LEARNING IS NOT FAST: The unfair and unrealistic expectations of employees needs to stop

I have been in the learning and development industry for nearly 20 years. I have worked all around the world, developed hundreds of learning programs, and taught thousands of students and employees. Time and time again, I witness the same MADNESS when it comes to learning – and it’s time to stop.  

The madness I’m referring to? I often see learning and training in organizations reduced to a mere checklist item, an inconvenient obligation to be fulfilled, a performance requirement for annual reviews. Rarely do I see organizations approaching learning in a way that is fulfilling, meaningful and valuable. 

Learning is so much more than this. It’s a way to enhance our skills, abilities, and confidence. It’s a way to spark our curiosity and it allows us to create more. And if that weren’t enough, it's a means to keep our brains active and healthy as we age.  

Remember that feeling the first time you rode your bike without anyone holding onto it? Yeah –  that over-the-moon ecstatic feeling? As children, we all felt that joy when learning something new. But, somewhere between then and the 15 years of the traditional education system, many of us lost the pleasure and excitement of learning. We also may have forgotten that learning is a journey, with many ups and downs along the way. 

This is especially apparent in organizational learning. More often than not, the expectations put on employees to learn quickly and transfer that learning immediately to produce results, are completely unrealistic. 

What has this led to in the past and what’s in store as a result? Frustration, stress, more pressure, lack of results, attrition and layoffs, to name a few. It pains me to think this is what “learning” is now. But, I am confident that this can change.

This is a driving force and why I so strongly advocate for and educate on the science of learning. Learning is not fast. Performance is fast (see my previous article Are you learning or are you performing?). But learning is a process that requires a change at a cellular level in your brain – and that takes time.  

You wouldn’t go to the gym for one session and expect to wake up with perfectly toned muscles. Yet, this is the kind of unrealistic expectation we set on the brain to learn, and people to change as a result of that learning. 

I have dedicated years to expanding my knowledge and gaining credentials in neuroscience. I do all of this to be part of a change: to bring the reality of the learning process into the learning industry and organizational practices. And I get to do this while teaching people about their brains, how they learn, and how to design learning with science. I strive to do this credibly, ethically and with respect to the research and work of those who I translate. 

I’ll continue to do the endless hours or research, attend lectures at hospitals, meet with scientists and academics, and donate my brain and time to cognitive studies, to ensure that the integration of the sciences is done with validity. This is my purpose and my pleasure. But organizations have a role to play as well, so today I ask you this: 

Can you slow down in order to speed up? Can you give people the time required for them to truly learn and remember? Can you bring the challenge, pleasure, and curiosity back to learning – for yourself and your organization? 

And, if you’re ready to do this, is there any way I can help? I’m always here to talk about how we can make learning better at your organization, and I look forward to doing so.