Making Your Learning Program More Effective (and this goes for your meetings too! Post

Table of Contents

• Hello and welcome, and the unexpected lessons of a …

• Realizing the potential for learning and developme …

  • Clear objectives

  • Creating Space for Application (and reflection!)

• 1% Solutions

• What I’m Listening to, Reading and Watching

• What I Am Working On

Hello and welcome, and the unexpected lessons of an HMO

My battle navigating my new insurance continues but I will say that UnitedHealth’s customer service has excellent. They calmly listen and given super clear directions. So while I am still learning all of the steps needed to get to the specialists I need, I am not frustrated. The takeaway? People don’t mind having to follow a process if they actually know what the process is.

Realizing the potential for learning and development programs

Two week ago, I shared that I was going to bang on the learning and development drum for some time- and I am nothing if not a woman of my word. L & D is incredibly important to the sustainability and future-proofing of an organization. But that doesn’t mean that potential is always realized. There are so many reasons for this but for today, I’d like to focus a bit on the two levers I think will have the highest impact. And while these take a bit of time, they don’t require a ton of money. I’m going to focus on two aspects of effective programming that truly drives change: clear, specific and observable outcomes and building time for application.

Clear objectives

Any good teacher will tell you that any lesson should have a clear objective.Essentially, what do you want people to be able to do when they walk out of your training? Without this objective, it’s impossible to backwards plan activities that give folks the appropriate space to process and apply the information.

I find most trainings name the subject to be covered but don’t adequately think through the level of mastery. Do they want folks to identify (great for beginners or creating a shared language) or critique? I see a few factors impact getting this part right:

• Audience skill level- Part of setting the correct objective is knowing where your audience is starting from. At times, trainings have participants with varying abilities, which can mean that the level of mastery in the objective is not one that can be universally achieved. The mismatch can lead to muddied conversation with beginners being confused and those who are more advanced being frustrated. If you are not sure of folks comfort or skill with a topic, I’d focus a first session on creating shared language with space for folks to work through their own problems of practice. Even better if you can get a pre-training survey out.

• Time- the ever present enemy of time! We have limited time and so when we get some dedicated time, we try to pack too much in (I’m Enemy #1 here!) It’s important to consider the time that you have to more realistically identify what can be accomplished without sacrificing application activities. Better to have folks walk away feeling that they understand and can apply something then setting a level of mastery that can’t be achieved in the time allotted— and frustrating everyone.

This is also true for meetings. While yes, teammates want to give input, they also don’t want their time wasted in sharing feedback if a decision has been made. This is another reason why naming the outcome is so important (see 1% Solutions for a bit more on this!)

Also? When you are clear on the outcomes, you are able to measure if you met it or not (or perhaps even realize that you need to rethink the objective to begin with)

Creating Space for Application (and reflection!)

Why Don’t Kids Like School, by Dan WIllingham changed my life as a teacher. As a history teacher, I love telling stories. And while storytelling is a key part of teaching, so is creating space for application. One of my favorite of his quotes is “Memory is the residue of thought.” Simply, folks will not remember something without time to apply it.

This is similarly true for transferring knowledge. Teachers and managers alike can get frustrated when something has been discussed, yet students or teammates aren’t able to apply the learning to a similar situation. To be able to transfer information, people need to clearly understand the context of a situation and the purpose of any given strategy or initiative to be able to match the right action to the right context. This takes practice and time. Effective training programs need to create space for this type of pattern identification and decision making so that folks can practice that muscle.

What’s also important? Create space for reflection after application. A few questions to start:

• What worked?

• What didn’t?

• What might you do differently?

• What about this context made this the wrong or right strategy?

Reflecting will help stamp the purpose of a given strategy along with when you might apply that strategy and when it may not be appropriate.

1% Solutions

• Create a meeting agenda with an eye on what you want people to do- As teachers, we plan lessons not just thinking of the content we want to share but what we want students to do with that content in order for them to walk away being able to do whatever the intended outcome is. Same is true for meetings. Are folks analyzing the causes of an issue, brainstorming possible solutions, evaluating possible solutions or identifying risk in a possible solution?

• Send your meeting agenda out 24-36 hours in advance- Inclusivity lies in the details. Sending an agenda (with clear owners, decision making rights and any questions or readings to review) ahead of time allows everyone time to prepare more thoughtfully. This is even more true for Individuals who are neurodiverse, are English language learners, need processing time, or are introverted.

• Balancing being open-minded with being disciplined- It is very easy to get overwhelmed by the number of suggestions and ideas in a company- you want to remain open to feedback but also be disciplined about executing established plans. Someone a few days ago gave me this question to ask someone sharing an idea: “What is the problem we are trying to solve?” The person’s answer will help you identify if this idea is targeted to a current and real pain point, or is an idea or preference.

What I’m Listening to, Reading and Watching

• 🙉 HBR IdeaCast, Companies Can Win by Reducing Overworking- in this episode, Malissa Clark, associate professor and head of the Healthy Work Lab at the University of Georgia, explains how companies can (sometimes unwittingly) create a workaholic culture, and how that ultimately decreases productivity. One of the most interesting comments was that of status blindness, in that leaders often fail to appreciate how their status blinds them to other’s limited autonomy. Case in point: sending emails after 8pm. Even if you state “No need to answer,” people don’t actually feel they have the autonomy to say no. Instead, you can state there is a no email response rule after 8, or simple schedule your emails to go out at 7am (note: there is no one size fits all answer! Client facing industries may do better with a “one person is totally off tonight” rotation.

• 📖 Gather Robust Feedback with Employee Discovery Groups- The degree to which surveys are helpful rests on the quality of questions and the trust employees have in their employers to listen to the feedback (and not weaponize it against them). This article (and excerpt from From Intention to Impact) highlights how discovery groups can be structured to elicit robust qualitative data - in the example in this article, it’s related to DEIB work. I’ve led similar working groups and focus groups, and while I 100% believe surveys are valuable, the ability to ask follow up questions, clarify, and truly hear from folks adds a deeper level of diagnosing any problem.

• 📖 The A.I economy will make jobs more Human- With the rise of AI, the data and technology skills that have been so heavily sought after may be replaced. However the “soft” skills such as communication will be even more critical. With AI largely replacing routine tasks, the focus will be on people’s ability to connect with others, think critically and collaborate. This article outlines those shifts plus identified possible next steps for work and education. As was noted on a panel I recently attended, “The only people that AI will replace are the people not using AI.”

What I Am Working On

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

• Developing growth plans for yur emerging leaders or leadership team

• 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.

You can also go to my website to explore other services and ways to work together.