SPECIAL OFFER: For my LinkedIn family and blog followers, I would love to have you with me on this journey as I write this book. I would be honored to have you offer feedback on short pieces I write. This short piece today is the second draft of a Foreword. In return for your time and insights, I will provide you a copy of the book at no charge when I cross the finish line in a couple of months. (more…)
Foreword There is a prevailing myth that “TRAINING DRIVES PERFORMANCE,” which represents a false narrative that limits effectiveness when we depend on training for default solutions. The myth prevails because we in Learning & Development (L&D) have done an outstanding job of setting false expectations for our operational stakeholders that all performance issues default to training as the standard solution. They bought it, and sadly, so did we. In reality, Training only contributes to POTENTIAL. Why? Because performance does not happen until our workers return to their respective Workflows. Last…
It seems I read too many black ops books and look at missions from a tactical perspective before nailing down an actionable strategy to move forward. No Delta Force team moves to execute on a leadership request on a mission without completing a thorough and comprehensive reconnaissance effort first. We (L&D) could gain considerable insight into adopting this approach to ensure an effective design strategy if we recon the mission intended to render an effective solution. Too often we receive a request for training and then go in “guns blazing”…
"GREAT" things are popping up lately like the Great Resignation, Great Retirement, and the Great Reshuffle as several examples. I am not swayed by the hype because these all point to one common denominator – Change...and the need to refocus on LEADING it. It is my opinion that we are seeing side-effects surface in the form of a Great Convergence of Thought and Action and formation of influencers that directly impact Culture. In other words, resignations, retirements, and reshuffling within and among organizations are driving the need for a strategic re-think…
A recent post on LinkedIn tripped my trigger this morning, and despite the urge to rant, I will try to be gentle. No guarantees. The question posted asked for advice for someone new coming into Learning & Development (L&D). Here is what percolated into this savory reply, and I should add, this reply is not just for a newbie, but for incumbents and leadership as well. My advice is this, "Step away from the stone. Stop pushing until you confirm it's the right thing to do." Here's why... (more…)
A few years ago I was blessed to speak at an IQPC Talent Management conference on a topic of “Change Leadership – When Change Management Is Not Enough.” My speaking invitation came from a post titled “Managing Change or Leading Change: Does It Matter?” I guess they liked the post and topic idea because IQPC interviewed me prior to the conference. The post is hyperlinked above and contains the interview transcript they provided. I share all this because it is the perfect lead in to navigating transformative initiatives be they…
"GREAT" things are popping up lately, like the Great Resignation, Great Retirement, and the Great Reshuffle, as two examples. I am not swayed by the hype because these all point to one common denominator – Change...and the need to LEAD it. I believe we see the side-effects surface in the form of a Great Convergence of Thought and Action and forms influencers that directly impact Culture. In other words, resignations, retirements, and reshuffling within and among organizations are driving the need for a strategic re-think and adopting tactical actions that…
How do businesses react to the uptick in worker resignations? What are exit interviews revealing? According to https://www.hrcuity.com “Over 90% of Fortune 500 companies conduct exit interviews, yet just over 40% of them view the practice itself as successful.” That is not good. According to https://wwwrecruiter .com, “Research suggests that exit interview participation rates are between 30 and 35 percent for paper interviews, and this number increases for online interviews. If your organization has 200 employees and 10 percent employee turnover, you might see about six completed exit interviews per…
In any industry that has multiple diverse workflows and processes with many steps and roles tasked with execution, there seems to be consensus that “one-size-fits-all” training is not a sustainable solution. Training of that nature cannot be targeted enough to reach the Point-of-Work where actual performance takes place. A logical solution involves enabling access to performance support in the workflow. I offer this question – What happens when our performance support solutions carry the same “one-size-fits-all” characteristics? (more…)
Yesterday I jumped into a post by @BobMosher at his request along with a number of other professionals I admire and respect. The nature of the post was a lament regarding the difficulty of breaking through the long-held traditions of L&D’s default to training solutions to boost learning and performance. Several comments likened the effort to pushing a boulder up hill for years with only limited success. Here is a thought I offered in a separate post late yesterday afternoon… (more…)
