LEARNABILITY 23 June

Welcome to summer! (or winter if you're south of the equator).

This is my LEARNABILITY 23 newsletter for June.

Let's get straight to your Learnability nuggets for this month.

?? HR

The EJM - do you have one?

When it comes to professional development, what do your people need to be able to do their job better? What are their main concerns and pain points? What is stopping them from achieving optimum performance?

And how can you be sure?

One way to increase the Learnability of your company is to create an Employee's Journey Map (EJM).

This is a document that covers stages such as Onboarding, Development, Retention and Exit, as well as any other stages you want to include. This document should clearly outline what challenges your employees face at each stage.

By identifying and addressing potential disengagement points of frustration or disengagement through mapping, you can increase job satisfaction and reduce turnover, leading to lower recruitment costs and higher productivity.

An up-to-date EJM allows you to provide your new recruits with the necessary resources and training, making them feel supported from day one, which, of course, accelerates their integration and reduces the time to full productivity.

So, let's go back to the original question... do you have an EJM?

If 'yes', when was it last reviewed by the people it is aimed to help?

If 'no', what is stopping you from creating one now?

?? Personal Development

The Problem With Starting With The End In Mind

If you've read Stephen Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," you'll be familiar with the heuristic "Start with the end in mind,".

Having clear goals when embarking on any project sounds like a no-brainer.

However, it might surprise you how difficult it is to pin down the 'end' of a learning process.

We are used to talking about our business goals in measurable terms such as deadlines, costs, or headcounts. But when it comes to our own development goals, we seem happy to resort to vaguer terminology such as 'better' or 'improve'.

If you are trying to get better at doing something, how can you tell you're succeeding?

Quite simply, you need to stop using woolly terminology and start using specifics.

Example 1: if you want to improve your empathy, your 'end' could be...

• More positive feedback from colleagues
• A higher score on an emotional intelligence assessment
• Fewer conflicts with your staff

Example 2: if you want to improve your time management, your 'end' could be...

• Increased completion of time-priority tasks
• Fewer days of getting home late
• Reduced stress level

Example 3: if you want to improve your public speaking skills, your 'end' could be...

• Higher scores on post-presentation evaluations
• Fewer filler words like 'um', 'er' and 'ok?'
• Less objects being thrown at you while on stage (you get the idea, don't you?)

So why not try it for yourself? The next time you attend a class, training, or whatever, ask yourself the question... 'If this is successful, what will I be able to do better afterwards, and how will I be able to tell?'

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?? Parents, educators & Lifelong Learners

When I stumbled across a video called The SAT Question Everyone Got Wrong, I fell in love.

It's just one of many fascinating videos on the Veritasium YouTube channel.

Veritasium is created by the amazing polymath Derek Muller . It covers thought-provoking ideas in physics, biology, engineering, and space through experiments, interviews, and fascinating discussions.

If you are a student, an educator, a Science Enthusiasts or 'just' a humble lifelong learner, you need to subscribe to this channel.

Derek is one of those wonderful people who can make complex concepts understandable and entertaining at the same time. His production standards are brilliant and he covers a wide range of topics that keeps the content fresh and appealing to a wide audience.

So the next time you have 30 minutes while travelling or waiting for a meeting to start, why not have a look at the simple SAT Question Everyone Got Wrong and see if you can do any better?

See the video here

?? Learning Clubs

Where the magic happens

In business, you have to keep learning to stay ahead of the game.

As a Learning Club facilitator, I’ve observed that the real magic happens when we have to justify our experiences and decisions to others.

This principle is particularly evident in Learning Clubs, where small groups of 4 people come together to share challenges, brainstorm solutions, and support each other.

In each session, the members share successes which boost confidence and inspire others. However, in the context of a Learning Club, this tendency can sometimes overshadow the more profound benefits that come from constructive challenging and critical feedback.

The real breakthroughs often happen when members are challenged on their strategies, decisions, and challenges.

Here’s why challenging is so powerful:

When a member is asked probing questions about their approaches and thought processes, it forces them to reflect on what has happened incorporating the point of view of the challenger. This new reflection can reveal underlying assumptions and areas for improvement that may not have been apparent before.

Challenging questions stimulate critical thinking and help sharpen reasoning and problem-solving skills. This critical examination can lead to more innovative and effective solutions.

Each member of the Learning Club brings their own unique perspective. When one person presents an issue they are dealing with, the questions from others can offer new viewpoints and insights. This diversity of thought is invaluable in identifying creative solutions and alternative approaches.

Asking, as well as facing, challenging questions can be uncomfortable for some, but it’s in this discomfort that true personal growth occurs. Members learn to embrace vulnerability, accept constructive criticism, and build resilience. These qualities are essential for continuous personal and professional development.

To maximize the benefits of questioning in Learning Clubs, it’s important to cultivate a culture of constructive inquiry.

So if you are running your own Learning Club, here are 2 key tips:

1. Encourage members to keep their reports short and make sure there is plenty of time for challenging questions and discussion.
2. Encourage members to challenge. Some members find it easier to be nice by giving praise, but a simple "well done!" doesn't create the magic. Most people benefit from being pushed outside their comfort zone.

In Learning Clubs, the real magic happens when members move beyond simply reporting their achievements and engage in constructive questioning. This process of challenging one another not only helps individuals to think outside the box but also drives reflection, innovation, and personal growth. By encouraging a culture of constructive questioning, Learning Clubs can unlock breakthroughs and support the continuous development of all members.

?? Leadership

Complementary Executive Development Assessment

Yes, this is a shameless plug, but it's still a genuine, good offer for any company in the area of Barcelona that is interested in strenthening its leaders

?? In what areas do you feel underconfident?

?? What elements of your job do you find draining?

?? What negative things do your critics say about your performance?

?? What skills will you need to improve to achieve your career goals?

?? What qualities do you admire in others that you aspire to?

?? What will happen in the next few years if you don't improve your skillset?

These are a few of the questions you'll be having to address if you invite me to run an executive development assessment.

It's 90-minutes opportunity to look at where you are at the moment, where you want to be and how you are going to get there.

The outcomes of this session are...

• A self-evaluation of quantum skills
• Identification of points for improvement
• A guide to strong and weak learning strategies
• An outline of how to develop your own personal development plan

And it's entirely free.

If you are interested in getting to know yourself better and getting to know me a little better, too. Contact me now, here on LinkedIn, and let's schedule a discovery meeting soon.

What I'm Doing At The Moment

As usual, I'm keeping my wonderful wife happy by letting her know what projects I'm working on (I think she's the only person who gets to this bit anyway).

• New Book: It's been in the pipeline for a while, but it's time I wrote my definitive book on Learnability. I've got the chapters sketched out and now it's just a question of filling in the gaps.
• Marketing: I'm continuing to follow the advice of my marketing mentor Cristóbal Rodríguez and keep posting articles and videos that support my branding.
• Free consultation/workshop: In case you skipped it, in order to build bridges with potential new clients, after the summer, I'll be offering a free executive development assessment, where attendees will be able to evaluate their, Learnability level, identify points for improvement, as well as start developing their own performance improvement strategy. This will last about 90 minutes. Preparing its content to get maximum benefit for all involved is one of my tasks this summer.
• IPA Creative L&D : My educational theatre company has now finished performing for this season and is now in the not-as-exciting-but-nevertheless-just-as-important process of cleaning and maintenance before costumes and props are stored away. I'm also happy to say, we have taken on extra support to answer all the calls we receive reserving performances for next season.