I’m honored to be one of the speakers for Guy Wallace & George Gu’s ISPI Live series of live-streamed (and recorded) sessions (Aug 27, noon ET). I decided to speak about the topic of my 2014 book Revolutionize Learning & Development. The subtitle really says it all: Performance & Innovation Strategy for the Information Age. At core, it’s about a 21st Century L&D.
We start with the 20th Century model of an Industrial Age. Things didn’t change fast, and not everyone had the benefits of higher education. Of needs, a few thought for the many, and the many were in many ways cogs in a machine. Frequently, quite literally (think: time and motion studies, Taylorism, and scientific management).
We’re not in that era any more. We’ve moved from an industrial to an information age. Many (most?) folks now benefit from higher education. We have machines that can do manual work, and increasingly what makes a difference to organizational success is knowledge work. We recognize that pretty much everyone has something to contribute, and we need ways to work together and continue to develop as individuals and as organizations.
So, the premise is pretty simple, my cheeky statement that L&D isn’t doing what it could and should, and what it is doing, it is doing badly. In short, we’re doing bad learning design, and that’s all we’re doing. The general premise of this site’s posts is to go beyond courses and also consider using performance support. The particular focus of my columns has been that we should also be looking at informal learning as well.
The vision is of a ‘performance ecosystem’, that is a full suite of resources to support individuals performing optimally in the moment and developing over time. When we consider the full spectrum of individual’s expertise, they can range – in any of their areas of responsibility – from novice to expert. Of course, everyone benefits from performance support, when information can be in the world and not in the head. Courses, however, are most necessary for novices. They don’t know what they need to know, nor why.
However, as individuals become practitioners, they start knowing what’s important, and why, and they just need it! That means that, instead of courses, they need resources. And once they become experts, there isn’t anyone who can tell them what they need, instead they need the creative friction of interacting with other experts. All of this is bolstered by social interaction, so novices are coached to improve their performance, and practitioners are mentored towards expertise.
The point is that it’s not just about courses, but it’s also about resources – videos, podcasts, articles, etc – and then also communication and collaboration. The full suite of technology can and should be aligned to position people to be at their best. We’ve learned that means treating people humanely, fostering cultures where people understand what they’re doing and why it’s important, and it’s expected to experiment and share the learnings.
Ultimately, we want an environment aligned to continual learning; at every level, in every way. That’s the opportunity that awaits an enlightened L&D. It’s also one that, to me, is an empowering vision. I suggest we can, and should develop an evidence-based 21st Century L&D. What do you think?
HPT Treasures - for Evidence Based Performance Improvement 