Learning and Development as an Org’s Secret Weapon- and why we keep sleeping on it (and other stuff on recruitment, uncomplicating things, and when friction is a good thing)

Table of Contents

• Hello and welcome

• Why we’ve lost the thread on L & D

  • L & D as an organizational superpower

• 1% Solutions

• What I’m Reading (and Listening To)

• What I am Doing- Strategic Planning Sessions

Hello and welcome

Hi everyone, and welcome to the FIFTH edition of this. I am feeling quite proud of the consistency especially as I have been fighting with my new health insurance to get properly set up. Why is navigating health insurance akin to Harry finding the horcruxes? (Also, please tell me you get the joke)

This may be why this issue is a bit salty and has some pretty spectacular gifs. It’s called self-care.

(Also, all insurance companies should be sorted into the House of Slytherin and no, this is not up for discussion).

Why we’ve lost the thread on L & D

Two weeks ago, I was speaking to a brilliant colleague in learning and development who unfortunately was laid off. We were discussing the state of learning and development and why so many lay offs came from that department (I’d argue the same is true in the education space, with an underappreciation for the HOW of professional development)

My possibly controversial take? L & D is treated as a nice to have because we in L & D act like it’s one because we are disconnected from the work. We at times are putting out programs that we’re excited about without doing the necessary work to know the organizational needs, the people they are serving and how to leverage best practices in adult learning TO those two ends. OR we aren’t doing the work to connect the dots for leaders and then get frustrated when “they don’t get it.” So yes, in the eyes of the C-suite, you are absolutely a nice to have. But that doesn’t mean learning and development isn’t a powerful tool for organizational growth and sustainability. As an organization, its context and strategy shift, we have to create space for folks to internalize, adapt and apply different skill sets or ways of working together.

(In the K-12 space, I see this play out a bit differently. I know everyone in this space values strong professional development. But when you have folks wearing multiple hats, when you put more value on the what than the how, and when folks are writing PD at 11pm after everything else they’ve been doing, the learning spaces we create doesn’t reflect how much we actually value adult learning. And unfortunately, our district and back offices don’t get much love at all)

This is not to let senior leadership off the hook for perpetuating outdated beliefs around what it means to set people up for success. How many times have we heard the following: “We hire smart people they should figure it out.” “Leaders rise!” It’s akin to how people used to test for being a witch- if you sink you are innocent (but dead), if you rise you are a witch (which, well, we know what happens then). For folks thrown in, sure they develop some level of ingenuity, But without dedicated learning, application and reflection time, they also develop bad habits (or coping mechanisms?), develop strategies without the insight that they may not be right for every situation, or develop some level of trauma. Also? The folks who “rise” are usually the ones who already think (and look) like the existing team— not the folks you hired because you claimed you valued diversity. Why are we still treating organizations like the Hunger Games?

L & D as an organizational superpower

I see learning and development as having four key connections to organizational success:

💡 L&D as a strategy amplifier- L & D is the process by which your folks will be able to execute strategy. What skills and competencies do your folks need to make your strategy a reality and how do we upskill them now?

💡 L& D as a growth accelerator- In a college econ development class, we learned there are two limiting factors to growth-- tech and human capital. I have no idea how to fix the first (I was literally just fighting with my laptop), but I can tell you the skills of your people will determine the speed at which you can grow. This also includes prep and training for the necessary additional layers of leadership that emergen one you are growing.

💡 L&D and Leadership development as a stabilizer- Investing in your people is succession planning, which supports business continuity- so that leadership shifts and changes do not cause the disruption they often do. And investing in everyone's development can increase retention, meaning you have a stronger internal pipeline to begin with.

💡 L & D as a capacity builder- If all of your managers are coaching on the same few skills, wouldn't it make sense for someone central to lead and develop those trainings so that managers can focus on supporting their teammates in application to role (which is more than likely what they are best at anyway?)

I’d love to see organizations leverage learning and development as a means of operationalizing their strategy and shore up existential threats. And no, please don’t just send people to conferences (I’ve rarely seen this effective as an org strategy).

I feel like I have been beating this drum for a few weeks and don’t see myself stopping anytime soon. If you too would like to join me, let’s talk.

1% Solutions

I recently read that doing 1 thing that makes you 1% better each day means you will be 37.5% better at the end of the year. I have not checked the math nor do I plan to do so but the law of compounded interest (and personal startup experience) does tell me that regularly finding 1% solutions is both impactful and doable.

• Make sure you are correctly diagnosing the problem- Strategically using your time starts with correctly identifying the problem on the front end. This HBR article is one of my favorites- particularly for under-resourced start up and nonprofit leaders- because it gives you the tools to rigorously assess the situation, so that you can be relentlessly efficient in aligning and deploying resources. My suggestion: share it with your team or any task force prior to you first meeting to share understandings and frame how you will approach the work ahead.

• Get new leaders ready through shadowing- while I find most people support internal hiring for promotions, not as much energy or thought is often given in onboarding these new leaders in how to do their work- and how they work as they get promoted does shift. One way to begin supporting their development is to have them shadow different leaders to see them in action, from leading team meetings to board meetings, to presentations) Bonus if you pair them intentionally (e.g. “Jana runs effective team meetings focused on discussion- I’d love you to see her in action.”) Have them focus on what the leader is doing and what teammates/peers are doing so they can begin to thin slice the small moves that the leader makes to create the culture and outcomes they want. Better still if they can take 15 minutes to debrief with the leader to ask them about how they thought through the planning of that meeting. You can then ask them what they learned, help them to thin slice what they saw, and to name a practice they are taking with them. They’ll walk away from each experience with a few tactical ideas in support of adaptive leadership practices (If other leaders can’t support, have them work 1:1 with you and other leaders on your team).

• Ask people how they are doing and listen- I know this sounds so simple but the world just collectively trauma dumped on Elmo, so adding this to all of your 1:1 agendas seems like a smart idea. And stay curious- sometimes the thing that driving folks over the edge is something simple (think death by a thousand paper cuts)

What I’m Reading (and Listening To)

• 🙉 How to reduce the friction that hurts you and harness the friction that helps- This HBR Ideacast podcast features Bob Sutton and Huggy Rao who seem to be everywhere recently discussing friction at work. Organizations too often subject their employees and customers to unnecessary friction that creates inefficiency and frustration. But not all friction is bad and can in turn spurn innovation and better decision making. They share seven years of research here from how to reduce unnecessary friction to how friction can help mitigate bias and make a candidate experience (they’ve also been on Adam Grant’s Work Life Balance podcast but I haven’t listened to that one just yet!)

• 📖 Using ChatGPT effectively- ChatGPT can save time and energy for many of us- if we use it properly. Like anything, the clearer you are on your ask, the more likely you are to get something back that helps. This Fast Company article gives a clear framework for what and how to ask.

• 📖 Recruiting Predictions - This LI article from the Talent blog gives me hope. From a focus on skill based hiring to the need for recruiters to be brand evangelists, if these predictions materialize (which I agree, all signs point to it) this will go a long way in improving the recruitment process for both candidates and employers.

• 👩🏻‍💻 Webinar on Toxic Stress- This one hasn’t happened yet but I want to shout out my friend Stephanie Lemek who started the Wounded Workforce to help support leaders in creating Trauma-Informed Workplaces. She leads webinars and podcasts to help leaders grapple with leading in this moment, and I’m excited about March 29’s topic. With folks doing more with less, the bare minimum we can do is ensure our workplaces are as healthy as possible. Sign up is free!

What I am Doing- Strategic Planning Sessions

If you read last issue, you know I’m working with a handful of clients on half and full day strategy sessions. These are day-long intensive coaching and consulting sessions designed to guide your team to their best thinking and walk away with actual deliverables. I’ve been speaking to a few folks and here are the topics that have come up:

• Improving candidate experience to ensure higher acceptance rates

• How to better leverage time on the calendar for professional learning

• Designing an in-house leadership curriculum and development program to be run by a leadership team member.

I deeply believe that strong strategic planning around talent should be accessible to all and that one-size-fits-all consulting isn’t helping mission-driven orgs at critical junctures. If you are interested in partnering, let’s talk.

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