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Kasper Spiro

August 2018 - TD Magazine

Rather than trying to solve learning problems, give the business the tools it needs to solve them.

Five Steps to Launching Employee-Generated Learning

    I'm happy to announce that several thought leaders have joined together with me to revitalize the Big Question. We will likely be trying some different things over the next few months. What exactly, we aren't sure. We'll figure it out as we go.The goals of the Big Question will remain the same:A way to highlight thought leaders around topics of interest to eLearning ProfessionalsA way to stimulate different perspectives on questions that are of interest to eLearning Professionals.We are definitely interested in having contributions from other Thought Leaders, so feel free to contact me: akarrer@techempower.com if you are interested in participating.Glenn HansenGlenn has over 10 year's experience in the field of workplace learning and performance, and is currently the Learning and Development Manager at The Salvation Army Employment Plus in Australia. He has a particular interest in how communications technology can enhance and facilitate corporate learning and performance, and the creation of new opportunities for learning in and outside the workforce. Glenn holds a Master of Psychology degree, and enjoys Australian Rules Football, NFL and most other sports that involve a ball and action.Blog: http://www.glennhansen.tumblr.comTwitter: @glennhansenThomas EdgertonThomas Edgerton is a performance consultant, professional coach, instructional technologist, master swimmer, and perpetual optimist. Over the years, his award winning work traverses sneaker net to the present crossing diverse industries, platforms, pedagogy, and people. Let me warn you beforehand, I am more hopeful today than at any previous point in my life.twitter: 4EFRSWMlinkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasedgertonwebsite: www.skilledge.netJeffrey GoldmanJeff Goldman has 13+ years experience in the training and development field, including nine years designing and developing e-learning. He has a dual focus in both online learning and classroom training and has experience designing learning solutions in banking, healthcare, and for nonprofit organizations. Jeff holds a Master of Arts degree in Instructional Systems Design from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Colorado at Boulder.LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/minutebioTwitter: www.twitter.com/minutebioHolly MacDonaldHolly lives on a small semi-rural island off the coast of British Columbia, Canada where she works as an independent learning strategist, advising clients thoughout their journey to e-learning. She's particularly interested in performance support and the rise of user generated content as growth areas for traditional workplace learning. Holly's been tinkering in the learning field for over 15 years in a variety of roles. After 12+ years in the corporate world, she decided that climbing the career ladder was not the only option and freedom 55 was someone else's dream. She's enjoying the diversity that consulting offers, even if the workload is daunting at times. She's a voracious reader (mostly snobby fiction), a fair-weather sea kayaker, enthusiastic (but not particularly skilful) downhill skier and a busy mom who seeks to find time to do it all.Web: http://www.sparkandco.caTwitter: http://twitter.com/sparkandcoLinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/hollymacdonaldBlog: http://sparkyourinterest.wordpress.com/Kasper SpiroKasper has over 25 years of experience in the field of learning and user performance support. His learning experience goes from teaching, authoring textbooks, designing and creating e-Learning, knowledge management and user performance support. As a manager his experience ranges from being CEO of an early internet startup in the nineties to his current position as CEO of easygenerator.He has a passion for learning, learning technology and innovation. With easygenerator he is on a mission to make it the best e-learning authoring system in the world and innovate e-Learning along the way. He believes that we should bring (e)-Learning to the workplace and that learning content is key in reaching that goal.Blog: www.KasperSpiro.comLinkedIn, Skype, Twitter: KasperSpiroWeb: www.easygenerator.com

Big Question Thought Leaders

The better our relationships, the more effectively and efficiently leaders can achieve our desired outcomes.The paradox is that the quality of our relationships is best established without a motive—not because a person can help me, but because I am genuinely interested her, interested in what she does, how I can help her.One of my very favorite books, The 100/0 Principle by Al Ritter, proposes that a relationship shouldn’t be 50/50; we should offer our whole self to it. There should be no judgment or qualification. This means, you want to be a colleague, teammate, or friend regardless of what kind of car the other person drives or whether they can help you in your business.Why is that important? When two people connect because of mutual respect and admiration, they form a genuine bond that opens the door to trust. They can share ideas and simply enjoy each other. Rather than try to one-up the other, they can ask questions to understand and learn. By exchanging stories, they discover how they might help one another.That is exactly what good business relationships are about: Conversations are way more important than emails, newsletters, videos, or conference calls.Broaden your circleLeaders need to reach out to the people doing the work of the company. Too often, though, top executives spend the vast majority of their time only with other executives. Leaders must realize that the work of a company is done at all levels—out in the field, working with clients and customers, and behind the scenes. Every member of a team is important and makes a difference.When leaders seek advice, feedback, and help to the broader circle of workers, they demonstrate humility and quiet confidence. These are very attractive qualities in a leader. More important, they build trust and inspire mutual success.This is an area where men could learn from women. Women tend to connect with people regardless of whether they are in their immediate circle, and that is good for organizational culture and morale.Case in pointThis week I had the privilege of participating in a leadership development workshop with regional leaders of Billy Casper Golf, the acknowledged leader in the field of golf course management. This is a company with a unique organizational spirit—highly capable people working very hard, who genuinely like and root for one another. They are teammates around the country, sharing ideas and offering feedback to one another. Billy Casper Golf exemplifies the power of a true team!In the leadership workshop, we discussed relationships at all levels: on the golf course, in the pro shop, in the restaurant, and throughout the property. The focus was “the better the relationships, the better the quality of work done and the better the golfer experience.”One session I attended included about 60 golf course superintendents, agronomists who have the vital, demanding responsibility of caring for the course conditions. They went around the room one by one and discussed how they engage each and every team member.All of them said they made a point to have one-on-one conversations, asking for ideas and advice, seeking feedback, listening intentionally to understand and learn, and expressing their appreciation. They discussed the goal of having everyone take pride in their work, and used the example of someone on the grounds crew raking a sand trap perfectly so the golfers would fully enjoy playing their course.As a student of leadership, I can tell you that I was very impressed that these superintendents are a group of highly effective leaders. No question, their successes are due to their strong internal relationships.Moving forwardTom Peters, esteemed professor of management at Stanford and author of In Search of Excellence, one of the early great business books, said if we take good care of our people, they will take good care of our clients. So true!Too busy for conversations, even short conversations? Give away some of your responsibilities. One of the superintendents at the meeting said, “There is nothing more important than our people, I don't want to hear that we don't have time for conversations with them!”As a leader, internal relationships are our duty!

Kasper Spiro

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