No one, irrespective of role or level, can afford to stop experimenting. If you are a CEO or front-line worker, this is doubly so when upskilling yourself for new challenges.
John Dewey, the American education reformer, once said, “We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience”.
Have you considered how important this statement is, and actually how haphazardly it is put into practice in organisations? Usually, it is left to the individual learner to take a class, use the learning and figure it out from there. Inevitably this results in a lot of training investments not providing maximum returns. But it is a relatively easy fix.
A 2021 Gartner Group research study found 58% of the workforce needs new skills to do their jobs. I would argue the figure is even higher now. When we are talking about learning at this scale, I don’t think any organisation can afford to continue with this individual-focused approach and not do something to help their people apply their learning effectively and share it.
Organisations spend so much time, energy, effort and money on training, hoping to see a positive impact and change, and we need to change the status quo of our people walking out of a course without a clue, confidence or a plan to turn the knowledge into usable actions.
I have seen a few solutions work well to help people quickly develop their ability to use a new skill well. Applying them is easy, and any organisation could, and in my opinion, should be doing it. Let us consider what stops learning from turning into action. We:
- Do not know how to apply new skills.
- Do not feel confident to try and fail with new skills.
- Do not know where to apply their new skills for impact.
Let’s look at how organisations can overcome these challenges.
If our people don’t know how to apply new skills, you could organise what we call an Unpacking Lab. An unpacking lab is a focused opportunity for people to get together and make sense of their learning in their specific context. They can dive deeper together, ask questions, ask how might we use this, and so on.
This requires a little facilitation to ensure the key points are identified and the correct understanding shared. When established as a practice, an unpacking lab work wonders for any level of learner, from the C-Level to new hires.
It can help create a better understanding of critical concepts and frameworks quickly and accelerate application by developing insights into key content, tools, frameworks, models and/or concepts at a deeper level.
I have seen unpacking labs work best when learners explore success cases or examples from peers and link everything directly to the learners’ context. The key is to ensure they are used to increase understanding and confidence and provide clarity.
If our people don’t feel confident to try and fail with new skills, they need a safe place to practise, such as a Skills Practice Lab. These are scheduled opportunities where learners can come together and try what they’ve learned and build confidence safe in the knowledge that they won’t lose a client or derail an important initiative. It is a chance to make mistakes and move at a pace they feel comfortable with.
Skills practice labs are easy to put together, and the learners can practise specific skills or tools in simulated situations. They can practise via role play and get constructive feedback or create conversations. They are a great way to identify pain points, development gaps or additional skills to develop to succeed.
If our people don’t know where to apply new skills for impact, often this happens when building skills for the future, then Application and Reflection Labs can help. These are scheduled opportunities where they can reflect and review together.
Individually and as a group, participants can plan to apply new ways of thinking, tools and actions immediately. Learners can also identify specific goals to apply a particular new skill/tool to a specific situation in work or life.
If organised in a series or ongoing manner, participants can review and reflect on their experiences and what to take into the future to master new mindsets, skill sets and behaviours. Senior and experienced people can guide planning, trying and reflecting on the application for a specific situation they are trying to achieve/change and the steps and tools for success.
I have seen these lans at their most impactful when used after every learning segment to ensure learners identify a specific situation they want to try and change by applying the new mindset, skill set, or tool set they just learned to achieve a positive impact on their life or work.
We cannot continue using models of training that have evolved little over the past 50 years. These labs provide a way to innovate and accelerate ways of learning and application that put your people in charge and help each other do new things faster.
Arinya Talerngsri is Chief Capability Officer, Managing Director and Founder at SEAC — Southeast Asia’s Lifelong Learning Centre. She is fascinated by the challenge of transforming education for all to create better prospects for Thais and people everywhere. Reach her email at arinyat@seasiacenter.com or https://www.linkedin.com/in/arinya-talerngsri-53b81aa