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There is a guiding principle in her work, and his message to “let it go” in times of overwhelm has become a personal mantra.
She’s also inspired by Maya Angelou’s timeless quote: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” For Cherie, learning is emotional, and she aims to create safe, affirming spaces that ripple out into the culture through the leaders she supports.
Books and Resources
Cherie keeps a robust bookshelf and is always looking for insights from fellow practitioners. Her current must-read?
- The Modern Learning Ecosystem by JD Dillon – A guide to rethinking L&D for today’s fast-paced workplace.
- She also recommends Care to Win by Alex Draper and classics like Atlas of the Heart (Brené Brown), Deep Work (Cal Newport), StrengthsFinder, and Liz Wiseman’s Multipliers and Impact Players.
Her advice? Don’t just read—reflect and apply. Block time to absorb and consider how ideas translate to your environment.
Trends in Learning & Development:
Insights from Learning Leaders
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