Weis Markets [NYSE: WMK]

Chris Chappell is a learning and development leader with 25 years of experience spanning healthcare, retail, manufacturing and consulting. From early roles at Merck and consulting with The Hershey Company to director-level leadership at Weis Markets, he has designed impactful training, learning strategies and organizational development programs that enhance workforce performance and patient care.

Through this interview, Chappell highlights the importance of aligning leadership training with organizational strategy, tailoring development across all levels and using assessments and technology to drive measurable impact and growth.

Guiding Principles: Connecting Training to Strategic Impact

I’ve learned that training without immediate relevance is essentially worthless. People disconnect when they can’t see how learning applies to their work. This isn’t just theory - I’ve watched countless programs fail because participants left thinking “that was nice, but what does it have to do with my Tuesday morning? And this is especially true of leadership development.”

Through years of practice, I’ve discovered that real application beats simulation, and simulation beats didactic learning every time. When I ask people to take specific behaviors back to their stores, apply them and then journal about the experience, something fundamental shifts; they stop being passive recipients and become active experimenters. The follow-up sessions reveal what works in their environment, not what should work in an ideal world. Success is rarely reached in a straight line and without failure along the way.

Another belief that shapes how i approach training is the need to tie it to organizational strategy. Every program should cascade from the company’s broader goals, whether top-level priorities or specific departmental strategies.

The most powerful insight has been recognizing that isolated training is organizational waste. Every program must cascade directly from business strategy, whether that’s a top-level priority supporting strategic direction or a departmental goal. I’ve seen too many well-intentioned initiatives in a vacuum, producing excellent feedback scores but zero business impact.

I see this heading toward even tighter integration between learning and work. The future belongs to training that doesn’t feel like training—where skill development happens within the flow of actual job performance. Adult learning theory points us there, but our willingness to abandon comfortable classroom models will determine how quickly we arrive.

Tailoring Leadership Training: Building Competence Across Five Levels

The old saying is true: people don’t leave companies, they leave managers. This reality forced me to rethink everything about leadership development at Weis.

I have a longstanding belief that organizations function as interconnected systems. You can’t deliver exceptional customer service when leadership operates in silos. This insight drives my team and me to create cross-departmental programs where people collaborate, solve problems and innovate while developing leadership skills.

The breakthrough came when I realized that leadership development must happen at every level simultaneously. When I started at Weis, we had two small leadership programs. Now, we’re building capability across five distinct leadership levels, from assistant store managers to regional vice presidents. Each program applies servant leadership principles through twelve Korn Ferry competencies, but we tailor the approach to each role’s unique demands.

The most important insight has been that you can’t ask one part of the business to demonstrate excellent leadership while others are modeling poor leadership. Everyone, individual contributors or senior executives, must take ownership and accountability for how they build and maintain relationships within the company and how they lead others.

This directs us toward leadership development that mirrors how the business actually operates. The future requires leaders who think systemically, collaborate naturally and understand that their primary job is serving others. When leadership becomes a shared language across all levels, business performance improves because the foundation beneath it strengthens.

Assessing Leaders Effectively: Insights, Feedback and Emotional Intelligence

When someone’s natural style clashes with organizational culture, tension inevitably follows. People feel out of place and performance suffers. This realization made me understand that every organization has its own personality and leaders need tools to navigate that reality.

Over 100 of our leaders have participated in the Korn Ferry 360-degree assessment. This tool helps people understand their work style and how it interacts with others. The insight isn’t just about individual awareness but organizational fit. It also clearly shows broader organizational leadership strengths, as well as competency gaps. But what I’ve found even more valuable is the Risk Assessment based on this information.

Looking ahead, I’m convinced we must add an emotional intelligence assessment. I’ve observed that EQ shapes how associates perceive their leaders more than technical competencies do. Leaders often don’t realize how their emotional responses create ripple effects throughout their teams.

The future of leadership assessment isn’t just measuring what people can do. It’s helping them understand how who they are affects everyone around them and the organization as a whole.

Integrating L&D Platforms: Personalized Learning for Advancement

Forced system migrations create unexpected innovation opportunities. When we couldn’t transfer everything from our existing LMS and HCM suite to Workday Learning, Talent and Performance, we had to reimagine what was possible rather than replicate what existed. This is especially true of AI-enabled career pathing.

What I’ve observed over the years is that people have incredible potential when given clear pathways. Through intentional development, I’ve watched cashiers and shelf stockers rise to become department managers, directors and district managers. These stories taught me that career progression isn’t luck; it’s visibility, planned opportunity and access to the right resources.

The breakthrough I’m most excited about is how AI will personalize learning and career discovery. For the first time, associates can point to specific impact projects, document skills gained and see tangible evidence of their advancement. This isn’t just individual benefit; it gives us organizational visibility into strengths and gaps we’ve never had before.

I sincerely believe that work should be meaningful because it consumes so much of our lives. The future I see is technology enabling us to help people realize their potential and become the best versions of themselves at work.

Guidance for New Leaders

When we increase leadership program participation, we reduce turnover and see positive engagement score shifts. When we get our leaders and associates to understand that they work as a whole and not in silos, we see greater engagement, satisfaction and performance. This systems thinking has become fundamental to how I approach learning strategy.

I’ve discovered the importance of balancing proven fundamentals with emerging technology, especially AI. You can’t abandon what works while chasing what’s new, but you can’t ignore innovation.

The most powerful insight has been embracing continuous improvement. Learning from results, making adjustments and improving year after year isn’t just good practice; it’s the only sustainable approach.

Where this leads is building something that lasts. Combining systems thinking, balanced innovation and relentless improvement creates meaningful careers and truly effective learning programs that strengthen over time.