My journey to L&D, what I've learned so far and where I think we're going next

I’ve been wanting to write this blog for some time but either not had a chance or just made excuses.

I am not your 'normal' kind of L&D professional or leader and find I often butt up against traditional educational ways of doing things and mindsets. Let me qualify that.

So, a bit of a trip down memory lane. I left school with no qualifications of any note, I could not and still cannot engage with traditional learning, I despise learning styles and I am not a fan of personality indicator types e.g. MBTI etc. I am also not in any way wedded to classroom training or e-learning.

School and Education was for me an ordeal. As someone with learning difficulties, I just could not engage with the 'rote learning' that was required in order to succeed. You see, the problem was my brain just didn't work that way.

Teachers just didn’t get why I didn't get it, I didn't get why I didn't get it and slowly but surely I bombed out of education and flunked my exams - well the ones I actually turned up for. My education was therefore mainly spent mastering Street Fighter 2 at the local arcade when I should have been revising for GCSEs. Nobody seemed bothered so I wasn’t. It just felt like that’s how it was. (I was shit hot at Hadokens - if you know, you know).

I’ve accepted now that it was the education system that failed me, even though I was led to believe that I failed education for a long time. I just didn’t fit the mould. I don’t even know if Neurodiversity was even a word back then let alone supported.

My real education started when I left school. I entered the world of work at a very young age (15) and my first few jobs were all very hands-on, no training or classrooms, real learning through experience. There was no classroom or e-learning it was very much learning in the flow of work.

I eventually fell into the Civil Service by chance rather than by design. I had just been made redundant from my job as a printer which led to me signing on. I’ll forever be grateful to my personal adviser in the Jobcentre who said why don’t you come work for us. I remember at the time thinking and saying I can’t do that - I can't work for the state. My confidence and belief in myself were low, but with some help, I filled in the (complex) application form for an admin assistant. If you can’t beat them, join them I thought and briefly set aside my anti-establishment views.

And so it was here in what was locally lovingly referred to as the 'sick building' and not because it was cool, in the shadow of Five Ways Island Birmingham that my thirst for learning began. Never before had I been provided with so many opportunities to learn and develop and I quickly rose from the copying room. I did start to wonder why all learning events always took place in a classroom environment (?).

Without losing you at this point, there is a point to all this I promise you, I progressed through the ranks and worked my way across some of the major Whitehall Departments, gaining experience and qualifications at the same time. However, despite these successes, one thing that evaded me was a career anchor. I became a jack of all trades and master of none. Then one day, a friend and mentor pointed out to me that I was really good with people, developing others and naturally curious. They suggested a move to HR. I’d never really linked my experiences but it all made sense. Eventually, after being an HR generalist, I kind of fell into L&D (even though I've always been involved in it in some way or other) and I knew I'd finally found my calling.

Fast forward to the present day. I've just completed an 18-month stint in my first really strategic L&D role where I've had almost complete autonomy to shape the L&D agenda and here's what I've learned from that experience.

I’ve seen how stuck in the past we’ve become as a profession across all sectors and how utterly entrenched the training and order taking mindset is amongst not only ourselves but our stakeholders. I don’t accept that it has to be this way and I felt compelled recently to speak out on this subject in a revolutionary context and thanks very much to David James my message (and rallying call) has been heard by many. You can listen to the podcast HERE.

Let's be clear. Nobody holds a monopoly on learning and to suggest that they do is frankly ridiculous. Learning will happen with or without L&D - fact! People do have time to learn but only if it's something that deeply connects with them and or helps them achieve something.

L&D’s role should not be order takers and content dumpers we are so much more than that. We need to reframe our entire mission statement and purpose to one that supports organisations to address and fix real business issues at the point of need and focus on performance support. This is the future friends and it is here we can add measurable value - not in the classroom.

Furthermore, let us have a serious discussion about dropping the learning monocle altogether, I mean talk about sending out the wrong message. We can, of course, and should support learning infrastructure and cultures of learning but we should not try to own this, it must be self-directed and organic - not prescriptive. Let learning happen and support it. We are obsessed with measuring everything. We don't need to - measure what matters and have clear parameters for doing so.

My friends, learning is in itself a fluid process and our role is to enable that flow not try box it in. You cannot contain the ocean. My learning journey now continues as I seek out a new role where I can apply what I've learned and continue to learn myself on this journey.

“Be water my friend” 

– Bruce Lee