I remember being a little boy and my parents taking me to the zoo. And when we got there, I would zoom past all the other animals and cages (yes even the snake house) to my favorite place in the zoo… the lions den. I loved looking at those big cats, and how they just seemed to not be afraid of anything. I was in awe about that. And once in a great while, if I was lucky (and the lions were hungry or just needing to show us on the other side of the cage who is “king”), I got to witness something special… a real lion roar!
If you have never heard one “live” it is something that you don’t forget. There is something about the sound of a lion’s roar. It sticks with you. It can be haunting and powerful all at the same time. And after you experience it, you understand a lion walks around like they aren’t afraid of anything. Could you say the same about you? Your employees? Are you performing with real confidence?
Today, systems and processes are no longer the natural or primary differentiators for organizations and their success. Non-mission-criticals are being cut without much debate or bargaining, regardless of the cost or depth of the knowledge asset acquired. This reality, along with the scarcity of human resources, tighter budgets, shallower customer bases, and limited capital assets, is forcing business leaders today to demand initiatives that develop employees who, in challenging and changing times, perform with repeatable success.
This means it is imperative that you not have your employees participate in events or training designed simply to give or add more knowledge about a business system, process, or market environment or trend. Though the quest for knowledge is “noble”, true human and organizational growth requires a shift to activities and training solutions promoting sustainable productivity, not simple knowledge gain. Businesses and leaders that currently require employees to comply and live in a world where knowledge is “king” will not survive. Every focus should be in response to, “how does this affect the bottom line?”
Bersin & Associates recently published a new study on high-impact learning practices. The study found that over the past two years, corporate spending for training and development has declined significantly. However, companies are not making the best use of their remaining training budget dollars because two-thirds of training budgets continue to go to traditional and costly OTS (off the shelf) formal training programs.
64% percent of high-level business leaders believe that informal learning programs–coaching, performance consulting, knowledge sharing, social learning, and mentoring–actually provide the greatest business value. Research shows that, “organizations that offer informal learning experiences, whether in house or contracted, generate higher operational business performance and have greater adoption of training.
Organizations need to “retool” and develop new ideas and reorganize their resources, says Josh Bersin, president of Bersin & Associates. Their research showed that organizations that partner (or develop in-house) with learning and performance consulting firms having expertise and skills in areas such as knowledge management, strategic leadership development, information architecture, community leadership, and human performance consulting outperform those still focused on providing traditional training solutions.
Human asset development initiatives are more effective if they address the “moments” that employees truly impact business. By focusing development on these five basic “moments”, you will help your staff succeed with a ROAR (Real Observable Abilities and Results). The “key” moments in human and organizational development are:
When learning something for the first time
When learning more detail about what you already know
When trying and applying what you remember for the first time
When applying what you know when things go wrong
When applying what you know when expectations change
Historically, human and organizational development initiatives have only addressed the first two moments. This made training “nice to have”, but not mission-critical, and not designed to develop sustained productivity. The real business world is about surviving every day, by applying, adapting, and being proactive … and getting out of trouble when things go wrong. Stop it. Change direction, and let you and your people walk around with confidence. And, like the lion, when you or your employees impact your client base, make sure that interact is as unforgettable as a ROAR!
Sound interesting? Want to learn more? Let Progenisys help you implement or further the ideas addressed here. Thank you for taking the time to read our blog and we look forward to helping you perform at the level you were made to…
Bartholomew Reed, President of Progenisys
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