Twitter Chats for Learning Professionals

Giving Thanks for an Awesome First Year of Blogging

This is the time of year when Americans collectively pause and consider what it is they are thankful for.  It seems only appropriate that I am also celebrating the one-year anniversary of this blog at the same time, as what it has contributed to me over the last 12 months is something I could never have predicted, and something I am incredibly thankful for.  So for this Thanksgiving-themed post, I reflect on the first year of this blog, and give thanks for what it has provided me.

I thought about starting this blog for years.  In truth, there’s a very good chance that I could STILL be thinking about it had it not been for a #lrnchat tweetchat I participated in where blogging was discussed.  I had mentioned that I didn’t yet have a blog, and a few people came forward to encourage me to start one.  One of those people was Dave Ferguson, who pointed out that I should be blogging for my primary audience: myself. It wasn’t until Dave gave me that subtle nudge I didn’t know I needed that I finally made the jump.  Thanks Dave.

Another turning point in my blogging was the holiday-themed post I wrote called “Twas the Night Before Social Media”.  That was something I wrote, tweaked, and finalized about two weeks before I published it.  It was something that I looked at as a ‘risk’.  Did it match the image I was trying to portray?

In hindsight, taking the chance was the best thing I could have done.  Without realizing it at the time, it was a post that allowed me to be a little more open, and invited people to get to know me.  It also did strike a chord with readers, and to this day is the most popular posting I have written.  It was a catalyst to many of the gifts my blog provided me in the months that followed.

That posting helped me build connections with a great number of people, including many individuals I look to as leaders in the Learning and Performance field.  I was building a network of peers through which I could grow, and in turn help others with their growth.  I increased my exposure to the industry I love many times over, and have become a part of the greater community of the field. 

That community exposure is another gift I am eternally thankful for, and one that I hope I can share with others in the future.  Being a part of the community is wonderful, but the real gift my blog provided me with was awareness. 

There’s growing discussion in the field about how we can get professionals to adapt to the shifting nature of workplace learning.  The first challenge in that is awareness that the shift is going on.  Think about walking through a hallway you are unfamiliar with.  There’s a locked door to your right.  Behind it could be a tiny closet, or it could be an entry into a whole new world you had no idea existed.

In most cases, we just continue walking down the hallway, not really giving the door much thought.  As it turns out, my blog was the key to that lock, and I an eternally grateful that I opened the door.

The blog and my participation in the industry community provided me with something else that I am thankful for: Opportunity.  In the past year I have had the pleasure of participating in many opportunities that I would not have considered possible even a few years ago.  I have been invited to write for publications, to speak at conferences, and most recently, to be the ‘official’ curator for the backchannel of the DevLearn conference.  While there were a number of factors that contributed to these opportunities being available to me, they all stem from the same starting point: this blog, and the exposure it has given me.  For that, I thank each and every person that has ever read and/or shared something I have written. 

That brings me to the thing my blog has provided me with that I am most thankful for: You. 

I don’t mean ‘You’ in the context of being a reader of this blog – though I do appreciate that.  I am referring to the connections that I have made with the people on the other side of the door that my blog helped open.  I have made very real connections with people through my blog and subsequent interactions that provide me with the ultimate value: friendship.

DevLearn was the perfect example of something I’ve said a few times in the past: Before social media – and in this context, my blog and the interactions it helped initiate – I had never greeted people I was ‘meeting’ for the first time with a hug.  I lost count of how many times that happened at DevLearn, and I can't express how much it means to me.

Happy Thanksgiving friends, including those of you outside the United States who may not celebrate the holiday formally.  Thank you for everything you add to my life.

Reflections on #lrnchat - What Did You Learn Outside of a Classroom This Summer?

Image use courtesy of lrnchat and Kevin Thorn (@LearnNuggets)

Each week that I am able to participate in #lrnchat discussion I post a summary of the discussion to my blog. I do this both for my personal development as well as sharing with the Learning and Development Profession at large. This summary is based on my own interpretations of the chat; others who participated may have differing opinions or interpretations of the discussion. I welcome those that do to add your ideas to the comments.

The topic of this week's #lrnchat session was “What did you lean outside of a classroom this summer?".

I always find looking at the questions that are used to loosely guide the chat as a nice way to see the overall theme of the chat. Here are the discussion questions that were presented to the group:

Q1) This summer, what did you learn that wasn't in a classroom?

Q2) What did you teach someone over the summer that wasn't a classroom? 

Q3) What did you do this summer that was new (well, at least new to you)? 

Q4) What do you wish you'd done (or learned) this summer?

Q5) What did you do this summer that you'd strongly suggest the rest of us do next summer?

Usually my 'Reflections on #lrnchat' posts look at the questions that were posed, consider the answers and shared discussion of the chat, and reflect on what it all means to me and to the Learning and Performance field.

I won't be doing that in this post.

While their was shared value in hearing what peers have been learning and sharing during the summer months, that really wasn't the value of the chat, at least not for me.

What people learned during the summer is extremely personal. What was important to one person may not be relevant to anyone else. It's always nice to share experiences with friends, and we can learn a great deal that way. I just don't think that was the true value of this chat.

The value of the questions isn't really in the answers we shared at all; it's in the quality of the questions we challenge ourselves with in order to arrive at our answers.

So in this 'Reflections on #lrnchat' post, I will not be reflecting on the answers to the questions; I will be exploring the questions themselves.  As I do, keep in mind that these are MY interpretations of the questions – yours may have been different.

This summer, what did you learn that wasn't in a classroom?

This question could have simply asked "what did you learn this summer?", but it added a qualifier: "outside of the classroom". Why add the restriction?

The qualifier of 'outside the classroom' provides an important focus on one of the main challenges in education today. Let's look at some basic questions and answers, and then apply some basic logic. Note: the answers here are typical surface level answers, not the root answers you would get if you dug deeper.

Why do people go to school?  >>  Answer: To Learn

What do you call the weeks off from school during the spring, summer, or holidays?  >>  Answer: a 'Break'

So if we go to school to learn, and the time off from school is a break, logic would then dictate that Summer is therefore a break from learning, right?

Hell no.

Summer is a time of additional freedoms. Students are free of their class schedules. Workers traditionally take vacation time, freeing them from the routines of their workplace. That's not when learning stops; I'd argue that it's more when learning accelerates.

The freedom provided by vacations and breaks gives us the opportunity to visit new places, explore new interests, or connect with friends and family. All of these experiences provide us with learning and growth opportunities we would likely not have available to us within the structure of a 'classroom'.

Summer is hardly a break from learning, but thankfully, it is often a break from being taught.

What did you teach someone over the summer that wasn't a classroom?

Again the question here isn't really about the teaching you did online, or in a field, or any other non-classroom location. In truth, the real question to consider here has nothing to do with teaching at all.

How did you help people learn outside of your regularly scheduled learning programs?  Or...  How did you help people learn this summer without formally instructing them?

There's tremendous value in exploring those questions. Too often we are so dependent on the structure we have built into our learning culture that we turn a blind eye to new ways of doing things. And yet, given the freedom of that environment, we subconsciously find ourselves learning through our social connections and through experience and experimentation.

How many times this summer did you just insert a new variable into your everyday workflow and just allow the learning to happen?   A visit to the zoo, an unexpected itinerary on a rainy day, getting a new toy – be it a Playdoh set or an Pad – and just diving in and exploring it… these are all great opportunities to learn, and it happens without us consciously stopping and choosing to learn; the learning just happens as part of the experience.

Recognizing this is important, because it provides a frame of reference for the future of organizational learning and performance.  The future isn’t in stopping work so you have a chance to learn; the future is in finding ways to fit the learning into the work itself.

What did you do this summer that was new (well, at least new to you)? and… 

What do you wish you'd done (or learned) this summer?

I combine these two questions because I think they both speak to a greater question: Did you accomplish your goals for the summer, or – in the absence of goals – did the summer just happen to you?

For me there was a bit of a hesitation when these questions were posed during the chat.  I had to think about my answer, and that’s somewhat surprising and concerning.  As someone that is passionate about my continuous development, my learning goals should right at the forefront of my thoughts simply because of the priority and focus I place on them.

That wasn’t the case.  Yes, I had goals, and after a few moments was able to add them to the discussion.  However, it was the hesitation in my answering that was my biggest takeaway; it shows that I need to check my compass more often to ensure I’m still on course.

What did you do this summer that you'd strongly suggest the rest of us do next summer?

This question is pretty straightforward in wording, and many people shared great experiences that they had over the past few months – many of which I’d be lying if I didn’t admit some degree of jealousy about.

This summer I did a number of great day trips, spent wonderful impromptu days exploring with my kids, and learned a tremendous amount trough our move to a new house.

None of which I mentioned during the chat.

It’s not that I was being anti-social.  I have no problem sharing stories of those experiences with people. It’s just that because of the lens through which I view the context of #lrnchat, I read the question a little differently…

What did you do this summer – in your role as a learning professional – that you’d strongly suggest the rest of us – who in most cases share that role – do next summer?

That’s why my responses were different.  I spent a large amount of time this summer thinking about my journey as a professional, and what I need to be doing to keep it moving forward.  The structure of this question made me consider: Am I further along my path than I was on May 1^st?  If so, what’s been working?  If not, what can I be doing differently?

If you didn’t look at the question in that manner, I highly recommend that you do now.

Overall, I think this chat did a great job of reinvigorating the chat after scaling it back so that people could explore the additional freedoms of the summer.  Hopefully it also reminded us all that the ‘break’ summer provided was not a break from learning; it was a break from directed-learning. 

And that’s, as Martha Stewart might say… “a good thing”.

One last note: This flipping of format for this post – focusing on the questions themselves instead of the answers – reminded me of one of the major ways I learn from #lrnchat discussions.  Often the greatest value for me in #lrnchat isn’t in answering and discussing the questions (though doing so does have tremendous value); Sometimes the most powerful takeaway is in considering why the questions were chosen to be asked in the first place.

Until next time #lrnchat-ers!

Reflections on #Lrnchat: What if HR was solely focused on human resources?

Image use courtesy of lrnchat and Kevin Thorn (@LearnNuggets)

Each week that I am able to participate in #lrnchat discussion I post a summary of the discussion to my blog. I do this both for my personal development as well as sharing with the Learning and Development Profession at large. This summary is based on my own interpretations of the chat; others who participated may have differing opinions or interpretations of the discussion. I welcome those that do to add your ideas to the comments.

The topic of this week's #lrnchat session was “What If…?".

I always find looking at the questions that are used to loosely guide the chat as a nice way to see the overall theme of the chat. Here are the discussion questions that were presented to the group:

Q1) "What if" is today's theme. What if HR was all focused on human resources (not just policies, benefits, liabilities)?

Q2) What if the "Learning" department only focused on learning, rather than training, course development, schedules?

Q3) What if managers really managed? What could they be managing more of & what would they be doing less of?

Q4) What if supply actually followed demand? How would orgs be different? Especially L&D, HR, mgmt & leadership?

Q5) What if you could ask the rest of us a "what if" question? You can! Please do!

These are all great questions to ponder, so I’m going to explore each of the four questions in a separate post.  This post looks at the first question: What if HR was all focused on human resources (not just policies, benefits, liabilities)?

I have a 2 year old son, and he is ALL BOY.  Like many youngsters, his enthusiasm is well ahead of his coordination. It’s part of the reason that when you see my son, he will likely show you his latest band-aid or “boo-boo”.

Every parent has to decide how they react when their child falls.  It took my wife a while to get used to my reaction.  When my son falls, I usually run over and quickly mimic a baseball umpire giving an enthusiastic “SAFE” call, as if he just slid into home plate. 

Many people look at me a little strangely when I do this, especially when I do it in a public place.  I recall a mother at the park lecturing me for being an ‘uncaring parent’ when my son wiped out and instead of scooping him up I gave him the ‘safe’ call.

I had only one response to this woman. “Did you notice that he was smiling when he looked up at me, and got up and continued running as if nothing happened?”

There may even be people reading this now thinking “What a horrible father!”, so let me explain.  I love my son and do not want to see him in pain.  At the same time, I do not want him to think that every time he falls, he’s been injured.  More often than not, when we fall we can get back up, dust ourselves off, and move on. 

My son doesn’t understand that yet.  He’s still learning what it means to fall down, and his greatest learning is through observing my reactions.  If he sees me running over the second he falls, he’s going to react the way he sees me reacting: as if something was wrong. I would rather take a quick moment to see if he’s OK – because he would react instantly if he were not – and then congratulate him on the fall.

In short, I want him to realize it’s OK to fall.  It’s in falling that he learns to get up.  It’s in falling that he realizes that a fall isn’t something to be terrified of.  The alternative is to raise him in a way that may lead him to be afraid to ever run, for fear he may trip and fall. 

To me this very much mirrors some of the challenges that exist in Human Resources today. 

The very name “Human Resources” implies that people are a valuable resource to an organization, so much so that we have an entire departmental function dedicated to managing it.  I’ve managed lots of different resources - including people - and one of the things I am always focused on is how I can get the maximum amount of value from my use of a resource.

If one of the primary goals of resource usage is to get the maximum amount of value from the resource, than many Human Resources functions are failing miserably.  Think about it. One smart use of any resource is to ask yourself “What can this resource do that other resources can’t?”, and then allocate the resource to that task. 

So what can a human resource do that non-human resource can not?  The immediate list that comes to my mind include things like creativity, innovation, and reflection.  And yet, in many cases these are the very things that Human Resources departments restrict.

Human resources has become increasingly focused on policies, liabilities, and legal issues.  The function is still focused on what employees can do, but the definition of ‘CAN’ has mutated.  'Can' has become less about what employees are able to do and more about what employees are allowed to do.  It would be great if we could tilt the scale back to the other side, and start enabling employees to tap their true potential.

After all, my son will never know what he is truly capable of if I never give him the chance to test his limits.  And that’s why I let him run, and congratulate him when he falls.

Social media has NOT changed how people learn forever... not yet anyway.

Last week’s #lrnchat was about social media and how it has changed the world forever.  That’s very true.  However the first question of the chat keeps coming back to me:

Social media has changed how people learn forever.  What else has it changed forever?

It’s the baseline statement that starts the question that I have issue with: Social media has changed how people learn forever.  The truth is, it hasn’t. 

Don’t get me wrong. I WANT that statement to be true.  On a certain level, I need that statement to be true.  But it’s not, at least not as written.

The statement implies that the change has taken place.  It hasn’t.  Sure, there are organizations that are at the forefront.  They are are doing an amazing job of integrating social media into their learning culture, and are blazing a path that other organizations can follow.  Take a look at this video of Dan Pontefract from TELUS, discussing how they use Social Media in their organization.

Based on that video and what I’ve read of the work being done at TELUS, I’m comfortable with the statement Social media has changed how people learn forever… AT TELUS.  Really though… how many organizations have taken their usage of social media to that level?  I suspect the answer is ‘not nearly enough’.

Lack of Mass Acceptance/Implementation

In the context of how people really learn – socially and as part of their work – social media HAS forever changed the world of learning.  The examples shared in the TELUS video as well as others shared in the book The New Social Learning show this to be true. 

The problem comes when you look at the learning and performance industry as a whole.  Let’s assume every organization has a ‘training’ function. How small is the subset of organizations that are actually aware ‘real learning’ takes place outside of classroom and away from an e-learning course?  The subset gets even smaller when you consider how many of the organizations that realize it are actually implementing a strategy that targets this reality.

The organizations that are effectively utilizing social media in their learning culture are blazing a path.  We still have the challenge of getting the majority of organizations to follow the trail.

Perception is Reality

What is the perception of ‘learning’ to our learners?  I find that many people respond to the way they have been conditioned to respond by their life experiences.  Many expect a classroom; they expect lecture; they expect an ‘event’. 

Since all learning professionals are themselves learners, this perception often extends to how the learning function operates.  Too often, training departments continue to do what they’ve always done, simply because “That’s the way it’s always been done here.”

It takes understanding, commitment, and trust for an organization to break away from what they ‘know’ to try something new.  It’s a cultural change, and it won’t just happen on its own.  More often, it starts with learning professionals who are brave enough to hold up their hand and confidently say “There’s a better way”.

It’s not about ‘Starting a Social Learning Program’

If there’s one message I feel is being shouted from the mountain top of late – because people need to hear it – it’s that Social Learning is NOT new.

I was speaking with a colleague recently who asked “How do I get Social Learning started at my company?”  My response, quite honestly, was “You don’t.”

Social learning is already going on at every organization.  You don’t need to ‘start’ it, and you shouldn’t look to ‘control’ it either.  It’s a matter of fostering it, through environment and tools.  It’s also a matter of getting out of the way.

Consider the TELUS video again.  They didn’t create social learning; they introduced tools that enhanced the sharing and made it easier for more people to get involved. 

Answer the Knock at the Door

In order for that original statement to be true, I think you need to add a word: Social media has changed how people CAN learn forever.

The potential is there, as are examples to the benefits enjoyed by those that have harnessed the potential.  As an industry though, most of the benefits of using social media to enhance social learning is just that: potential.

We need to continue to share examples of how best to use these tools for learning, and continue to move towards mass acceptance and implementation.  Only then will the scales tip.  Only then can we say that Social Media has changed the way people learn forever.

The opportunity has arrived.  Now we just need to help each other open the door.

What's a Twitter Chat?

A number of my blog posts are reflections of twitter chats, such as #lrnchat and #realwplearn chat.  As vibrant a community these chats represent, I sometimes forget that the participants in these chats represent a very small percentage of the overall community of Learning and Development Professionals.

At a recent ASTD Chapter meeting, I was reminded of this fact during a conversation I had with a group of peers.  I was asked where I learned about something and I casually replied "We discussed it during a recent #lrnchat".

I received silence and a few puzzled looks in response.  I added "It's a regular Twitter chat for learning professionals".  Another moment of silence passed, broken finally by a peer who asked "What's a twitter chat?"  I could tell by the looks around the table that everyone else had a similar question percolating in their mind.

If you've ever wanted to know how a twitter chat works, or what tools you can use to participate in a Twitter Chat, then this post is geared towards you.  If not, well, you're here, so feel free to read it anyway.

WHAT IS A TWITTER CHAT?

A Twitter Chat is a group chat that takes place using the social networking service, Twitter. Twitter chat topics and structures can vary.  Most do share the following characteristics:

• Since they use Twitter, discussions consist of comments of up to 140 characters
• Many chats are held on regularly scheduled dates and times
• Chats utilize a dedicated hashtag, so that participants can easily locate and participate in the chat
• Many chats are loosely moderated and have a set starting topic
• There is no expectation that participants will review and respond to every single post in the discussion, especially in larger chats

HOW DO I PARTICIPATE IN A TWITTER CHAT?

There are a number of ways to participate in Twitter chats, and I'll be sharing different tools later in this posting. Let's first walk through the most basic steps for participating in a chat.  If you already have a Twitter account, you can skip ahead to step 2.

1. Create a Twitter account.  A simple walkthrough of how to do that can be found HERE.

2. Search for the hashtag associated with the chat.  This will filter your view so that only tweets with the chat hashtag are shown.

3. Review the listing of tweets; the most recent will be on top. 

4. To check for new chat posts, refresh your screen or click the 'New Posts' link that appears on screen.

5. To contribute to the discussion, enter your comment into the status fields and click update. 

IMPORTANT: you must include the chat hashtag in your comment in order to ensure other participants will be able to see your post.

TWITTER CHAT TOOLS

There are a number of Twitter tools that can make participating in a chat easier.  Here are two of my favorites:

TweetChat

TweetChat is potentially the best tool for participating in a Twitter Chat, as it provides some functionality geared specifically for live chats:

• TweetChat automatically filters the Tweet stream, showing only the tweets containing the hashtag for the chat.
• TweetChat automatically refreshes every 5-10 seconds, keeping you up to date.
• TweetChat automatically adds the chat hashtag to all of your updates, ensuring you do not forget to do so yourself. 

The one downside I find with TweetChat is that it's performance is not consistent.  There are times that the TweetChat feed seems delayed, which is a major barrier in a live chat.  When TweetChat's feed is performing well, I find it to be the best tool for live Twitter Chats.

TweetDeck

TweetDeck is a aggregator that enables users to monitor multiple social media feeds at once, include not only Twitter, but Facebook, LinkedIn, FourSquare, and more. Users can set up dedicated columns for specific tools, or specific searches within those tools. 

TweetDeck provides some unique features that can make participating in a Twitter chat easier:

• You can set up a column in TweetDeck that shows only the tweets from the chat
• You can simultaneously monitor a 'mentions' column that shows who has mentioned or reached out to you directly during the chat
• You can easily clear out all messages you have already read, an excellent tool for chats you are participating in sporadically.

TweetDecks columns can be a little overwhelming at first, which is why I recommend starting with only a select few and expanding only after you are comfortable with it. Once you are, TweetDeck can be an invaluable tool for someone that participates in multiple social networks.

There are a great number of additional tools that can be used for Twitter chats. I recommend trying a few and finding the one that you are comfortable with. The value of the chats is in the discussions, not the tools. Find a tool that makes it easier for you to participate.

HOW DO I GET STARTED?

The best way to learn how to participate in a Twitter chat is quite simply to participate in one. Twitter chats are very much like learning to ride a bike.  You can only learn so much by reading or talking to someone about it. To truly learn how, you need to go out and try it.

One word of caution though: for a newcomer to Twitter Chats, the speed at which they move can seem extremely fast. If you try to read every single message, it may feel like trying to drink from a fire hose. That's a normal reaction.  Much like drinking from a hose, you should start by sipping from the stream.  As you grow more accustomed to the flow, you'll be able to drink more and find the best way to quench your thirst for knowledge and community.

There are three regular chats that I recommend for learning professionals

#lrnchat (http://www.lrnchat.com/)

#lrnchat is a twitter chat for learning professionals that focuses on how people learn, what they learn, and what we’re learning as professionals in the field.  The next #lrnchat sessions are scheduled for Thursday July 7th and Thursday August 5th at 11:30am and 8:30pm (EST).

#RealWPLearn (http://www.realworkplacelearning.com/)

#RealWPLearn is a twitter chat for all business professionals that focuses on how REAL workplace learning happens: through social, informal, and often serendipitous happenings.  The next #RealWPLearn chats are scheduled for Wednesday July13th and Wednesday August 10th at 3:00pm (EST).

#ASTDChapters (http://astdchapters.wordpress.com/)

#ASTDCchapters is a twitter chat for learning and performance professionals that focuses on the value and community offered by the American Society for Training and Development and it's local chapters. The next #ASTDChapters chats are scheduled for Wednesday July13th and Wednesday August 10th at 8:30pm (EST).

The #ASTDChapters chat tends to move at a slower pace than the other two, so it may serve as a nice entry point for those new to Twitter chats. I will be one of the moderators for the July 13th chat, during which we are exploring "The Value of ASTD Membership". I invite you to join us and share your thoughts or suggestions on what the value of ASTD and it's chapters is and could be.  I will also be able to provide real-time assistance to those new to Twitter chats.

Once you are able to get comfortable using the tools to participate in Twitter chats, i'm sure you'll find them to be extremely valuable  feel free to reach out to me on twitter (@LnDDave) or in the comments section below if you have any questions.

I hope to see you online during an upcoming Twitter chat!

Reflections on #realwplearn chat: From Learning Design to Performance Design

One of my favorite learning activities is participating in the weekly twitter chat called #lrnchat.  Participating in this chat and writing reflective blog posts is an extremely valuable learning experience for me.  A collection of these reflective posts can be found here.

This past week a new Twitter chat for learning professionals was introduced.  The chat is called Real Workplace Learning, part of a new initiative from Jane Hart (@c4lpt) and Jane Bozarth (@janebozarth).  The Real Workplace Learning blog is a place to share examples of where REAL workplace happens: through social, informal, and often serendipitous happenings.

The Real Workplace Learning chat is scheduled to take place once a month on Wednesdays using the hashtag #realwplearn. Additional details and listing of upcoming chats for the summer is listed at the bottom of this post. 

The topic of this week's #realwplearn chat session was "From Learning Design to Performance Design".  The topic and questions were inspired by Tom Gram's article -  Designs for Natural Learning.

I always find looking at the questions that are used to loosely guide the chat as a nice way to see the overall theme of the chat. Here are the discussion questions that were presented to the group.

NOTE: In this chat, some of the questions were presented in two parts.  The first part presented a quote from Tom Gram's article. The second part presented a related question.

Q1  How do knowledge workers really learn to do their jobs?

Q2 P1 “It doesn’t make sense to build a whole department around training when there are so many other ways to help people learn.”

Q2 P2 How can you “move” out of the training department into the workflow to help people learn as they work?

Q3 P1 “Instead of learning programs, you are designing work environments, tools, information and feedback systems. Think of it as performance design.”

Q3 P2 How can you move from learning program design culture to performance design ? Small steps or bold new approach?

Q4 P1 “This focus on designing work to enable natural learning resembles what progressive managers see as their role and they are not wrong.”

Q4 P2  How can you help managers fulfill that responsibility better?

The shift from learning sign to performance design is am important one for learning professionals.  It represents a reality that more and more professionals are beginning to understand: that the vast majority of workplace learning does not happen via a formal program designed by the learning and development department.

Charles Jennings often discusses the 70:20:10 learning model, which states that only 10% of what employees learn comes from formal learning programs.  The vast majority of workplace learning comes from the work itself, and applying new skills on the job.

Where does the learning professional fit in a world where formal programs account for so little of the learning that is taking place?  What are the skills that today's learning professional will need to support this new paradigm?

That is what Real Workplace Learning hopes to explore, and this week's chat provided an excellent starting point for the ongoing discussions.

The chat started by exploring how knowledge workers really learn to do their jobs.  It is becoming increasingly obvious that there is no division between learning and work; they are forever linked, one consistently building on the other.

This happens at an almost unconscious level, with the worker often not being fully aware that learning is taking place.  This is enhanced during times that the worker will take a more active and conscious role in learning, using some of the techniques shared in the chat.

•   Contacting a colleague for assistance, be it from the next cubicle or a country away.

•   Learn through failing, provided the culture understands the value of failure.

•   Creating a network of peers to learn from that you trust.

•   Focusing less on learning everything, and more on learning how to find out anything.

From there the discussion moved towards how learning professionals can move away from traditional delivery methods and put their energy into the actual workplace.  How can learning professionals provide their support as part of the existing work flows?

I find this question to be very similar to a question that is often asked about social media.  Often organizations want to institute some sort of a social media program, yet the project is spearheaded by someone that has only a Facebook account that they haven't signed in to it in weeks.

It doesn't really work that way.  If you want to play in the social media space, you need to participate. I believe the same rule applies to trainers who want to focus their efforts on the existing workflows of the work itself.  You can’t simply plug learning into the work; you have to join the workflow yourself.

For many learning professionals, this isn’t a simple shift; it’s a fundamental change in the way they need to see their role.  Many of the traditional models of training – such as classroom workshops, traditional e-learning, and courses – do not fit into the flow of the work.  Their very design requires that the learner stop working so they can participate in a learning event.

Supporting learning during the work requires a different mindset.  It requires learning professionals to participate in the workflow.  That's a simple statement, but putting it to action can be a challenge.

One of the easiest ways to get started is to join conversations and communities related to the work.  It's there that learning professionals will be able to learn what is really going on, where the true performance gaps are, and how they might be able to help.

It's also at the workplace that learning professionals can learn about an important, but too often overlooked, part of their job.  If most of the learning is taking place on the job, is the working environment structured in a way that best supports learning?  By becoming part of the workflow, learning professionals can observe where learning is taking place, and identify ways they can alter and add to the environment to make the learning more effective. This could be as simple as inserting a performance support tool into the workflow, or as complex as reworking the physical environment itself.

The discussion then moved towards design, specifically how we might be able to shift from a learning program design culture to a culture more focused on performance design.

There are a great number of roads learning professionals can take on this journey.  Some of the roads have been paved by our peers, while still countless more are trails just waiting to blazed by those brave enough to choose the road not yet taken.

Regardless of the route though, all of the paths share something in common: they started with a single step. Do SOMETHING to get started – even if that something is to make the decision to stop doing something else that no longer makes sense.

I think the easiest way to get started is to implement 'Find and Replace All' in the way we see ourselves.  'Find and Replace All' is a common functionality found in word processing software. It enables a user to search for a given word or phrase and automatically replace it with a different word or phrase.

If we could apply that function to ourselves, we would find every place we use the word 'learning' and replace it with 'performance'. Learning objectives become performance objectives. Learning consultants become performance consultants.  That simple change in language would do wonders to shift our thinking.  Suddenly we'll realize that we aren't as interested in what workers need to learn; we're more focused on what they need to DO.

For many learning professionals, the challenge of this shift will not be about applying new skills; the challenge will be in stopping the use of techniques and methods that are no longer applicable, or are at least no longer the primary tools, in this new world.

The discussion ended with an exploration on how we can assist managers in designing work so that it allows for natural learning.  This is a very large challenge that has a number of obstacles, including:

• Many managers have little interest in managing.
• Most managers do not know how to lead.
• For most managers, ‘learning’ is defined by their own experiences.  There is an expectation that it will take place in a classroom taught by a teacher. They do not understand that this in ineffective.

Learning (actually, performance) professionals need to take on these issues and help managers help themselves.  It takes education, perseverance, and patience.  In most cases you’re not just trying to change the perspective of a group of managers; you’re trying to change the culture of an organization.  That takes time.

I especially liked this closing question.  The fact that we are looking at the managers is very representative of how real workplace learning takes place.  It takes place as part of the work.  As such, we need to start bringing other non-learning professionals into the equation more.

I think this first Real Workplace Learning chat laid a great foundation for a regular discussion series.  I look forward to adding it to my calendar each month, and further exploring the ways workers REALLY learn at work, and how learning and performance professionals can best support that learning.

Here are a few links of additional resources I mentioned in this post:

Real Workplace Learning

• Main Blog
• Chat Description and Schedule

When Learning is the Work: Approaches for supporting learning in the workplace by Charles Jennings

Designs for Natural Learning by Tom Gram