Why Job Rotations Are Critical To Shaping Tomorrow's Leaders

By Kristina Fusella

“I don’t care where you place me, but just make sure it’s terrifying,” was the last input I gave when my company, Novo Nordisk, was determining my job swap for the next year.

So when I first learned that I would be trading my strategy-focused role for a position in learning and development, I felt a mix of excitement and trepidation. I was venturing into completely unfamiliar territory, a place where my experience as a commercial strategist might not be transferrable, and I would need to get up to speed — quickly — on a host of new concepts and a new language.

Once I got past the fear, though, I realized this opportunity was just what I needed. It can be uncomfortable to step into the unknown, but that’s where growth happens.

The ability to adapt and lead across diverse functions isn't just a nice-to-have in today’s fast-paced work world: it's a necessity. Leadership agility is a critical skill for future leaders as the external environment grows in complexity.

That’s why Novo Nordisk created a new job-swap program for senior leaders, and this is the first year it has been up and running. To enable success, the high potential talent doing the rotations are well-supported throughout the year by their direct leaders, by the HR team, and by external coaches. While their previous jobs will still be there when the year is up, the idea is that the rotations will be a bridge to a new role for them.

Personal Growth Isn’t Easy

I’m nine months into a year-long rotation, and for me, the work in learning and development has been eye-opening.

In my previous roles, I was focused on commercial strategy, market access, and analytics. But leading in the pharma business isn't just about selling products; it's about understanding people, what they need and where they want to go, and then determining how you can accelerate those opportunities. That applies not only to our employees but to our patients and external stakeholders as well. My rotation in learning and development has forced me to learn a whole new way of thinking about our business. It’s shown me that my approach to creating a strong commercial strategy (deep listening, analytical thinking, and charting an ambitious and inspiring vision) also can be applied to developing talent.

I can’t say it was easy. There were moments when I felt like an imposter, a novice among experts. At one of the first leadership team meetings I attended with my boss and my peers, everyone was a senior leader in talent and development. They were fluidly using terminology based on the Kirkpatrick Model of training evaluation — they all sounded highly knowledgeable, and I was completely lost. I texted one of my buddies on the team under the table with a list of terms, asking what in the world they meant. (Of course, the team spent time getting me up to speed on the academic side of learning and development, but that first meeting was quite intimidating.)

Growing Together Is Invigorating And Motivating

While I was learning the intricacies of learning and development, I also was able to contribute my strategic thinking and commercial insights. I could leverage my previous experience working in the strategy group to clearly show my new team the critical role they played in our organization’s ambitious transformation. It was motivating for them to learn that they were the only team at the company purely tasked with ensuring that employees are trained and ready for a bold future.

Based on that, I charted a clear strategy for the year, allowing the team to prioritize their time and investments to make the most impact at the company, while showing them that I would be investing in their development and growth as well. That generated an incredible amount of enthusiasm and momentum in the team. After only nine months, I’m incredibly proud of the growth that they have demonstrated when pushed to think with an enterprise mindset.

In his famous Stanford commencement speech, Steve Jobs talked about the anxiety but also the exhilaration that comes from being new to something: “The lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”

Upskilling Internal Talent Is A Win-Win

Now more than ever – in the era of Gen AI and Black Swan events – we need leaders who can take a creative and expansive view, who think outside of their silos.

There’s another value of job rotations: we’re in an era where companies can no longer rely solely on external hires to fill leadership gaps. The talent market is tight, and the expertise we need is often already within our ranks, waiting to be unlocked. Job rotations are a strategic way to do this; they allow organizations to upskill their existing talent. It's a win-win opportunity: the company retains and develops its talent, while employees gain the experience and confidence they need to take on greater responsibilities.

After going through this experience, I’m convinced that job rotations should be a staple in leadership development programs. They foster adaptability, strategic thinking, managerial courage, and a firmer understanding of the overall business. If we want to build the kind of leaders who can propel our businesses with resilience, we need to give them the opportunities to learn, grow, and adapt. Sometimes, the best way to do that is to step into the scary unknown.

About The Author:

Kristina Fusella was selected as a high-potential talent for a one-year rotation to accelerate her leadership readiness at Novo Nordisk. As part of that program, she is now the Senior Director, Capabilities, Employee Experience at Novo Nordisk. Over the past decade at Novo Nordisk, Kristina has gained deep experience in marketing, strategy, sales execution, market access, analytics, and insights.