While looking forward, we can't lose sight of the fundamentals of learning.
There is so much focus today on the pace of change, increasing demands on people, and technological advances. Are we forgetting—or at least not giving enough consideration to—the fundamental human processes associated with learning? I have growing concerns that, as talent development executives, we will lose sight of the process while focusing on the outcomes.
Learning as a process
Let's go back to the basics. Learning comprises a cycle with several key processes: acquiring new information, acting, reflecting, and providing feedback. Removing any of these elements alters an individual's ability to learn effectively.
Take golf, for example. If I read volumes of books on golfing, I may become a golf expert. But it is unlikely that I will be an expert golfer without practice. The same is true with leadership. I can (and should) read about leadership and will gain some important insights, but without opportunities for practice, feedback, and reflection, my skills will not evolve.
Advances in brain science associated with learning and leadership shed light on the physiological aspects of how individuals process information and ultimately learn. There is emphasis on creating neural connections through reinforcement, which underlines the importance of practice.
In addition to process and practice, there's ownership. Learning must be as personalized as possible to be effective. We must find ways to better clarify current performance against expectations to customize a learning experience. The future of talent development will not be a one-size-fits-all approach. It will use existing tools and technologies to create a unique and tailored learning experience.
Let's unpack each of the fundamental components of the learning cycle. As you look to the future of talent development, how are you enhancing or accelerating any of these processes?
Acquiring new information
Due in large part to technological advances, access to information is greater than ever. However, more is not always better. There are two issues with content consumption that we must address as we continue to advance talent development. First, the sheer volume of learning content can be overwhelming. Second, it is important to find accurate and relevant information—content we can trust.
The future of talent development will have an increased emphasis on and capabilities for content curation. Although there is some focus on these today, we will find better ways to find that proverbial needle in the haystack when it comes to learning. We've already come a long way in our abilities to quickly find relevant information, and I envision a new age of tailored learning. We will continue to find ways to filter learning to the ideas we need, when we need them, and how we prefer to consume them (whether that is reading, listening, watching, or experiencing). We also need ways to determine the merits and accuracy of the information we receive.
Acting
We have made some dramatic shifts from what may be called traditional learning—that is, lectures in a classroom—to far more emphasis on applied learning.
I predict the classroom will not go away, but it will need to continue to evolve into a learning lab, an environment where students can use a variety of methods to acquire new information, put it into practice, and get immediate feedback. In this sense, the classroom will encompass all parts of the learning cycle and help increase speed to learning. The delivery methodologies will vary and be largely resource and need dependent. Examples will range from case studies and simulations to virtual reality and other immersive technologies.
The classroom environment will continue to be the hub for the interpersonal—social and emotional—connection associated with learning. It also provides a level of accountability and focus that other mediums do not. Despite emerging methodologies and new technology, for many, the in-person classroom continues to be the preferred approach to learning.
There is no shortage of opportunities to practice new knowledge in the workplace. We've already recognized the increased pace of change, level of expectations, and number of novel situations that present themselves regularly at work. Quite literally, every day is an opportunity to learn. But people must be better information processors. This pace and volume of information causes many employees to view learning as a burden for which they have no time.
Technological advances will continue to significantly alter individuals' ability to experience a wide variety of activities. This is already taking place with games and simulations, virtual reality, and smart technologies. These performance support tools will continue to evolve and become more readily available and cost effective.
Reflecting
Some good news: The technological advances I mentioned earlier have given us access to a significant volume of information any time we need it—24/7. This makes for an exciting time for talent development. The ability to access information and learn is in the palm of everyone's hands, and many live in a multidevice world, literally surrounded by information.
For all that is good, there are some challenges with being constantly surrounded by information. While access to information, pace of change, work demands, and performance expectations have all increased exponentially, our physiological abilities to process information have remained consistent. Our brains still require us to pause and reflect to make sense of the information coming in.
This is a challenge, because whether by choice or expectation, people often quickly move on to the next thing with little or no opportunity to think or reflect. All of us live in a time of continuous action, but if we consistently run an engine on high, we will eventually overheat. When it comes to talent development, reflecting enables us as leaders to move from a check-the-box approach to one of transformational learning. Transformational learning requires the interplay between action and reflection.
In the future, we must build in more time for reflection. We need to find ways (and time) to make sense of all the information coming at us. How can we do that? I don't believe there is an impending technology that can help speed or otherwise enhance the reflection process, but those technologies that incorporate reflection will show elevated learning outcomes. Additionally, progressive companies will make reflection part of everyday business and perhaps even cultural imperatives. These people and companies will shift from a constant state of action to a dance of action and reflection.
Providing feedback
Effective feedback is critical for employees to understand how to make corrections. Consider the earlier golf example. If I go to the driving range and my first drive travels 20 yards and wide left, I have feedback to work with. But if I don't have the fundamental knowledge of how to make a correction, I'm more likely to repeat my actions and achieve the same result. This is the same for leadership—although the feedback will not likely be overt, immediate, and clear. What makes this more difficult is the complexity of work and the fact that there is often not a single right answer.
Because of the social and emotional side of learning, feedback from people is always difficult. No one wants to give bad news, and it is difficult to separate opinion from fact. The future of talent development will continue to hone coaching as a core competency so that we are better equipped to give and receive feedback on an immediate and regular basis.
The cycle of learning
The elements of learning are part of an ongoing and connected cycle of activities. We should expect to see the best forms of talent development find ways to enhance the interplay between all these elements—information, practice, feedback, and reflection—into a regular conversation. For the best organizations, learning will not be a discrete activity but an embedded part of an organization's culture.
From a talent development perspective, we will continue to see an emphasis on learning through experiences, real-time learning, microlearning, and social and collaborative learning. Technologies will help us reduce the cycle time for the learning loop by giving us access to information when and how we need it. However, we must physically make time for reflection. The most progressive companies will recognize this need and build reflection into their operational processes and culture.
A word about how we work
As we go forward into the future of learning, the boundaries of work will continue to be blurred, in both the physical as well as the temporal sense.
The physical workplace will not go away—largely because of the power of social and emotional connections, the need for immediate feedback (such as decisions and input), and levels of accountability. However, we will expand our ability to get work done from anywhere. Technology already supports this practice, and we will continue to shift our collective mindset and focus on the work that gets done rather than from where it gets done. With this new level of accessibility, it will become increasingly important to identify effective ways to stay connected and to self-manage.
From a time perspective, the boundaries already are blurred. Most business are 24/7 endeavors, and the more progressive companies will see the value of people flexing core work hours around personal needs—whether to run an errand, see their child's play, or exercise. Ironically, most of those activities are great contributors to the all-important need for reflection and ultimately contribute to a more holistic view of one's development.
I am all for innovation and continuing to advance the field of talent development. However, be careful of chasing the latest fad or shiny new object at the risk of missing the essential fundamentals of learning. After all, innovation is about results, and the best talent development innovations of the future must consider the fundamentals of how individuals learn. These innovations will allow for highly tailored experiences. There will be an elevated focus on content curation and tailored learning experiences, and technology will be an enabler of the most fundamental human processes associated with learning. The evolution will continue from talent development being event based or transactional to an ongoing cycle of activity that incorporates action, reflection, and feedback. For the most progressive, talent development will be built into the fabric of who we are, our everyday activities, and our culture.
Read more from CTDO magazine: Essential talent development content for C-suite leaders.
