The Matrix Fallacy – Part 2 of 3

Why we can't just upload expertise from the Skills Matrix and what to do instead

In Part I we covered the importance of training and the unrealistic expectations around short course training. We discussed what people, who have taken the first step in their learning journey can do to embed their learning.

See Part I Here: The Matrix Fallacy: Part I

In a nutshell, people need to master the skills they have been introduced to in the real world, outside of the classroom. To do so people need to practice and adjust behaviors to become proficient in something new.

Part II describes the benefits of a focused and supportive learning environment. We outline how individuals and a new type of leader is needed to support individual and collective advancement.

Insight to grasp: Individuals need to take responsibility and accountability of their own learning, and similarly line managers (leaders) need to create an environment conducive to learning, to support growth and development.

It takes two to Tango

Training is the first step in supporting the humans who work tirelessly to further the organization's mission and vision, but who, to do so, are likely to need a skills refresh.

Organizations who invest in a relevant skills refresh, are demonstrating the willingness to commit to growing the engine room of the organization. And also in the growth of the individuals who are most likely to pay it back. This is about investing in people who in turn are likely to return that investment by working more effectively, more creatively and thereby ensuring a more relevant organization to its stakeholders.

Not all training is a once-off download after which people are able to practice the methods with ease. Complex practices require providing people with the space and time to embed new knowledge through doing (learning by doing). Creating a safe area for employees to practice is part of the solution. And it will be more effective to support these new practice by putting in place projects on which they can exercise these new found methods.

Individuals need to navigate ownership of the learning journey and balance this with the organizations needs for relevant skills.

Below is a summary of the necessary considerations for successful training implementation:

• Continuous Learning: Training and development initiatives are ongoing and necessitate the buy in of the individual as well as the team around them.
• Address relevant Skills Gaps: Address the skills gaps by identifying industry trends or technological advancements needed in the organization that people are interested in taking on.
• Technological Solutions: Leverage eLearning platforms, virtual simulations, and mobile applications enhances skill development especially through micro learning to keep a new practice fresh and evolving.
• Interactive Elements: Incorporating hands-on activities, group discussions, and problem-solving exercises improves proficiency, that enable a social learning element.
• Action Learning: Plan an action learning component to ensure the practical components of the training have a sandpit in which they can be practiced

Where individuals commit to their own learning, transformation may take place. There is a catch however. It is essential that a culture of enablement is practiced within a “action learning environment” and that requires the support of reporting managers with an open mindset.

An army of practitioners

And hence an organization of practitioners forms with people who are continuously upgrading skills, improving outcomes and creating value. People who are not falsely arrogant or egotistically driven, but people who are authentically building themselves to be better versions of themselves. When people are willing to improve themselves, then this can lead to a series of transformations that build a more mature and evolving organization.

Transformation Enablement

Transformation is best delivered in a way that empowers people to take ownership of the elements that are within their control. This is best facilitated by helping people to work on the edge of their comfort zone and to initiate reinforcing loops that encourage and enable new ways of working.

And so a new kind of manager must populate these “learning organizations” who strives to humanize work and the natural learning cycles that people need to shift their behavior. Humans are not machines, hence we are fallible. We need to make mistakes and then through these lessons, learn to adapt and improve.

A “learning organization” is one that enables learning cycles and adapts to technology and skills gaps with aplomb

And managers who are leaders are needed for this to happen. Such leaders should create Action Learning Projects for their teams to hone a new craft, improve soft skills and practice more technical skills to assess their impact on current work systems within the workplace.

Action Learning projects enable leaders to advance the interests of the organisation while also enabling staff to advance and grow through experiments to develop confidence and then proficiency.

Action learning takes account of the fact that learning is not as easy as downloading a program to fly a helicopter in #TheMatrix video link-> The Matrix: Can you fly that thing?

A new kind of leader

“Reporting managers” need new leadership skills to aid and support colleagues who are stepping into new roles and developing new skills to grow their own and therefore performance.

Hence, these leaders need reinforcement on how to behave, and how to encourage progress and step into the shoes of being a natural leader in a rapidly changing world.

Activities leaders should follow to create a learning environment are:

1.????? Set up self-organizing teams - let go of the "command and control" mindset

2.????? Be supportive of work experiments and empathize with any challenges

3.????? Provide autonomy and insisting on accountability to self-correct

4.????? Let teams self-regulate without repercussions for experiments conducted safely

5.????? Rewarding and recognizing success and lessons learned

Should the above supportive conditions exist, teams are likely to make progress, build rapport, generate new strengths and the superpowers that generate internal and collective growth.

And leaders themselves need to practice self-awareness and emotional and social intelligence to set up safe working environments and most importantly self-regulate their own emotions, ego’s and convictions.

Self-awareness is frequently absent in autocratic and output related organizations. And as a result trust between staff and reporting managers is low.

Trust leads to success

Instructions that are passed on autocratically may not be owned by the team and where these type of managers “micro-manage” lessons are difficult to come by. Personal and organization growth is ?therefore often stunted by these type of insecure or fear driven “managers”.

Trust based systems are far more effective, far more cohesive. They result in harmonious situations, shared effort and often the resulting alignment produces a shift in progress.

Transparency is the currency of trust. Transparency delivers early warning systems that help mitigate the adverse effects of mistakes or so-called failures.

So what outcomes can we expect in a ?trust based environment in a fast-moving world characterized by change?

Individuals and teams who are supported along their learning journeys demonstrate the following:

• Sense of Achievement: Lifelong learners derive satisfaction and pleasure from exercising their abilities and pushing themselves to develop new skills.
• Ownership and Motivation: Empowering employees to take ownership of their learning journey fosters innovation, adaptability, and loyalty.
• Social Motivation: Joining a continuous course or synchronous cohort provides camaraderie and serves as a motivator to improve.
• Focus on Clear Goals: Being aware of specific career goals of staff can help keep learning focused and purposeful thereby impacting strongly on value creation or other benefits.

Proficiency isn’t just about technical competence; it’s also about how individuals feel as they engage with their learning journey. And if leaders in the organization do not create an environment conducive to learning, employees will become disheartened and possible disengage.

Emotions matter

We are not yet machines, impervious to how we feel. As hard as corporate CEO's become, they too have emotions. And of course so do staff. Feelings matter. Motivated and engaged staff feel recognized for their achievements. They tell their friends when they succeed at doing new things and they feel more accomplished when they complete tasks, make progress and take extraordinary steps in progress.

And these lead to a sense of self-actualization. So becoming proficient, helps with overall growth and development of individuals and leads to a more confidents and successful group of staff. And success matters when it comes to winning customers, creating partnerships and building ecosystems.

So, encouraging a culture of continuous learning and celebrating achievements can lead to both skill enhancement, positive emotions and a thriving harmonious organization.

And happy employees are likely to result in happy customers! ????

The Matrix Part III will cover how in an innovation context, teams can develop new capabilities for building a relevant and adaptive organization.

For further reading:

Reference: https://hbr.org/2018/01/4-habits-of-people-who-are-always-learning-new-skills