In a recent post in Medium, author Dr. Gitonga Muriithi says “Today’s leading organizations are no longer asking how to train their workforce. They are asking how to build adaptive, self-improving systems of capability development.”
Do you agree? Are you seeing this shift in your organization?
When the Link is Broken
Professional development or continuing education (or whatever you call it) is an opportunity for leaders, and every employee, to learn new skills, gain greater understanding about different topics and more. No matter what you learn, there is a triple win possible – a win for the learner, a win for the team, a win for the organization.
However, in my experience, the link between learning and implementation is broken. I have seen too many organizations bring in trainers, or send employees at all levels for training that never makes it way back into the workplace. The excitement for new opportunities, improvements and growth are brushed aside. Maybe the leader isn’t on-board with new ideas from team members. Maybe, everyone is too busy.
More often than not, there is no interest in finding out what the employee learned and how and why they can see it making things better in the workplace. This, in my opinion, is a lost opportunity. How many times have the learning events left an employee wondering why they were sent or wondering why they can’t implement this approach.
Learning to Improve Capacity
One of my clients was following this same path of sending people into different training programs. When I asked how they decided what programs to approve, who attended and how the learning was used to benefit the organization, Lucy (not her real name) looked at me and stayed silent. She didn’t have an answer to my questions because it was all haphazardly decided and little to nothing changed after they returned.
Lucy realized that a lot of time and money had been spent and opportunities to build capacity, to make the team and organization better were lost. She asked how to change this.
Together we established an overarching strategy surrounding professional development & training. It was tied to identified gaps, future goals and challenges, in addition to employee interest. We also explored how her boss’ lack of support and view that training was a waste of time and money could be repositioned — by demonstrating how learning was a vehicle to exceeding his existing metrics and more!
After six months, the proof of “the triple win” was evident. Employees, managers and directors were all bringing their learning back into the workplace. They would share how it could be leveraged to make things better or open a new opportunity for the team and organization. A willingness to take action along with glowing results were proof the shift was valuable.
Leadership Isn’t Adding More to Your Plate
The work Lucy and I focused on didn’t add more to her workload. It shifted it. A new perspective and a willingness to try something new was step one. Lucy quickly brought her team on board by truly focusing on what was in it for them. Team members were happy to know they would be learning things that interested them, and/or would make their job better.
The open communication and a group exploration process of how learning could translate into improvements they all benefited from was created. Over time they collectively created a culture of creativity and teamwork. Gaps and opportunities were identified. Challenges were explored and solutions planned and implemented. Lucy spearheaded these steps but the team became the drivers. The winners — everyone — Lucy, the entire team, and the organization.
Over the years I’ve worked with leaders I can’t count the number of times I have reminded them of their greatest asset – people. With my people-centered approach, I see first hand the impact that comes when you put people at the heart of business. Everything changes! Careers become more fulfilling, teams strengthen, and organizations flourish. The investment in your team – whether that is a workshop, a training program, or coaching – pays dividends and enhances the capability of your team to respond to the future
If you are interested in exploring how you can build capacity in your business or create transformational change through leadership, I invite you reach out to me for a short chat. We can explore your situation and goals.
Also, check out our coaching and online learning programs.
