For learning and development professionals, and especially those entrusted with managing an organisation’s learning and development, few things are as critical as the need to ensure that the money, time and effort invested in learning initiatives provides a solid and, in some way, measurable return. A recent article in ASTD’s weekly email newsletter, The Buzz, got me thinking about this topic.
The article contains the usual common sense advice about ensuring your initiatives are hitting the right need and working closely with those on the ground in the design and implementation. To me, though, the easiest, most important and sometimes most overlooked strategy to ensure effective learning is the need to provide participants’ managers and team leaders with an awareness of what their people have learned in a session, program or unit, and information on what they (the leader) can do to help their people embed that knowledge into their day-to-day role.
Of course, this requires that you’ve identified an appropriate need and can articulate to all involved why the newly learned knowledge, skills, etc. are preferable to what was going on before, so everything that goes before it is important. I’m certainly not trying to devalue those efforts. However, I’ve lost count of the otherwise excellent learning interventions I’ve seen that have fallen short in the end because of a lack of implementation back on the job.
The manager or team leader (along with any recognised subject matter experts) exert great influence over how work is done under their charge. They have the potential to make or break a learning or training effort through their acceptance (or otherwise) of whatever new knowledge, procedures, etc. have been learned by their people. If they are serious about achieving the best possible performance outcomes, and if you are able to explain to them why the new approach will enhance these outcomes, in measurable terms they value, you are unlikely to face the issue of having to watch and grumble as the knowledge, skills, etc. you went to such great lengths to provide sit wasted and unused.
Of course, there are other reasons that a manager or team leader may not want to take their place as your ally (those uncomfortable or downright threatened by change, tight-fisted control freaks who insist it’s their way or the highway, and others), but the vast majority of leaders are honest, hard working and results focussed. Convince them you’re both aiming toward the same end goal (maximum performance) and they’ll be a key ally in your efforts.
It’s not rocket science, but it’s so often an overlooked step in the development and implementation of learning initiatives within organisations. Please make sure you don’t make that mistake.
As an aside, I’ve just bought some nifty little bookmarks from Carnes and Associates, through their website that act as prompts for managers on how they can help their people prepare for and embed new learning. No, they don’t pay me and I have no association with them. These are just one nice idea on how you can raise the awareness of your leaders’ role in learning, even when you’re not around. I’m sure there are many others.
- May 10
- , 2011
