Learning and Development leaders could choose to change the system which holds them back...

"Some people are just toolists. They believe that tools change the world. Not insight."

Nils Pflaeging

The world now seems to be changing faster than many would have thought possible. Ideas around 'leadership', 'the future of work', 'purpose', 'connection', 'activism' and 'change' all have renewed resonance and urgency.

Against this dynamic backdrop, the work of "corporate learning" often seems like a relic of the industrial era. An outdated model - a small cog in the 'old system'.

Learning leaders can also choose to start to change - by influencing the management system within which they operate, otherwise the cycle of "doing the wrong things righter" will persist.

A powerful starting point for Learning and Development leaders can to change they way they describe the ambition, intent, focus and contribution of their work:

We help people to connect, participate and take more responsibility for the future of the organisation 

We enable and accelerate agency and self-determination across the organisation 

We facilitate discovery

We energise people, focus them and help them to succeed 

We lead on the culture and capability needed to solve new challenges

We help to build an organisation where everyone can contribute their gifts to a community 

We are breaking down barriers, accelerating collaboration at scale and giving people the freedom to create previously unseen opportunities

We are helping the organisation connect to its new context

We are actively helping the organisation to shift from just "problem and solution" thinking

We are enabling people to become active contributors to the future of their organisation

We help good ideas to move faster 

We enable, accelerate and share new connections and conversations

We are helping to create the conditions for more new and better questions

We are identifying and accelerating the most valuable and differentiating capabilities and thinking from inside and outside the organisation 

We are helping to build the bridge between aspiration and opportunity

We are actively helping to change the current management model that is now holding the organisation back...


Paul helps Learning and Development leaders who are choosing to contribute to a new future for their organisation

www.jocelynconsultingltd.co.uk
I work as a thinking partner and advisor with mid sized, value oriented companies going through significant change. I help you to build new capability and mindsets through shifting your approach to organisational development.

Comments

Post a Comment

Please let me know your thoughts on this...

Popular posts from this blog

The human stuff is the basis of 'digital learning transformations'...

The human stuff is the basis of 'digital learning transformations'. The technology platforms are secondary. They work best when: They help to simplify or speed up what people have always done while working; (research / answer questions / share / store) They enable people to work in new ways that they have learned are more efficient and effective; (cooperatively / 'out loud' / across different teams) A 'digital mindset' for businesses could include these ideas: Constant change is inescapable - so it's curiosity and adaptability that create value in work teams New possibilities and solutions come from connecting many sources of information People can take responsibility for solving work problems Failing fast is helpful Creating wide and diverse networks of expertise and experience is crucial Customer ('end user') centricity keeps everyone better aligned Silos don't help Flatter, less hierarchical teams move ideas and solutions
Read more

Why organisations resist thinking of themselves as connected 'systems'

“In a world of separation and domination, systems thinking is subversive.” Dr Elizabeth Sawin The key to improving the work of organisations - and the contributions of the people in them - is to look at them as connected 'systems'. (Put another way, because improving the performance of individual silos won’t make the overall performance of the organisation any better). However nobody seems to want to do this. So, who’s resisting systems thinking? Executives don’t want it because means questioning the current mindset and behaviours that have brought them status and ‘results’ Individual managers don’t want it because they assume it threatens their control over their local silos L&D / HR don’t want it because their remit does not extent to the organisation, as its still rooted in the ‘performance’ of individuals (and occasionally, specific teams). And employees don't want it because they often don’t care / need to care about the overall organisation.
Read more

"The future of corporate Learning and Development" debate is five different things

"Pushing fancy new stuff onto your organisation will not change the outcomes if that is not emerging from your system itself, through the ripening of a different worldview." Stelio Verzera The perennial topic  of "The future of corporate Learning and Development" is always everywhere. This ' Shirky Principle ' fuels and sustains the status quo and the players that continue to benefit from it. I'd argue that the discussion is in fact five very   different conversations happening in parallel, but unequally distributed. They are - in current descending order of noise, ambition and opportunity: 1. 'MAKE THE TRAINING BETTER'. The status quo. The economic model. Dependent on maintaining the belief that educating individual workers changes the system through which complex, interconnected organisations perform. This narrative is carefully preserved by (mostly) commercial vendors who have filled the strategy vacuum. New technologies, new (and old) instruc
Read more