Andrew Wojecki

Predictions for corporate learning in 2011

This is my take on all the upcoming learning and talent predictions for 2011, stay connected for the updates as we wind down 2010.

Prediction 1

Learning Leaders will delete the term "learning journey" from their vocabulary, as they describe the history and trajectory of their learning organizations. Instead, you will hear Learning Leaders describe their "measurement campaigns." Firstly, we talk about learning too much. That's because we are in the fish bowl. What we talk alot about and still search solutions for, are action-oriented activities to sustain measurement and knowledge transfer. Measurement and knowledge transfer should not be treated as journeys. They are campaigns.

Did you ever run for class president in high school? I didn't. It seemed to hard. Well, measurement is hard. Particularly, in complex organizational structures. Learning leaders can learn from politics. Think about political campaigns and all the effort, energy, stakeholder engagement, communications, marketing, branding, compromises, and most importantly, compelling story-telling that are required to win. That's no different than winning the measurement campaign within your organization. Learning and measurement can be drowned out by competing priorities, resource constraints, and lack of organizational interest or will.

As you reflect and plan for 2011 don't frame it as a continuation of your learning journey, but rather, the beginnings of your measurement campaign.

If Learning is a Process, then building a transfer-driven mindset in your organization should be one to

It is clear that we leave learning on the table everyday, and we need to do something about it. Knowledge Advisors, a global learning analytics firm, has conducted research studies indicating that 60% of training is not applied back on the job. In the learning industry the term  “scrap learning” is commonly utilized to apply to this lost investment in learning. Clearly, we need to be more accountable, proactive, and transparent, with all of our stakeholders (employees, supervisors, HR, and the Business Line), in ensuring that learning sticks, new behaviors take hold, and employees return to a conducive environment to sustain business impact

Managing change is paramount, particularly, in large, complex organizations. These organizations can be highly disciplined, procedural, and risk averse.  When moving into the learning function of a large corporation, a mentor wisely advised me, “This place is like a large supertanker with a very small rudder. But stay focused on the rudder (focus on the right initiatives) because when the ship turns, it’ll go where you point it.” Applying that advice, learning leaders must maintain a resolute focus on the pivot point you are steering your learning team, and ultimately, business toward. Persistence, simplicity, demonstrated results, and relentless marketing of an impact and value focus will help transition your organization toward a transfer-driven mindset.

As learning leaders striving to deliver high-impact learning within our organizations, the topic of training transfer will continue to grow in its relevance. As we move to better support and sustain blended learning solutions to leverage the social, informal, and peer learning occurring within our businesses, the classroom may not be a priori. Many business executives have mental models ascribing training to be formal and four-wall bound. As we harness the continuum of learning occurring before, during, and after, this pulls the learning function outside of its traditional realm of ‘the training event.’ Taking an approach out of Clayton Christiansen’s playbook, learning leaders chasing transfer and business results, will disrupt the notion of the formal learning event as their raison d etre.

Being mindful of reengaging with the envelope of learning

Today, I had the chance to observe one of our formal learning programs. Something I'd prefer to do more often, but with day to day meetings with internal stakeholders and external partners, influencing and organizing workflow across our team, sustaining base business operations, and overseeing several simultaneous pilots addressing measurement and learning transfer; opportunities are slim this time of year.

As I was observing the facilitator; watching how our employees were engaging with the content; listening for what was (and wasn't being said); hearing the business challenges and problems individuals brought to work through the program; I began reflecting on the role of Learning Leaders both in and outside of the envelope of learning in organizations - where design, instruction, learning modality, platform, and business application merge.

Sitting back and seeing the connections and possibilities with a variety of initiatives I've been working on for our programs, and imagining a future state of what is to come (which is exciting), I began to reflect on a few principles for Learning Leaders.

1. Simplification

The corporate learning marketplace is crowded. In every turn there are solutions, applications, technologies, content, and vendors. Training organizations, while needing external partners and solutions brokers, need to remain clear on immediate business applications and the organizational strategies in which they are targeting. Internally, there is increasing complexity, time-pressures, change, and momentum for us to manage and harness. This dynamism requires clear line of sight to the learning strategies, which should not only be your compass, but your filter for action. In one of my grad classes in Australia I was introduced to the concept of KISS (Keep it simple stupid) - not a bad idea to put into practice.

2. Synthesis

With an increasing appetite for learning and development as organizations focus on talent acquisition and talent management, combined with many contemporary factors facing Learning Leaders (fiscal, structural, customer-centric, innovation-oriented) there is a tangible pull to deliver more. In fact, we need to do less. I am learning that there is far more unrealized value to be captured for organizations through integrating content, technologies, and strategic courseware than in creating or offering more solutions. Block and tackle - further improve what you are doing and build out on the front and back end of your current solution. Value will follow.

3. Competitive Advantage

I know this can sound cliche - but it is very alive and real. A relentless focus in asking "How does this deliver us competitive advantage?," is a useful reflective device in prioritizing resources, energy, and focus. Pushing this mindset through external partners, who are often hungry to collaborate, can drive success. This focus can also invite further dialogue on the partnering relationship - bringing higher expectations and accountability for learning functions and vendors.

So tonight I've been going through my calendar. I've blocked out more days in the second half of this year to ensure I'm engaging more with the envelope of learning and not just managing the envelope of learning.

Is learning really a competitive advantage?

For many of us in the L&D community, we often discuss learning as a competitive advantage? But is it really? Or, do we default to this position since learning is our profession? In a recent HBR article Leadership Lessons From India, the authors cited a 2006 ASTD study indicating only 4% of US Chief Learning Officers (CLOs) felt their learning function drives business success versus 81% of Indian heads of HR, who felt learning and development was critical for business success. What are the Indian HR and Talent professionals eating for breakfast, that their US peers aren't? 

But back to the question, is learning really a competitive advantage?

Let's stack a few companies side by side. Pick any key players in an industry. What if you put company A, company B, company C, and company D side by side? Putting governance models and organizational design structures to the side for a moment, let's assume each is committed to investing in its people. You see it both in their annual CCR reports and internal communications and intranet. Each one will have a portfolio of courseware and learning assets (developed and delivered both internally and externally) with a mix of vendors and outsourcing arrangements. We can assume that each company is developing and acquiring world class content and IP within its programs. They each will be seeking global vendors and prestigious institutions to partner with - and of course, global vendors and institutions will be seeking to partner with them.

While each company internally will be striving for competitive advantage, at the end of the day, many will be using the same global vendors and prestigious institutions. So what will really stand one company apart from another? What if I said it wasn't learning at all?

Rather than learning as a competitive advantage, perhaps we should be discussing transfer as a competitive advantage? In the end it isn't the learning that distinguishes, but rather, what the individual and organization does with it - how it applies the knowledge, skills, and behaviors to drive and execute business objectives.

I think this is particularly salient when it comes to leadership and the "harder" skills of interpersonal development and emotional intelligence. In the crowded and sometimes incestuous marketplace of solutions providers, how can organizations ensure they are getting more value in transfer, rather than in learning? Are solutions providers designed to deliver more in transfer, than learning? Shouldn't that be in the organization's domain and responsibility? 

Focusing on transfer is more of a disruptive conversation for learning professionals, rather than an sustaining one. It invites more opportunities than challenges. It requires greater partnership, clarity, and trust than RFP's and work orders. It blurs boundaries of external thoughtleaders and internal Leaders as Teachers. It is I think an exciting inflection point in enterprise learning. But above all else, it is focused far more on transfer, application, and results, than enriching events with great speakers, good lunches, and engaging scenarios.

trying to remember how to blog

Supporting Universities Deliver Better Executive Education

Last week I was observing a program run through an Executive Education program. Sitting up in the 'sky decks' of the lecture hall I had several reflections integrate over the course of a few days, after now having observed several programs run with university partners. I was there to give some feedback on the program and look at some ways to continuously improve the good foundation that has been laid.

In reviewing course evaluations a theme of 'engagement' emerged - participants stating that the program could be more engaging. After now digging though the data and observing several programs, I now think, that this is a sign to investigate in several areas - both in looking 'under the hood' of our university partners and faculty teams, as well as, 'holding the mirror' to ourselves as clients, and how we can better prepare and engage our employees for learning.

When I hear and see engagement in evaluative data on programs, I think to four areas:

1. Is it an instructional design issue?

2. What adult learning principles and theoretical approaches can provide a filter here?

3. What measurement and evaluative practices can be deployed to sustain a learning as a process, rather a learning as an event mindset, both for learners and faculty?

4. How is the organization removing barriers or constraints from the workplace to allow the learner to be fully present and mindful in their participation in the formal learning experience?

In being a better partner, organization's need to recognize the default position that is often placed on executive education programs - universities know what they are doing. (My intent is not to beat up universities, I happen to love them, and being a product of them, now with three little letters behind my name, you'd think I'd be standing up for them - and I am here). But we should treat faculty members as SMEs, much as we treat our own internal SMEs. We provide alot of support and guidance to ensure our SMEs design high impact learning internally - following ISD, Adult Learning theories, and business alignment approaches. We can help close the gap with our university partners to ensure they do the same.

This approach I think, in time, helps to foster long term partnerships and help both our faculty (service providers) and our employees (clients) both overcome the knowing-doing gap to ensure business impact.

Has a fun day of thinking ahead Handbook of Leadership Development by CCL, report from Learning Development Roundtable, and then some yoga

How much are your knowledge stocks worth?

I came across an interesting article on The Big Shift discussing the the distinctions between knowledge stocks and knowledge flows, with the increasing wealth in a knowledge economy being placed within flows and stocks. Knowledge stocks - or the idea of centralized, guarded knowledge that individual's protect for their personal gain, influence, and economic security is demonstrating limited returns in value and wealth creation. While this has been the traditional practice for individuals and organizations, this is being replaced with an ever-increasing value in knowledge flows.

Knowledge flows being developed through integral webs of high-value relationships and networks which continuously improve, update, and maintain knowledge 'reserves' amongst its stakeholders. There is a law of diminshed returns when we regard knowledge as stocks to be privately held and reserved, as new, emergent knowledge is increasingly being generated rapidly shortening product lifespans and current capacities for problem solving.

As the authors write, "As the world speeds up, stocks of knowledge depreciate at a faster rate...To succeed now, we have to continually refresh our stocks of knowledge by participating in relevant flows of new knowledge."

This raises interesting challenges for individuals' when thinking about their networks, relationships, personal, and professional development. An era where job security and economic vitality will be driven through knowledge flows requires a fundamental rethink in the need for investing in one's skillsets, toolkits, networks, and communities. Investing in knowledge stocks may have gotten us to where we are, but certainly may not get us to where we want our future portfolios to be.

The need for Simplicity

I was on a phone call with Amy Kates the other day. I was getting some advice as I begin to work on helping drive an initiative establishing a Center of Excellence for Training and Development. She was sharing some key ideas and conversations that emerged from a gathering of leading L&D and OD Leaders she was recently with. They were speaking of emerging trends, and one of which revolves around this notion of HR being the provider of simplicity. How HR structures, processes, and systems within organizations must strive toward simplicity, something which many HR functions miss the mark and currently could not claim to be. That, in fact, many HR functions gravitate toward complexity rather than simplicity. And this notion of simplicity will be a key driver for HR professionals in both the near and long term, as organizations strive for agility, responsiveness, and innovation. Reflecting on some of my recent experiences, as a Workplace Learning Professional, reporting within a HR context, I am experiencing layers of processes that I have not experienced previously when working embedded within the Business Line. This raises tensions between the global learning orgainzation and local embedded training organizations, who require speed and immediacy when delivering learning solutions. These are some interesting challenges I'm now experiencing.

An interesting takeaway was she was sharing some organizations exploring COE's centered on Collaboration. I look forward to hearing more in this area.

On leading others - the need for storytellers

I was struck with this notion on leading others this week during a series of week long meetings I was participating in. It had to do with the role of leaders in stewarding the 'story' of the organization's contributions. In the day to day work of a team, often the shifts, impact, and improvements can seem to be overlooked, or even ignored. Being so caught up in the work on the interface of projects and tasks, teams can begin to become victims, or view their work through a deficit lens - that is in comparing themselves to other teams or previous projects and experiences. Often, undervaluing the subtle shifts, ripples of improvement, and larger impact to the organization perhaps beyond the immediate focal point team members are paying attention to.

Leaders (at any level) can and should be stewards of the larger conversation to help team members connect with and realign with the strategy, purpose, and mission they are working toward. I thought of both my current manager, and the previous President I was working for. Both are exemplars of the necessity to remind and reengage the individual/team/workforce/organization of where they have come and where they are going. I thought of my previous President who both reminded his executives and this workforce continually, that despite the current challenges of the economy and market, the organization had taken great strides in project execution and organizational effectiveness. Yes, others may be ahead of us in certain areas and to not lose sight of the journey of continuous improvement, but to remind ourselves that externally the work we were conducting was highly valued.

In the global team meeting this week, my Manager time and time again played a pivotal role in re-aligning the team in circular discussion on strategy and resources (perceived lack of) on how we we meeting and addressing expectations and demands already. Her contributions were extremely valuable to a team, demanding excellence, in not beating themselves up too badly. After a while I realized what she was doing. She was translating the obvious (things we were ignoring and undervaluing) and helping us connect with our own story, collectively. To notice all the contributions and impact we are having as a team. She helped us in connecting the dots.