Reporter's Notebook: Tuesday Sessions

Grassroots Learning

Eschewing classroom training for informal learning is the big shift in how employees want—and are expected—to learn these days. The focus of Halelly Azulay’s session, “Employee Development on a Shoestring,” was grassroots learning. Audience members offered ideas from their own organizations about what they were doing to develop their employees beyond formal training scenarios, at little or no cost.

One example, which Azulay discussed at length, was job-related volunteering. She recommended joining the local chapter of a relevant professional organization. This allows employees to develop a budding skill at no risk and no cost to the organization, Azulay explained. Another example is video- or audio-based storytelling. Recording interviews with knowledge-holders in your organization is a great way to produce inexpensive, quality training content. “Learners don’t want glitzy videos with trained actors,” Azulay said. “They want short, real, credible, and actionable videos that they can watch on their mobile devices.”

Instructional Designers as Project Managers

“Projects are like flash mobs,” Lou Russell said in her session, “Iterate and Innovate,” on using such systems as Agile, Lean Six Sigma, and SAVVY to improve project results. “People show up, they do something, other people are either ticked or happy, and then everyone disperses.” But training projects can have more lasting and beneficial effects than a flash mob.

Instructional designers must first and foremost be excellent project managers. Above all, take 45 minutes to create a “project charter,” Russell advised. Know why you’re doing the project. Russell gave an overview of ADDIE, SAM, Agile, Lean Six Sigma, RAD, and other processes, discussing their methodologies, purpose, and pros and cons.

She then returned to critical project management competencies. Being able to influence people outside your sphere is key, as well as being able to adapt your personality to work with others. “Project management and learning development is not about control,” said Russell. “It’s about collaboration.”

The Neuroscience of Leadership Transitions

Professionals moving from individual contributor to leader experience distinct transitions. Understanding the neuroscience behind some of the challenges and emotions they experience can provide insight into effective training, said Grace Chang of the NeuroLeadership Institute, in “The Neuroscience of Leadership Transitions.”

She said the key to successful transitions is for professionals to develop skills and behaviors in self-regulation, focus/goals, and rewards. She explained two systems of the brain: the reflexive or automatic system, which requires less energy and is the area where habits are formed and is largely unconscious; and the reflective or controlled system, which is where the conscious thinking and processing takes place. Both systems work together; however, the transition to leadership requires tapping into and enhancing the reflective brain system.

For instance, one of the key factors in making the transition to leadership—self-regulation—requires managing how you respond to your own thoughts and emotions, increasing the awareness of yourself and others, and focusing more on the big picture and stakeholders. Learning and practicing these behaviors requires a great deal of energy and brain matter. Learning to use self-control is like exercising a muscle, so allowing time for recovery is important as well, said Chang. The ultimate goal is to practice self-regulation and the other behaviors enough to make them habits, which are automatic, require less energy, and make the transition to leadership less stressful.

Philanthropy for the Training Industry

If you think you have a tight budget, compare your organization with an international nongovernmental organization (NGO), said Eric Berg, executive director of LINGOs (Learning in NGOs). “They often have one-man training departments, with budgets of less than $6,000.” NGOs simply don’t have the resources to train staff. That’s where LINGOs comes in.

The not-for-profit was founded to serve as a medium through which training organizations and professionals can donate their products, content, and expertise to NGOs to increase the impact of their programs in developing countries. Berg’s session, “The Training Industry Gives Back,” held in ASTD Central’s Community Theater, focused on how companies and individuals can get involved with LINGOs, either by developing an e-learning course, contributing content translated into several languages, or providing authoring tools.

Membership to LINGOs provides NGOs access to the latest technologies and courses from LINGOs’ partners. Partnership with LINGOs not only allows you or your organization to make good on your philanthropic mission; it also allows you to test your products and services in the field and build your customer base. The ultimate beneficiaries are those being helped by NGOs all over the world.

Narrowing the Skills Gap

In “Bridging the Skills Gap: Help Wanted, Skills Lacking—Why the Mismatch,” Tracey Warland and Jacque Burandt shared stories of how their organizations were able to bridge skills gaps to meet business needs. Warland discussed how Wells Fargo closed a leadership skills gap with the organization’s talented auditors who had been promoted to leadership positions. After turnover in the positions, the gap became obvious.

They determined the core leadership competencies needed were communications, conflict management, and thought leadership. The intensive simulation program consisted of three courses that required auditors to complete 11 specific tasks. Senior leaders served as coaches and provided real-time feedback. The program not only resulted in behavior change, but also rave reviews from the participants.

At the University Health System in San Antonio, Texas, the organization’s skills gap was related to foreign language proficiency, Burandt explained. Seventy percent of the orgnaization’s patients spoke Spanish but there were no staff interpreters.