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Molly Necessary

Stand Firm in Quest for True Data

The name of the Association for Talent Development's premier talent development certification is changing. Certified Professional in Learning and Performance will now be called the Certified Professional in Talent Development. That change represents the breadth of capabilities talent development professionals are proficient at, explains Holly Batts, associate director of credentialing for ATD.The newly titled certification represents not only TD professionals’ skills with learning and performance, which has long been accepted and understood, but also the wide array of capabilities required of TD professionals. Those include change management, coaching, and organization development and culture. They are all the ways that individuals in the profession develop talent, Batts points out. The certification's name now reflects that.Further, the change coincides with the unveiling of ATD’s new Talent Development Capability Model. The model is the framework for talent development practitioners regarding what they need to know and the skills they need so as to develop themselves, others, and their organizations. It was developed as a result of extensive research that included surveys of TD professionals around the world, in-depth conversations with practitioners, and meetings of preeminent leaders in the field.Adjusted learner experienceBeyond the certification’s name change—which aligns with the Associate Professional in Talent Development certification—there are several other exciting and timely changes taking place, including with the candidate platform, portal, and exam format.Individuals interested in applying for the CPTD or APTD certifications can use a single sign-on with their ATD credentials to begin the process. The portal was designed so that applicants can apply more easily, and it was built on an agile system with the end in mind. Individuals can track their progress on completing the application, and they will have access to all necessary materials to answer questions about the exam.Rather than relying on the former Learning System as the basis to learn about material covered in either exam, the Talent Development Body of Knowledge—or TDBok, as it’s commonly referenced—is an excellent resource for diving into the concepts of the Talent Development Capability Model. TDBok was developed with the insights and guidance of more than 60 subject matter expert contributors and gives TD practitioners the means to define the personal, professional, and organizational impact capabilities required for success today and in the future.The CPTD exam is now one exam, rather than the previous two. This change is again based on member feedback and surveys. The type of questioning has likewise changed and now relies on both multiple-choice and case-management questions that mimic real-life decision making. Applicants must answer a question about the situation and then will receive a subsequent challenge.A case study may, for example, pose the challenge of having to set up a call center for customer service reps to learn about a new product, asking test takers about the first step they would embark upon given the challenge. They may then be told that, rather than having one month to set up the call center with properly trained and knowledgeable customer advocates, the time frame is shortened to two weeks.Because the exam’s content represents a subset of knowledge and skills embodied in the Talent Development Capability Model, the CPTD certification covers material from 22 of the model’s capabilities and requires 60 hours of professional education.Further, the new APTD exam covers additional content included in the Capability Model, such as emotional intelligence, organizational development and culture, and collaboration and leadership. This represents the greater scope of the personal, professional, and organizational capabilities than the legacy exam but all at the foundational level. The APTD eligibility has changed and now requires three years of work experience alongside 28 hours of professional development earned within the last three years.Individuals who have previously held the CPLP certification will receive new certificates in the mail soon. Exam windows for CPTD and APTD. If you have questions about your certification or what course to pursue, connect with one of ATD’s certification specialists at certification@td.org.Share your ATD Virtual Conference experience on social media. #ATDVirtualConference

Certification Changes: Prove the Breadth of Your Capabilities

Every year, Gallup releases the State of the American Manager, its analysis of the current condition of managerial expertise. The latest results, released December 2017, contained several new conclusions, but the grim fact remains: Little has changed with the state of management in the United States. The sobering news:One-third (35 percent) of managers are engaged in their work.One in five managers (18 percent) has the “high talent” needed to succeed in their roles.Bad management costs the U.S. economy anywhere from $319 billion to $398 billion in lost productivity annually.We all know that bad managers wreak havoc on employee performance—either by not developing their teams and enabling accountability for results, or by simply creating an environment where employees don’t want to come to work. In fact, Gallup reports: “Managers account for at least 70 percent of the variance in employee engagement scores across business units. Gallup’s study of employee engagement found that just 30 percent of U.S. workers are engaged, demonstrating a clear link between poor managing and a nation of ‘checked out’ employees.”Yet, the most somber news in the Gallup analysis may not be that the state of management is in disarray. More worrisome is Gallup’s conclusion about the innate nature of good managers: Only a certain number of managers are born with the capacity to manage others and, as a result, companies should focus more heavily on selection of managers rather than the development of them.“If great managers seem scarce, it’s because the talent required to be one is rare. Talents are innate and are the building blocks of great performance,” the report states. “Gallup’s research reveals that about one in 10 people possess high talent to manage. Though many people are endowed with some of the necessary traits, few have the unique combination of talents needed to help a team achieve excellence in a way that significantly improves a company’s performance. These 10 percent, when put in manager roles, naturally engage team members and customers, retain top performers, and sustain a culture of high productivity.”It's an odd conclusion to make because it defies the fundamental understanding we have about human development and the ability for people to change in a positive, progressive way. What’s more, taking such a static view inherently limits many people by default into managers or nonmanagers, ignoring the capacity for people to develop their skills.So, are there some leaders who are just bad managers and can never be that great? Sure. But I would argue that a majority of individuals can be great—with the right tools, culture, and framework. That’s where ATD can set the right approach with its ACCEL model, a framework for the core skills managers need to be successful: accountability, collaboration, communication, engagement, and listening and assessing.ACCEL revolves around establishing a culture (from the CEO to every manager on down) where learning and improving is the focus. And rather than focusing only on an individual’s strengths, ACCEL encourages managers to develop in five core areas, which might be areas that they currently are not considered strong.Some might say this notion is folly, because having a talent for managing is simply innate. But ATD believes that everyone has the capacity to become better—where weaknesses can become strengths, with a focused effort on culture and learning as a priority.Think about it: If every executive focused their efforts on improvement of their team, wouldn’t they see improvement in performance? Wouldn’t their results also improve? Indeed, in the end, your business certainly isn’t static, so why should your view of people be?Learn more about our ACCEL model at www.td.org/accel, and make sure to check out our ATD/Yale Foundations of Management Excellence program, which is based on our ACCEL model.

The (Still) Sad State of the American Manager—and What We Can Do About It

Workplace intrusions—when one co-worker stops by another’s desk for social or work reasons, interrupting their task—are often seen as distracting, momentum-killing, and taking time away from work. But if done correctly, some intrusions are beneficial and even energizing.“We read in the news and books about how bad workplace intrusions are, with co-workers portrayed as ‘time thieves’,” says Mike Baer, an associate professor of management and entrepreneurship at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. “But as authors and researchers, we started to look at our experience. We could think of many situations in which intrusions led to interesting research projects and energized us throughout the rest of the day. So, we questioned whether it was true that intrusions are always bad.”Baer co-authored a research paper, “To What Do I Owe This Visit? The Drawbacks and Benefits of In-Role and Non-Role Intrusions,” with ASU Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship David Welsh, to investigate the dynamics of various types of workplace intrusions. Their results suggest that intrusions may lead to beneficial employee outcomes in addition to the adverse outcomes previously demonstrated in the literature. Specifically, what Baer and Welsh call “in-role” intrusions—when a co-worker comes by to ask about a project or to hand off a task—reengage employees and sometimes lead to enhanced collaboration, while non-role intrusions, like asking about weekend plans, require greater mental energy to switch between and are more important to limit.As organizations navigate the transition to hybrid or fully remote work environments, understanding how in-role intrusions can positively influence engagement and productivity is more important than ever. Here are some tips for mindfully leveraging workplace intrusions:Be aware that trying to avoid all intrusions may cause you to miss out on meaningful benefits. The pandemic has given rise to remote work and situations that are designed to reduce intrusions in many ways, but Baer cautions organizations against policies that cause employees to miss out on the benefits that come from in-person interactions like collaboration and increased engagement.Think of work-related intrusions as challenges that motivate you to work harder rather than as an unnecessary distraction. Challenge stressors—things like time pressure or workload—require people to expand their capabilities to overcome challenges. In-role intrusions can act as challenge stressors and motivate employees to push harder and be more engaged in their work throughout the day.Harness the opportunity that intrusions provide to share information and bounce ideas off your co-workers. The benefits of engagement, collaboration, and helping behaviors are often hidden. Baer’s research found that stopping by a coworker’s desk with an in-role intrusion can become an opportunity for positive collaboration between employees.If you’re a leader, consider implementing work arrangements that facilitate the work-related intrusions that can energize employees and foster collaboration. Seating employees near one another or implementing hybrid work schedules to encourage employees to work in the same spaces can encourage impromptu encounters and feedback that act as challenges to reenergize and focus employees while providing opportunities for natural collaboration.If you’re intruding on others, save your non-work topics for breaks rather than dropping by your co-workers’ desks unannounced. “I would counsel employees to be aware of when and for what reason they are intruding on their co-workers throughout the day,” says Baer. While discussing things like family or extracurricular activities helps build and maintain relationships, they typically have a negative effect on employees’ immediate job performance and should instead be held during a break. 

5 Tips for Reframing Workplace Interruptions

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