Functional Medicine as a model for L&D

Functional Medicine determines how and why illness occurs and restores health by addressing the root causes of disease for each individual. Conventional medicine, on the other hand, often focuses on addressing individual symptoms.

In organisations (whether as managers or L&D practitioners) we frequently follow the more conventional approach and address the symptoms of issues rather than the root causes. For example, in an organisation, sales may be down. The request then comes in “we need sales training, quickly!” It is assumed that there is obviously a skills deficit and by providing a training course (whether face-to-face, virtual, or online) that particular problem will be solved. A course may indeed be the answer, but how much more valuable would it be to first delve down and address the root causes before the solution is designed? Perhaps we need to think about how the sales people are rewarded, how they are appraised, what the market is like, what other activities do they spend their day doing, are they playing to their strengths, is there one specific skill or behaviour that needs addressing, and so on. It is essential to look at the whole system and the root causes before we devise the solution.

Functional Medicine practitioners spend time with their patients, listening to their histories and looking at the interactions among genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that can influence long-term health and complex, chronic disease. In this way, Functional Medicine supports the unique expression of health and vitality for each individual.

However, as L&D practitioners, or the people commissioning learning within an organisation, how much time do we actually spend understanding the real business issues, the pinch points, and how everything links in practice? Not just at a superficial level, such as the annual learning needs analysis – but a deep dive into the whole interlinking system from the top down as well as the impact on individuals from the bottom up. It is far easier, and often quicker, to just build a course. But will this really give us the impact and sustainable solution we are seeking? How often do we understand the individual gaps and what will not merely address the symptoms but the underlying causation? To really provide value, we must ensure that we understand the root cause of a performance issue before leveraging time and other resources shooting at the wrong target.

In today’s environment, business leaders and managers are faced with the huge task of trying to lead their teams through these rapidly changing times. Management often turns to learning experts to fix performance issues. Typically, though, the request received is reactionary, with little to no time spent determining the true cause of the performance issue. While training may give the team a boost to help improve performance, this approach often leads to a narrow, event-based solution to learning and development that falls short of addressing ongoing needs.

Taking the lessons from Functional Medicine

How often is the performance issue only a training matter? All in all, not very often. It’s well worth an investment of time to identify the true root of the issue so the most appropriate remedies can be applied that will benefit the business and the individual.

“Every business leader would agree that L&D must align with a company’s overall priorities. Yet research by McKinsey has found that many L&D functions fall short on this dimension. Only 40 percent of companies say that their learning strategy is aligned with business goals. For 60 percent, then, learning has no explicit connection to the company’s strategic objectives. L&D functions may be out of sync with the business because of outdated approaches or because budgets have been based on priorities from previous years rather than today’s imperatives, such as a digital transformation.”

L&D leaders need to, more than ever, embrace a broader role within the organisation so that the bigger picture can be fully assessed.  They need to push back at the shorter term Looking at learning needs at both a systemic and an individual level allows us to surface issues before they become issues. It is like ‘preventative’ medicine. Good nutrition, adequate sleep and appropriate exercise can help prevent many illnesses. Likewise, what can we do in our organisations, to ensure we are not waiting until an issue becomes urgent and we resultingly put a plaster over the wound rather than confront the root cause?

So, to find the root cause:

·      Look at the whole system

·      Understand the individual

And in the longer term:

·      Understand the organisation and where it wants to get to

·      Tackle systems and processes that are not supporting the vision

·      Put opportunities to learn in place that meet the vision, before they become urgent – be they on-the-job, peer support, social learning, micro-learning – or even traditional classroom, online or virtual courses.