The IC Development Playbook: Insights from Faire, Lucid, and LinkedIn

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When employees equate growth with promotion, but promotion opportunities are limited, how do you develop your best individual contributors?

In this panel discussion, Katie Hart from Faire, Sarah Jester from Lucid Software, and Krysta Kasinski from LinkedIn share their battle-tested approaches to developing ICs beyond the traditional promotion path. These three L&D leaders reveal why they’ve moved beyond the “growth equals promotion” myth to build leadership programs specifically for individual contributors.

You’ll discover the five core capabilities that accelerate IC growth, why cohort-based learning beats one-off training, and how to measure impact without killing engagement. Katie, Sarah, and Krysta share what’s actually working in their programs, including the mistakes they’ve made and learned from.

Whether you’re at a 1,000-person company like Faire and Lucid or a LinkedIn-scale organization, this conversation provides practical frameworks for developing your IC population when traditional career ladders aren’t enough.

If retaining top talent and building leadership at every level matters to your organization, this playbook shows you exactly where to start.

Full Episode

Guest Links

Show Notes

  • [00:00 – 02:55]  Introduction to the Panel and Topics
  • [02:56 – 04:37]  Meet the Panelists: Krista, Katie, and Sarah
  • [04:38 – 07:40]  Why Focus on Individual Contributors?
  • [07:41 – 11:05]  The Myth of Growth Equals Promotion
  • [11:06 – 14:41]  IC Development at LinkedIn: Krista’s Perspective
  • [14:42 – 17:07]  The Role of Managers in IC Growth
  • [17:08 – 21:30]  Identifying and Supporting High Potentials
  • [21:31 – 25:35]  Capabilities and AI in Talent Development
  • [25:36 – 34:47]  Organizational Structure for IC Programs
  • [31:48 – 36:31]  Building Support for IC Development Programs
  • [36:32 – 42:35]  Lessons Learned from Program Pilots
  • [42:36 – 50:53]  Measuring Program Impact and ROI
  • [50:54 – 54:59]  The Future of AI Skills and Culture Shift
  • [55:00 – 56:31]  Supporting Emotional and Identity Shifts with AI
  • [56:32 – 57:43]  Closing Remarks and Key Takeaways

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