The best L&D resources of August 2020

The COVID-19 shock has passed and we're starting to focus on controlling the damage it left behind and looking towards what the future is holding for us as a function and for everyone in the work environment. In August, conversations were sparked around mitigating stress and igniting individual purpose to prepare for a world different than what we were used to.

Hope the following resources will help you catch-up with the L&D sphere. If you have any other articles, books, reports that could help our network stay up to date, feel free to share them in the comments.

Enjoy!

ARTICLES

1. Passion of the explorer

As one of the latest Deloitte articles points out Passion, the specific type we call the passion of the explorer can fuel the individual’s motivation for learning. The ability to learn fast and adapt to new situations are regulars on the future of work skills lists. Beyond helping people perform on current roles, our mission is to prepare them for what’s next, to cultivate learning agility. In your organization, there's a specific group of people for whom doing so is even more important, as their profile is already primed for passion: the explorer.

The attributes of the passion of the explorer:

2. Igniting individual purpose in times of crisis

Purpose can be an important contributor to employee experience, which in turn is linked to higher levels of employee engagement, stronger organizational commitment, and increased feelings of well-being.

This article underlines the importance of using individual purpose as a guidepost that helps people face uncertainty and navigate it better. Mckinsey researched this subject and came up with 9 types of purpose: achievement, conservation, caring, freedom, respect, tradition, enjoyment, stability, equality & justice. In order to spark the conversation around individual purposes, you need to focus on self-reflection and add empathic check-ins with direct reports on your leader's agenda.

3. Bridge across uncertainty

In the past few months, you probably felt this more than the usual - stress. Moreover, you've heard most of your colleagues complain about it, and as an L&D you want to do something about it. This resource is a good first step to understand the types of stress we experience, and how do we get from the good stress to the bad and toxic one. In different stages, there are ways we can mitigate toxic stress, and right now it feels like we are in a place where we should support people in recovery and adaptation with flexibility, compassion, and continued resources.

4. The most fundamental skill: Intentional learning and the career advantage

“Learning itself is a skill. Unlocking the mindsets and skills to develop it can boost personal and professional lives and deliver a competitive edge”.

This article talks about two fundamental mindsets we should nurture: (1) growth mindset, and (2) curiosity. How to do that? By setting small, clear goals, removing distraction, actively seeking actionable feedback, practicing deliberately, and reflecting.

6. The promise of L&D ROI

Both articles in this series talk about one of my favorite L&D topics: learning measurement. As I understood in the past few months, the first step to measure learning is becoming aware of its importance. If you're not aware yet, this article is both a wake-up call and a guide that could accompany you in the challenging journey of learning analytics.

5. Shattering the way L&D thinks about measurement

Square peg. Round hole. This is the problem with learning measurement.”

I love this quote, as it puts into fancy words what I realized a couple of months ago. I was constantly looking at measurement practices developed years and years ago, when it hit me how much learning has changed and how hard it is to apply one framework to every L&D goal we have nowadays. This article showcases some key principles of good data and places where we can look for it.

7. How to Take Personal Development Off the Backburner — Tactical Frameworks for Leveling Up

In an effort to support the daily routine of personal development, First Round Review brought together all types of articles that could help along a learning journey. They gathered a compelling list of articles on prioritization, relationship management, career management, or embracing criticism.

Personal development strikes us as more expansive — the ongoing work to uplevel yourself in pursuit of learning and creeping ever closer towards those ambitious goals. 

8. Your people’s personal development plan

What's the purpose of a personal development plan? Giving you guidance and keeping you involved and accountable throughout your learning journey. In order for people to write down a PDP you need buy-in from your leaders, as they are a pillar to provide employees feedback, resources, context, and guidance throughout their journey. Beyond that, leaders can lead by example and share their PDPs to ignite curiosity and accountability.

PODCASTS

A Real L&D Transformation with Sean Cooper

When Sean Cooper took over L&D at Jet2 he was given a blank sheet of paper to redesign it but to achieve real business outcomes. By believing that he could this with digital-first, rather than classroom-first, and by adopting a data-driven and Agile approach, he transformed L&D, achieving more than he thought he could - and was recognized by the industry. 

To Build Grit, Go Back to Basics

Shannon Huffman Polson, a consultant and former military pilot, experienced early on how to build grit. At 19, she was the youngest woman to summit Denali, North America’s highest peak. Then she overcame many obstacles to fly U.S. Army attack helicopters. Today Polson coaches people on developing grit in their careers and workplaces. Building it like a muscle, the process begins with recognizing your story and understanding your core purpose. And she explains how it’s still possible to strengthen even during a pandemic when you’re extremely stressed and strained. 

The New L&D Approach: Enhanced Blended Learning Experiences. W/ Lavinia Mehedin?u

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to join The Learning Experience podcast to chat about how the digital environment is transforming the way we do training. Long story short, we talked about going from a couple of days of training to building learning experiences that tackle spaced repetition, real-world practice, and chunked learning. 

How to Empower Employees Through Empathetic Leadership

“The best leaders start with humility, believing they don’t know all they need to know before they start making decisions.”

Jim has been working at Steelcase for more than 20 years, where he has honed his empathetic and empowering leadership style. In this episode of the Creative Confidence Podcast, Jim shares advice for leading with humility, why listening is more valuable than speaking, and how he empowers his employees to make decisions in the face of ambiguity.

WEBINARS & EVENTS

Culture Amp - Designing an equitable performance assessment process

Learning Tech Talks - Unlock Potential with Personalized Coaching

Learning Tech Talks - eLearning is Not the Problem

Learning Tech Talks - Operationalizing the Learning Process

Learning Out Loud - How to Stay Relevant as a Learning Leader in the Age of Uncertainty

BONUS

Uncharted Territory - A Guide to Reimagining Higher Education

Although not L&D related research, the Uncharted Territory is a must-read for everyone who's thinking about the Future of Education & Learning. The report is a combination of ideation & real case studies about how organizations could or are already implementing personalization, data analytics, project-based learning, and the focus on the future of work skills.

OFFBEAT - THE ACTIONABLE L&D NEWSLETTER

If you are not subscribed yet to Offbeat, you can explore the past issues by clicking on the links below.

15/ L&D Newsroom | Cultivating passion | On Microlearning

14/ An Onboarding program that matters | Becoming measurement aware | L&D Newsroom

13/ On Leadership Development

12/ The best L&D resources of July 2020

11/ The no regrets skillset

10/ What's a talent marketplace?

9/ On why mentorship programs fail

8/ What Offbeat subscribers want to learn

7/ The best L&D resources of June 2020

6/ Technology and L&D, a romance novel

5/ Lack of learner time is not the problem

4/ Moving from learning events to learning experiences

3/ Are we learning the right way?

2/ Learning in the flow of work

1 / The one where it all began

If you want to get curated L&D resources every week straight to your inbox, subscribe to Offbeat - https://www.offbeat.works. I'm putting all my passion into making this newsletter great for L&D peers, so any feedback is more than welcomed.