5 Things We Learned at the ATD International Learning & Development Conference
These are the things people were most interested in when visiting our booth and during the packed presentation and panel schedule at the largest talent development conference in the world.
1. New Skills are needed…
Organizations have to close the gap between capability trends and current challenges.
In the session “Leading in a Disruptive Era”, Bill Valdez, President of the US Senior Executives Association, said: “In the US, we have not trained our leaders to respond to that rapid cycle of change.”
Radical shifts in technology Due to the radical shifts in technology and demographic changes, our leaders need to view the future of work, workforce, and workplace very differently than ever before.
2. …but the real challenge is Culture.
As the American inventor Chales F. Kettering said: “People are very openminded about new things, as long as they are like the old thing.”
There is wide agreement on the direction of travel: Organizations need to find ways of breaking down silos, promoting collaboration, and fostering innovation. Uncontested are the ways to get there: improving organizational structures, leadership practices, and employee performance.
What all of this amounts to is a complete overhaul of the working culture. Changing the commander structure means changing the way conversations are held.
One of the best strategies to achieve this revolves around building communities. Changing behaviors isn’t easy, but it can be done one team at a time and eventually through a network of teams.
This is something we experience on our programs time and time again. The communities built on our Learning Expeditions stay active long after our program, through formal and informal channels. The bond formed through the experience of strategic discovery and learning provides a safe space to motivate others, to be ambitious and/or audacious in ones drive to enable real change.
3. Authentic Leaders Engage Based on Values
Does your internal brand match your external brand? This is the question Megan Galloway, Talent Development Manager with the U.S. Engineering Company, posed in her session “Changing Culture Through Leadership Development“.
It is incumbent on leaders to represent the values of a company externally and internally. As Megan Galloway said, “behaviors must be 100% aligned in order to effectively develop a language and brand.”
This doesn’t happen from one day to the next. The leader’s journey can be roughly mapped out: An emerging leader looks at self first, then the team. Eventually, she or he is able to look at the organization and the wider community in which it operates. Learning & Development programs should always encourage to put the Learning into this wider perspective to encourage strategic leadership.
4. Find Answers Outside of Your Organization
The renewed focus on customer-centric strategies is emphasizing the need to turn the mindset of people and organizations outwards.
David R. Gibson, Commander & CEO of Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, used the Vienna General hospital as a memorable example, where in 1846, the lead doctor went for a 4-month sabbatical to learn from other hospitals. What he learned from his trip brought the mortality rate of mothers after childbirth down from 1 in 10 to 1 in 100. The answer he brought back: Wash your hands before delivering a baby.
It’s a simple recipe that is surprisingly easy to ignore: Ask your customer before you start designing. Ask people for their opinion first before telling yours. Listen more than you speak. Turning your mindset outwards creates exponential growth through teamwork.
Experiential learning design plays a key role in this. Concepts can be explained through E-Learning, but there is a limit to the impact that can be achieved by learning at your desk or in a meeting room.
5. Learning & Development is booming
Don’t just take our word for it. LinkedIn’s 2019 Workplace Learning Report confirmed that it is a breakout year for talent developers, as influence and budgets are rising.
More resources and money are being available for L&D to contribute ever more strategic value. A hybrid mix is crucial for the learning space to have an impact on all levels of the organization.
A notion mirrored in our own Report we just published, “The Future of L&D” that you can download here:
