3 Essential Lessons from My 20 Year Career in Learning and Development
Heather Burright
I help nonprofits strengthen their teams and scale their impact by designing training that drives real behavior change and improves performance | Top 2.5% Podcast | Speaker | Community Builder
Reflections on a 20 Year Career in Training & Development
To kick off the new year, I thought it would be fun to reflect on my 20ish year career in L&D.?
I honestly thought this would be a fun, easy episode to produce that would still provide a lot of value and would be great for the beginning of the year. I was wrong, at least on part of that.
This was NOT an easy episode to write.?
How can I summarize what I've learned across 20 years? I know I'm going to forget something important, but I still think it's worth it.?
I often get asked how people can transition into L&D:?
I feel strongly that you don't need a formal education in adult learning to be a good instructional designer. But I do think instructional designers have to be open to learning new things.??
That’s why on episode 115 of the podcast I'm doing my best to share three of the most valuable things I've learned in my career.
Three Essential Lessons for Learning & Development Practitioners
?? Understanding.
L&D is all about the people you work with, the people you work for, and the people you create learning for. We want to know and understand what the needs of these people are and how we can best meet them. We have to learn about about build relationships with our key audiences.
We have to understand people.
?? Behavior.
Almost anything we create in L&D is a change project. It's intended to change something. So we need to know how to identify what the change is and how to create that behavior change.
We are change practitioners.
?? Growth Mindset.
We have to be committed to trying new things, testing new things, and learning from those things.
We are continuous learners.
Upcoming Events for L&D Pros
2025 Nonprofit L&D Collective Kickoff
We are excited to start the year off with a kickoff / happy hour celebration in January 2025!
If you've been curious about the Nonprofit L&D Collective, this is a great opportunity to show up, meet some new people in nonprofit L&D roles, and celebrate the new year.
???Zoom
?? Jan 13
?? 6-7:30 pm CT
This event is open to all nonprofit employees in a training or leadership development role. Reach out to Heather Burright to see if it's a good fit for you.
领英推荐
The Business of Learning: How to Position Learning for Your Audience
You spend so much of your time understanding audience needs and creating the best solution to meet those needs.
But if you are in a federated nonprofit or a membership association, you might just launch it out into the world and hear...crickets.
In this Nonprofit L&D Learning Circle, nonprofit L&D pro Shari Pobjecky of SAI International, will share her insights about the business of learning.
How can we best appeal to our audience and position our learning for them?
That's what we'll learn in this session just for nonprofit L&D pros!
???Zoom
?? Jan 23
?? 11-12 CT
This event is open to all nonprofit employees in a training or leadership development role. Reach out to Heather Burright to see if it's a good fit for you.
Career Conversation with Nonprofit L&D Pro, Nadra Dennis
What types of L&D roles are available in nonprofits?
What types of nonprofits hire L&D roles?
I get questions about nonprofit L&D careers a lot, so in this series, we will be meeting nonprofit L&D pros and learning more about their organizations, who they create training for, how big or small their team is, and so much more!
Plus, we'll hear their career journey with all its twists and turns.
This is the perfect event for you if you are in nonprofit L&D or are considering pivoting into nonprofit.
?? LinkedIn Live
?? Jan 28
?? 1:15-2 CT
Join us Jan 28 for our first career conversation.
We'll hear from Nadra Dennis from the Center for Employment Opportunities.
This event is open to anyone. RSVP here.
Additional Resources Just for You
?? Follow or subscribe to the podcast on Apple or Spotify so you don’t miss next week’s episode. I'll be talking to a client about how we used a blended learning model to create behavior change.
?? Not in the nonprofit sector but looking for a new role? Join my email list and get a nonprofit L&D job direct to your inbox every Monday.
?? Working inside a nonprofit or association? Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective, a community of nonprofit and association L&D pros where you can connect with each other, learn from industry leaders and tech vendors, and find the support you need to make a real impact.
P.S. Here's how we can work together. I help nonprofit and association teams create behavior change by partnering with them on their instructional design and leadership development needs. If you have training needs coming up, schedule a call with me so we can explore what this would look like for you.
Conscious Social Entrepreneur who is leading by example. Coach, Facilitator, Writer & Speaker on Self-Advocacy, Wellbeing & Leadership
1 个月Couldn't agree more! I find myself in a space of co-creation with my L&D work. I bring the "best practice" to the table, and clients bring the brilliance of their lived experience. I can't tell you how much I'm learning from them.
Leader of Team Creating Innovative Training Solutions to Empower Marines and their Families
1 个月I feel the same way as you do. Can it be helpful? Certainly. In my role, all of my team have needed to upskill to be most effective (including me). The degree helps identify the areas that require upskilling but not whether it’s necessary. There’s also noticeable difference between those who have learned by doing and those who learned in a classroom.
The Service Culture Guide | Keynote Speaker
2 个月Deciding on whether to get a degree is in itself a test for instructional designers. The smart ones turn to a gap analysis. 1. What skills do I need to achieve my goal? 2. What skills do I have now? 3. What's the gap? This is something I've seen instructional designers consistently struggle with over my 20+ years of mentoring training professionals. (PS. I don't have a degree in adult learning.)
We partner w/orgs to transform their people into outstanding communicators | CEO of The Bergerac Group | TheBergeracGroup.com
2 个月Agree Heather -- I'm a big believer that you can learn what you need to learn outside "formal education". I've done that so many times.
Environmental Economist | Strategic Planner | Researcher | Collaborator
2 个月similarly, I will continue to insist that you don't need a degree in planning to be a good planner. This logic probably applies to many areas.