Training Industry Magazine - November/December 2019 - 36

USE EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING TO
BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN THEORY
AND PRACTICE AND CAPITALIZE
ON THE DESIRE FOR MORE
DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES.
can implement a similar approach. The
ability to simulate real-world scenarios
and provide participants with a platform
to practice different approaches is
critical to professional development.

2| FEEDBACK, COACHING AND
MENTORSHIP PROGRAMS
Many organizations incorporate models
that encourage senior leaders inside
and outside of the organization to
coach rising leaders. These coaching
conversations should not simply focus on
the day-to-day lives of each party. To be
truly effective, coaching and mentoring
must integrate experiential learning.
Construct coaching frameworks that allow
pairs to explore various scenarios and
provide an arena for learners to practice
potential outcomes. Allow the coaches/
mentors to share their own stories
and guide an immersive environment.
Enhance learning moments by providing
scenario-based conversations that reflect
real-world challenges. This practice allows
for true learning through practice in the
place of simple conversations that recap
the prior two weeks of performance.

3| ACTION LEARNING PROJECTS
When training groups are split into
cohorts, you experience the added
benefit of building comradery among
participants. Embrace that benefit, and
give each group a company challenge.
Maybe it's a strategic priority to improve
the onboarding of campus hires or
an exercise in breaking down crossfunctional barriers while simultaneously
removing monthly all-hands meetings.
Whatever you choose, set a group
of learners on a journey to prepare
and present its potential solutions. If
possible, include a competitive element
where multiple teams concoct different
approaches and are judged on their
performance and creativity.

The Future of
Learning
Impactful learning must first break
through the numerous barriers of
distraction and provide learners the
level of control they are accustomed to.
Passive approaches to learning delivery
fail to take advantage of the opportunity

to positively impact today's leaders as
well as the leaders of the future.
Experiential learning creates a memorable
and engaging environment in which
participants can actively pursue the
development of new competencies.
In LinkedIn's workplace learning survey,
94% of respondents said they would
stay with their current employer longer if
it invested in their career development.
Use experiential learning to bridge
the gap between theory and practice
and capitalize on the desire for more
development opportunities.
What better way to close a conversation
about the future than with a quote by
Aristotle from 350 BCE: "For the things
we have to learn before we can do them,
we learn by doing them."
Matt Confer is the vice president of
strategy at Abilitie, a leading provider of
simulation-based manger and executive
development training for over 50 Fortune
500 companies in 30+ countries around
the world. Matt has spoken on the topic
of leadership development at TEDx
in Dallas, the CLO Exchange and at the
annual Human Resources Leadership
Summit. Email Matt.

Experiential Learning: 3 Takeaways to Remember
1|Brainstorm what learning looks
like in the future by first considering
what will never be true. Does
passive learning realistically have
a chance of being preferred by
future learners?

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2|Learning operates in an environment
ripe with distractions. Learners
demand control, because they
harness it in other aspects of their
lives. Experiential learning is a
dynamic solution to combat these
two core challenges.

3|We can use experiential learning
to engage learners in an immersive
environment that breaks through
potential distractions and allows
them to play an active role in
the experience.
http://www.abilitie.com/ https://www.ted.com/talks/matthew_confer_before_you_decide_3_steps_to_better_decision_making
Training Industry Magazine - November/December 2019

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