I have always been one who likes to continually learn. I believe when you continue to expand your mind, you continue to keep opportunities open to you. And going for my CPLP was something that had been on my mind since I first heard about it in 2013. However, I was always coming up with reasons to put off the challenge, or telling myself I was just way too busy to put in the study time.
Perhaps my real hesitation was being afraid of failure. As I recently read in Carol Dweck’s book, The Mindset, sometimes we put off trying something because there can be tremendous risk in “leaving what one does well to attempt to master something new.” I have been in the field of learning and development for over 20 years, and in going for this exam I felt as if I was testing knowledge that for so long I had called myself an expert in. But wasn’t this the point—to test myself, to learn, to grow, and to expand on the knowledge base I had already built? I teach in my training that we should never stop learning. Now it was time to practice what I preach.
I enrolled in the online CPLP study program and began my journey—and what a journey it was. I was reading in-depth information on areas of study I had only scanned over in my years of experience. I was taking practice quizzes, doing exercises, and having blog discussions on topics that were new to me. The knowledge test day came, and I made it through, I passed. Then it was time for the SAE (Skills Application Exam), which was the part of the exam I thought would be a breeze. I took the test, hit the button, and read “Failure”.
Wait, how could this be?
As you can imagine, I was not very happy. It took me some time and a lot more studying, but I eventually decided to take the SAE test again. Even though it was a hard pill to swallow, the pill of failure, I have never been one to give up. I often tell my children that we learn through failure, and what type of example would I be setting to them and my colleagues if after all my studying I just quit?
I am happy to report that the second time around, I passed—and I have to say it feels even more exciting to have obtained something that at first I did not achieve. I learned, when taking the exam the second time, to not assume I know something simply because it happens to be in my field of specialty. In reading the cases the second time around, I needed to openly look at each situation. I was reminded that there are different ways of thinking in our complex field. Sure, I could probably tell you anything you wanted to know about how to set up a room for maximum participation or how to handle a difficult participant; but what I had not been exposed to in quite some time is different performance improvement models and theories, or different organizational systems, or different business strategies and drivers that can greatly affect the type of instruction you recommend for a client.
Through obtaining my CPLP I was exposed to many different concepts and philosophies around learning management. And yes, some I was exposed to before while obtaining my MBA, but that was some time ago and so much has developed and evolved since then. I wanted to be able to talk the talk of integrated talent management and be reminded of how to best evaluate learning impact. For example, I could now discuss the difference between validity and reliability and what might be the best measure to use in evaluating effectiveness of a program.
Bottom line, it feels good to stand up at the ATD International Conference around so many of my respected peers and be proud to have earned something I worked so hard for. We have a complex field, and this test certainly gave me exposure to areas I would not have learned if I had not taken this journey. I have already had some doors open to me that I did not even anticipate—like writing this blog post. So, go for it and good luck! And by the way, if at first you do not succeed, try, try again.
Learn more about becoming a CPLP.
