One of the great things about attending conferences – or webinars, or any venue for sharing ideas – is the ability to connect with thinkers and to see things from new perspectives.
I recently attended the annual CLO & Talent Management Forum in Dallas, produced by Richmond Events and featuring a large group of senior learning executives meeting with peers and suppliers, exchanging ideas and generally sharing resources, solutions and inspirations. Sessions talked about learning from a variety of perspectives and with a variety of technologies, everything from social media and learning management systems to coaching and Cookie Doodle (yeah, the kid’s game).
Here are some highlights to share … a drop in the bucket, but good places to start:
- General Mills CLO Kevin Wilde reminded participants about the importance of manager development, with some plain-spoken words of wisdom: Incredible employees leave average managers, so manager development is crucial to success. Great managers follow three paths to keep employees engaged: Invest, Value and Share.
- Sam Herring of Intrepid Learning Solutions rolled out a 6-step plan for technology-enabled informal learning: Measure and Learn; Assess Readiness; Support Workflow; Select Appropriate Technology; Deliver Relevant Content; and Leverage Best Practices.
- Holly Tyson, VP of Human Resources for Bristol Myers Squibb, shared her organization’s definition of engagement: “Having the enthusiasm, energy and commitment to do great work in support of the Bristol Myers Squibb mission.” She also reminded everyone how important that engagement is: At the pharmaceutical giant, the top 25% of employees performed 4% better than the bottom 25% of employees. That 4% represents a $1 billion difference.
- Rob Campbell, CLO of Cerner Corporation, presented some impressive numbers on the usage of their uCern learning community. His advice was straightforward: Get top-down support, make the solutions real and global, start with a compelling business reason, let things grow virally, let online communities regulate themselves and trust people (but be prepared for someone to do something stupid).
- Bob Cancalosi, CLO for GE Healthcare, shared 10 points to consider when building a global learning culture:
- Create a global framework to ensure long-term effectiveness.
- Realign systems and structures to ensure reinforcement of desired behaviors.
- Leadership needs to be engaged, involved and in it for the long haul.
- Culture change requires discipline, focus, trade-offs, operating mechanisms and metrics.
- Have a well-defined process to resolve points of conflict.
- Communicate clearly, often and openly.
- Find and leverage the one element that defines the burning platform for change.
- Take time out periodically for reality checks and adjustments.
- Show the milestone progress on the journey and celebrate successes.
- Have fun!
Finally, to tie all this together, let me start at the beginning of the event, with the opening keynote from Dr. Daniel Simons, a professor with the University of Illinois. Simons is the co-author of “The Invisible Gorilla, and Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us.”
You’ve likely heard of the thought-provoking study Simons and his colleagues conducted, where a group was instructed to watch and count as a group of people pass a ball around a circle. The group is so intent on the process that they fail to notice a person coming into the circle and waving, while dressed in a gorilla suit. Here’s what’s amazing about that experiment … not only do people typically fail to see the gorilla, many actually refuse to believe it was there until the tape rolls again. As Paul Simon sang, “A man sees what he wants to see and disregards the rest.”
Clearly human perception, attention, memory and observation are important skills in the learning professional’s tool kit. If nothing else, Simon’s study makes you think about how your learners perceive materials, and it underlines the need to meet people in their comfort zones whenever possible.
So with all this food for thought on the table, let me leave you with some morsels to chew on: What’s the invisible gorilla in your organization? What’s hiding right there in plain sight waiting for you to acknowledge it? And who else isn’t seeing that?
