Know Your Role, Jabroni

At a recent event, I was walking around when I stumbled upon a session. I don’t remember the exact title, but it was something along the lines of “Driving Performance through Learning.” Given it contained two of my favorite words, I found a seat. I’m also always interested to hear what others have tried to see whether it soared like an eagle or crashed in a glorious ball of flames.

As I sat back in my chair, a polished presenter took the podium garnished with some professionally designed slides. He quickly grabbed everyone’s attention with a few sarcastic learning quips. This well-dressed gentleman had clearly attended more than one Executive-Ready Presentations class. I could tell that no matter the content, I was in for an engaging session.

He started off sharing a number of practical ways he had approached learning in a corporate environment. From there, he took us on a small detour to highlight some evolving technologies. Up to this point, he had my full attention with a few exceptions where my mind began contemplating practical applications. As I drifted back from one of my mental interruptions, the dynamics of the room had dramatically shifted.

There was suddenly an energy that felt similar to a motivational speech, and then I heard the three words that had everyone on their feet.

“We Drive Performance!”

In an unexpected twist, the presenter had completely bypassed the importance of business leaders and their organizations in the performance equation. By his definition, learning wasn’t a variable in a larger equation, it was the entire equation. As I looked around, it was obvious the presenter had everyone salivating at the idea of learning being the real driver in business performance. It portrayed business performance as a mere marionette that we could control.

I can’t say how the presentation concluded. After seeing where things were headed, the novelty of the presenter quickly faded. I returned to my cerebral retreat to evaluate and prioritize how to apply the earlier concepts given my vastly different perspective on driving performance.

Now, I will clarify, over the years, I’ve been in a few situations where I’m confident that, if put in the position to do so, the learning organization could have driven performance more effectively than the business. However, that hasn’t led me to conclude learning is the solution to driving business performance, and I appreciate that it never will be. When I’ve been in those situations, I’ve worked diligently to get as far away as possible. When learning is responsible and accountable for driving the ship, you’re headed straight for an iceberg.

Instead, I see business performance as a complex equation with a multitude of variables, learning being one, but leadership being the great divisor. Trying to drive business performance void of leadership is like trying to divide an equation by zero. It can’t be done.

So what’s my point? First of all, if performance truly is your priority, stop fighting for your time in the limelight and focus on partnering with the great divisor. Second, be realistic about the role learning plays in business performance and set your expectations accordingly. It’s easy to let our passions get the best of us when selling our value, but I can assure you empty promises won’t help. I’ve seen many a learning leader shown the door for promising performance they couldn’t deliver.