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Bob, a Collaborative Design Coach and user of Accelerated Learning techniques, is a well‐know learning leader in the Forum. He has promoted the lab methodology now used were we connect, collaborate and learn rather than consume ideas.

Bob Means

In the December Public Manager cover story, "The Science of Engagement," Bob Lavigna address the importance of employee engagement—not just as a feel-good activity but as a means to better performance.

Why Improving Federal Employee Engagement Matters

“It is not about what they know; it is about what they can do.”—Bob MosherMany years ago, learning scientist Roger Schank stated “learning is the work.” Today learning in the workflow is getting renewed interest as organizations realize the opportunities new technologies provide to make assets available at the point of need. The nature of work is changing, and therefore the need for access to learning assets is changing. The modern worker wants learning that is personalized just for their needs and available on a variety of devices. They are more adaptive, collaborative, and self-directed than earlier generations of learners. They use smartphones to search for answers at any time, and expect immediate access to information.Several years ago, Conrad Gottfredson and Bob Mosher of APPLY Synergies conducted studies on learning and authored Innovative Performance Support: Strategies and Practices for Learning in the Workflow. Their research identified five unique moments when performers are learning: learn new, learn more, apply, solve, change. The first two are associated with formal training while the last three exist in the realm of performance support. Unlike traditional approaches that encourage learner dependency and begin with a training solution framed by the deeply ingrained assumption that performance challenges are best ameliorated by new learning, the five moments of need methodology encourages independence and launches from the moment of application (when learned skills are applied to the performance of a job task). The corresponding assumption in play is that performance challenges are best addressed by providing performers access to cascading levels of support, from simple (for instance, a reminder of the basic steps required to complete a task) to comprehensive (targeted training oriented around job roles and tasks for which the result of failure is catastrophic).These moments include:1. When people are learning how to do something for the first time (learn new).Example: A first-time supervisor, promoted from within, needs to learn the progressive discipline policies of the organization.2. When people are expanding the breadth and depth of what they have learned (learn more).Example: The first-time supervisor needs to learn how to conduct a verbal counseling session under the progressive discipline policies of the organization.3. When they need to act on what they have learned, which includes planning what they will do, remembering what they may have forgotten, or adapting their performance to a unique situation (apply).Example: The first-time supervisor needs to perform the task of conducting a verbal counseling session (acting on what they have learned). This requires the supervisor to plan the encounter, remember what they may have forgotten, and possibly adapt their performance to a unique situation.4. When problems arise, or things break or don’t work the way they were intended (solve).Example: During the verbal counseling session, the employee presents the first-time supervisor with new medical documentation and notice that legal counsel has been retained.5. When people need to learn a new way of doing something, which requires them to unlearn deeply ingrained skills and relearn to adjust to new practices, requirements, and so forth (change).Example: In response to legal challenges, the organization has significantly changed its time and attendance policies and procedures. The first-time supervisor, formerly a line employee of several years, must overcome familiarity with the way it has always been and internalize the new approach.Learning new and more is the traditional stronghold for L&D professionals. It is what we have done for years and years. Learning used in apply, solve, and change moments is performance support; it is needed when it is needed—just in time, not when someone is attending a class. It is also needed in the right amount, not the amount deemed important for the length of a class.According to Gottfredson and Mosher, all learning needs to focus on application. This means addressing the entire journey performers make, from the beginning stages of learning through the full range of challenges when learners are called upon to actually perform, to use what they’ve learned to take actions. If organizations are interested in advancing employee performance, they must understand the moments when employees need access to learning.The Complete Learning Journey is depicted as three phases—training, transfer, and sustain, as illustrated in this image. Designing for this model requires pairing team members who are certified in the five moments of need methodology with practitioners who are experts in the role for which content is being designed. While in concept this approach is not so different from a traditional designer–subject matter expert collaboration, in practice it becomes more of a relationship between the designer and the larger professional community being served. Approaches differ based on the moment (for example, new is taught differently than more), and content associated with formal instruction is generally limited to those tasks that, if performed incorrectly, result in significant or catastrophic outcomes. Tasks carrying less risk are addressed through instruction or performance support in the workflow.This is a framework that various modalities can easily fit into. For example, there are ways to support the moments with e-learning, microlearning, videos, gaming, and so forth. However, this design requires a complete change of mindset about the learning portfolio and an understanding that five moments of need is not a different version of ADDIE. Some tips from experience to better navigate your “new” moment with this methodology were recently provided to ATD Forum members and include:Invest your time and professional development dollars in getting up to speed holistically on the five moments of need methodology. Allow yourself to be confused as you learn; it all makes sense eventually.Don’t waste your time trying to explain the shift to a performance-based approach. Just assume that the broad community of stakeholders won’t actually get it until you have a no-kidding demonstration product to show them that’s applicable to their work.Target an individual stakeholder in an underserved area of your business as your partner. The underserved are more likely to be willing helpers and will appreciate getting top-of-the-line, impactful learning support in return.Get started, but start small.Work under the radar.It’s much harder than you think. Stick with it anyway and trust the process. As Mae West is quoted as saying, “I never said it would be easy; I just said it would be worth it.”ATD Resources:Technology to the RescuePerformance Support Certificate ProgramScience of Learning 101: When to Build Performance Support, Part 1

Learning at the Moment of Need

In addition to his current role at Netsurion as director of sales enablement, Bob is also the CEO of Sales Enablement Sherpas and a founding member of the Sales Enablement Society, serving currently as President of their Dallas Chapter. Bob has been in sales, sales enablement, and L&D for more than 20 years, having sold and led sales teams, worked with sales teams at Dell and NTT DATA, and built a training organization from the ground-up with a defense contractor in New England. Bob approaches corporate learning and development through the lens of an MBA, understanding the dynamics of complex services, manufacturing, and sales environments, while simplifying it all so stakeholders across an organization communicate effectively and move needles. Bob leverages his military (10 years in the U.S. Navy) and corporate experiences to build organizations which focus on cross-functional knowledge management, performance improvement, paradigm alignment, and cultural growth.Bob was born and raised in Boston and now lives in Dallas with his family. He’s a die-hard Red Sox fan, a foodie, is on his second U.S. Passport, and is a sub-par (meaning bad) golfer. One of Bob’s favorite quotes is, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

Bob Britton

Do You Take Business Speak for Granted? You Should Not as a Trainer.
Do you find yourself using business speak to make yourself sound smarter or more in the know? When you say a phrase such as “out of pocket” or “thought leader” or “tycoon,” do you know where it comes from? Communicating well is a key part of training and learning and development. Understanding the origin of common words and phrases can help you communicate better, sound more in the know, and become a better presenter. Join Bob Wiltfong and Tim Ito, co-authors of The BS Dictionary: Uncovering the Origins and True Meanings of Business Speak, for a lively discussion about communication in virtual and in-person business settings. You will also have a chance to share your experiences and ask questions of Wiltfong (a presenter and Emmy-winning journalist) and Ito (a digital marketing and content leader and former vice president of content at ATD).
 

ATD Book Talk - Bob Wiltfong and Tim Ito on The BS Dictionary: Uncovering the True Meanings of Business Speak

Making mission statements meaningful

Learning to Recognize Discrimination in Business Language

Research shows that coaching is one of the most effective leadership development programs available. With record high turnover rates this past March, managers must develop coaching and mentoring skills if they hope to build trust and retain their employees. When employees understand what is expected of them, the goals they’re trying to meet, and how they contribute to the team’s success, organizations are better positioned to build customer loyalty, boost productivity, and outshine competitors.
In this upcoming webinar, join training manager and expert LMS administrator Bob Rysavy to learn how he built a successful coaching culture in his organization, NewCold, using e-learning courses in OpenSesame’s library. You will walk away knowing how training managers in the L&D space are achieving their goals, personalizing courses, and paving career paths for their employees.
During this webinar, you will learn how to:

Build team trust.
Provide personalized training and feedback.
Measure and close gaps in employee performance.
Help employees develop leadership qualities.
Leverage coaching to drive performance and development. 


5 Ways Coaching Culture Drives High Performance

Do you yearn for a book to disambiguate words and phrases commonly used in business settings, your workplace, and in life in general? Do you wish the kimono would open on idioms and clichés that stretch the bandwidth of understanding and make you wonder if your career is scalable? What are you really saying when you go against the grain and are aboveboard? What do you hear when your colleague wants face time or to move the needle? The BS Dictionary: Uncovering the Origins and True Meanings of Business Speak provides the real-world definitions to about 300 of the world's most commonly-used business terms and gives you the origin story (who coined the term? when did it start to be used figuratively in the business world?) for each one. Get the language clarity you need and have fun learning the full etymology of favorite phrases. Read humorous commentary about how phrases might be misused or misunderstood. If you are interested in language, business speak, writing, and trivia knowledge, this book is for you! Get The BS Dictionary and impress your friends with your newfound wealth of phrases and their history. About the Authors: Bob Wiltfong is a former correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Emmy award winning journalist. His love for BS was fostered through 20+ years of working as a consultant in presentation skills for several Fortune 500 companies including T-Mobile, General Electric and Charles Schwab. He often confirms trending BS terms with his CMO wife and is reminded that he has a lot more to learn from his three kids. Tim Ito is a former reporter at US News & World Report as well as Senior Editor at The Washington Post. His passion for BS grew as an adjunct professor of content and marketing at Georgetown University as well as serving as VP of content and marketing at the Association for Talent Development (ATD). Tim keeps up to date on the latest BS in his current role as VP of Marketing at the Washington Speakers Bureau. His wife and two kids can vouch for the fact that he is full of BS. Check Us Out: The Site: https://www.thebsdictionary.com/ The Book: https://www.td.org/product/book--the-bs-dictionary/112010.

The BS Dictionary: The Man on the Street

The Harvard Business Review has cited “recognition given for high performance” as the most impactful driver of employee engagement and The Aberdeen Group has found the number one way Best-in-Class organizations improve employee engagement is through employee-recognition programs. Meanwhile, most employees today feel overworked and underappreciated and are less valued and more stressed for their efforts than ever before. Based on their most recent books, Recognizing & Engaging Employees For Dummies (Dr. Bob) and Triggers (Dr. Goldsmith) this webinar will help you cut through the clutter in determining how best to engage your employees. Dr. Bob will help you understand the link between employee recognition and engagement and how to make that connection in your organization -- even with limited time, resources or budget and Dr. Goldsmith will discuss the need for organizations to shift the focus to employees to be responsible for their own level of engagement. Both will show how the best companies take a focused and long-term strategic view of their employee resource that systematically integrates the engagement practices into the daily work practices of all individuals, managers and employees, identifying and acting on opportunities in timely and specific ways. This session will be filled with specific real-life examples and techniques that can be immediately applied back on the job by attendees to systematically leverage, build and sustain a culture of recognition and engagement in their workplace.

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