Training Industry Quarterly - Winter 2011 - (Page 7)

AT THE EDITOR’S DESK | DAVID LAMB IT’S TIME TO LOOK THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS. BECOMING ENABLERS E nablement is a new term that is beginning to be used more frequently to describe the work of learning professionals. Change enablement. Sales enablement. People enablement. Why? We have struggled over the years to apply terms that best describe our formal work, i.e., instructional design, performance improvement, performance consulting, human performance technology. We have become expert at formal learning methods and tools: Asking the right questions, of the right people, in the right way. The answers allow us to zero in on best practices that we carefully formulate into the right learning solutions. We craft our solutions so that knowledge and skills transfer to the workplace and create business value. As good as we are with formal learning methods and tools, our solutions actually provide only a small fraction of what our learners need. Learners must also master informal learning methods and tools. Learning professionals tend to perceive informal learning as the learner’s responsibility. We advise our learners that they should observe, collaborate, read, learn from others, seek coaching and mentoring, etc. With this advice, we feel that we have intellectually resolved the issue. However, younger generations do not have patience to wait for the “right solution” for only 20 percent of what they need to become proficient. Nor do they value nebulous directional statements. They want access to tools that allow them to create their own solutions and collaborate with others. They feel that doing so will allow them to more quickly accomplish the other 80 percent. It’s time to look through a different lens at how we provide value for learners. We must become “enablers.” This Month’s Guest Editor David Lamb is vice president, learning and media services, Rollins Inc. David has led learning functions for Rollins, BellSouth, Bank of Montreal, Aetna, ADP and General Motors. He is a 2011 board member of the Atlanta Human Resource Leadership Forum and has recently worked with a number of his peers to form the Atlanta Learning Leaders Roundtable (25 Chief Learning Oﬃcers). David has acted as an executive adviser for numerous professional societies and universities and has extensive experience in the implementation of learning technology solutions. David is a Certiﬁed Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP), a Registered Corporate Coach and a Certiﬁed Leadership Coach. E-mail David. Know someone who’d make an outstanding guest editor? Interested in becoming one yourself? Contact us at editor@trainingindustry.com. Rather than just advise, we must enable them to access and effectively use informal learning techniques. We should apply all that we have learned for designing and developing formal learning solutions to devise a new set of methods and tools to be used specifically for enabling informal learning. Doing so will enhance our value proposition. Not doing so may move us to the margin. I love Jay Cross’ informal learning analogy: “Formal learning is like riding a bus: the driver decides where the bus is going; the passengers are along for the ride. Informal learning is like riding a bike: the rider chooses the destination, the speed and the route.” We are at a critical fork in the road. If we choose to stay on the same path, we may find ourselves on a stalled bus. If we choose the enablement path, we can transform our bikes—and those of our learners—into Harley-Davidson Softails. 7 TrainingIndustry Quarterly, Winter 2011 / A Training Industry, Inc. ezine / www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ http://www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Quarterly - Winter 2011

Training Industry Quarterly - Winter 2011
Element K
From Where I Sit: Your 2011 Action Plan
Table of Contents
Ad Index
Training Industry Top 20
At the Editor's Desk: Becoming Enablers
Raytheon Professional Services
Performance & Productivity: The Power of Conversations
Altus
Learning Technologies: Paving Cow Paths for Dinosaurs?
KnowledgePool
Technical Training: Talent Management & Technical Training
Partnering for Performance Conference
Learning 2020: Thinking about the Future of Learning
Cornerstone On Demand
Cover Report: Proving Training's Value: Linking Training to Business Outcomes
The Training Associates
Tactics Feature: 7 Solutions for Workforce Training
Harvard Business Publishing
Strategies Feature: Onboarding: A Driving Force for Employee Engagement
Hemsley Fraser
Solutions Feature: Making Informal Learning Real
Training Industry Quarterly
MicroTek
CaseBook: Habitat for Humanity: Training Under Construction
Tracking Trends: The Big Shift
Closing Arguments: Focusing on the Future
Delta College Corporate Services

Training Industry Quarterly - Winter 2011