L&D transformation: The messy reality and how to prepare for it
Laura Overton
Continually curious about learning innovation and business impact |Founder Learning Changemakers |Co-creator of Emerging Stronger
I?haven’t had much time in the last 6 weeks to really engage with the predictions and trend discussions taking place here in the L&D community on LinkedIn.
Since December my life has been defined by packing boxes, trips to the charity shops and recycling centres followed by an onslaught of drills and brick dust. We're at the beginning of a renovation (or a renno as my friend Michelle Ockers calls it!)?
Our home is defined by room structures established when Victoria was Queen of England. We now need a more flexible and fluid way of using the space.? We might be constrained by current structure and location but are enthusiastic about how it might serve us better.
What's more, we’ve been planning this transformation for what seems like years.
There's been excitement in the preparation phase - the discussions, the meetings with suppliers, watching endless reruns of Grand Designs and the trend spotting. It’s amazing how important a ‘what's hot and what's not' post becomes when you are thinking about change. The predictions, the practical 'how-tos' and the research and insights from others informed our debate and decisions.
Some ideas have even made it through to the budgeting and negotiation stages of the plan. And that’s before we even engaged with the builders!
Anticipation of and preparation for transformation released creativity and discussion, AND helped address doubts and fears but delivery of the vision is a whole new ballgame.?
It is a messy affair. Decluttering, boxing up, working out how to function amid dust, noise and chaos takes both mental and physical energy.
Living the metaphor
I’ve often talked about L&D transformation in builder’s terms as being like ‘rewiring the house with the lights on’.?
Industry debate around L&D transformation (aka revolution, reinvention, rethinking!) has been a constant for decades now. [Ref 1]
In books, conferences, podcasts and webinars we’ve discussed the need to respond faster to changing demands, the revolution from formal to informal, the move from courses to resources, from technology based to skills based.
All demand that we change our practice. Many require something more fundamental - a shift in paradigm and the way we think about the role and reason of L&D in the context of today’s work spaces.
The long and short of it is that our course programmes and curricula, LMS's and libraries are like the walls of our Victorian home - familiar and comfortable.? At some point we have to make a decision, to stick to the old for the sake of preserving history or to sensitively modernise to prepare for the future.
Over these first few weeks of my own transformation project, I’ve realised? that walking the walk is way harder than talking the talk that leads up to it!!?
I'm living the metaphor and the physical reality of transformation has been making me think about the ways we get ready for making a change.
In practical terms, how can we better prepare for successful transformations that lead to action?
Looking back to move forward
It turns out that I didn’t have to look very far for some answers. As part of my decluttering process, I found a set of CD’s from the Learning Technologies show in 2004. This had a collection of presentations from 20 years ago. Including the launch that I did of my first piece of independent research Linking Learning to Business with 15 learning leaders who had successfully transformed their practice and the responses of 2000 learners who had directly benefited from the change. [Ref 2]?
As I listened to the advice I was providing at the end of January 20 years ago I recognised that there are some timeless principles that can help prepare us for the fundamental shifts needed in our practice.
7 timeless principles to help prepare for transformation
‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ is not enough reason to change. Be clear about your own need for change and why it is important to you and your organisation. Those in my first study did what their business needed, not what someone else recommended.
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They also experimented! Enjoy the exploring phase while you can: the trends in work environments, what's new in technology, efficiency, sustainability, future proofing. Meet people. Discuss and work out how to visualise the ideas and adapt them to the vision you’re aspiring to.
Data is important, culture is important. Who else is living and working in your house of learning who can collaborate with you internally and externally?
Decisions shouldn’t be budget driven. Budget is a reality - adapt your ideas, be creative in the way that you interpret more for less. In terms of usability, how can we create more space with less clutter?? In terms of efficiency, how can we support more innovation with fewer gadgets?
I quoted William Morris, a renowned designer of the arts and crafts movement, 20 years ago in the context of L&D transformation, and I still believe this is a vital principle today.
Getting ready for transformation involved packing up. There is no point putting all of our content into a box and opening it 3 months down the line - clearing out now makes sense.
Living in a Victorian house comes with its own opportunities and challenges. You don't know if you will uncover an old gas source that fuelled a bedroom light or a pipe running counter to your expectations. Your L&D transformation will encounter challenges - you’re working with people and they are complex. Plan to be surprised and be willing to go with it.
Navigating the messy reality of transformation
It’s tougher to live through transformation than to talk about it, so I completely get why many of us put our transformation plans on hold. Sometimes transformation requires us to move and start again. But for many, we need to work out how to realise a new future in our current spaces previously defined by history and culture. Both require an ability to navigate through messy realities.
Preparing for the transformation of my home, I've had to become familiar with new technologies, trends, materials and eco-friendly practices. But there are also some fundamentals that do not change: principles around safety, space planning and the work triangle. These have grounded my thinking and helped me prepare for the future. They provide a sense of security for stepping into the unknown - something I can work with because I am not starting completely from scratch.
I have worked with and researched L&D innovation and transformation for, and have seen the principles discovered 20 years ago become timeless and trusted.
But I am always learning - what resonates with you and what have I missed? Do share the principles that have helped you navigate the messy realities of L&D transformation in your organisation in the comments below.
Finally... thank you for the global interest in Learning Changemakers . I might not publish a newsletter as often as LinkedIn would like, but I post when I am passionate about an opportunity for us to make a difference so... if you like what you read here, please subscribe and share with others! ??
[Ref 1] If you would like to dig deeper, a few examples of the industry research debate around L&D transformation for readers. I'm sure you have more!
[Ref 2] The Linking Learning to Business report contained the groundwork for a 20 year benchmark study for L&D practice. The study has developed and progressed through its Towards Maturity days and is now in the capable custody of Gent Ahmetaj, PhD and Anna Barnett PhD CPsychol who continue to provide The Learning Performance Benchmark via Mind Tools for Business https://www.mindtools.com/business/products/lpb/
Founder and Principal @ MindMastery Labs Creating Space for Growth | Learning & Development | Sales Training | Recruitment Training | Process Development | Consultant
8 个月What a great article, and a great point by Jennifer Macfarlane highlighting that employees do get through it as fast as possible. I think from my point of view really owning the vision of the where my client is now, and where they want to go is critical. And also understanding how those employees learn. From experience, very early on in my leadership career, I was too focused on how I wanted to deliver a training session, now I try and guide an employee to the end goal, how they learn effectively. The work that the NeuroLeadership Institute and Stella Collins really empathises your point Laura, which is to investigate. Thank you for writing.
Learning Leader | Sustainability Advocate | UN Women UK Participant UN CSW67 & CSW68 | HR Magazine Most influential Practitioner 2024
8 个月Great metaphor. Having both been through a renovation and spent a lot of years in this industry I would probably add in take time for a few breaths to the ‘preparing for transformation’ list. You need to try and steady yourself and channel a little bit of zen to cope with both the dust and mess and the whirlwind of tech change. Also trust in your experience. New ways of doing things don’t mean that all of the old is out of the door. They can co-exist to an extent
Investigation remains as important as ever, especially as markets change more rapidly. We need to be seeking new information and perspectives all the time! That can't be done passively,
Transformation | Team performance | Capability development | Managing change and uncertainty
9 个月Hi Laura, wonderful article! I really resonated with the "context is everything" concept. Too often people change their entire approach to learning (or home design) without understanding how that approach/design will actually improve things. Moving everything into e-learning seems great on paper but in reality most people just get through their learning as quickly as possible without actually taking much in. E-learning is great for some things, I love it for compliance training, but is not great for new capability acquisition. I also like William Morris's concept of keeping not just that 'you believe to be beautiful" but also the things that are useful. Finally, thanks for including the photo and what is your secret? I saw you present in Australia in EduTech2023 and you still look the same 20 years on!