Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2024 - 61

BUILDING
LEADERS
SAM SHRIVER &
MARSHALL GOLDSMITH
THE POTENTIAL CAREER BENEFITS
OF BEING A ONE-PERSON L&D TEAM
Consider that most learning and
development (L&D) functions started with
one person. Prior to that, organizations
typically featured a strategy that was a
mashup of sorts between onboarding
and apprenticeship: " For the next six
weeks, we want you to follow this 'proven
performer' around and pay careful
attention to everything they do. When you
can do half of what that person does, you
will be very good at your job! "
Gradually, the training function evolved into
its own entity. It had to, really. Even though
efforts to measure impact were archaic by
today's standards, organizations could still
see an undeniable relationship between
learning and increased profitability.
YOU HAVE THE
OPPORTUNITY TO
LEARN AT LEAST A
LITTLE BIT ABOUT
EVERYTHING.
So, the " next-step question " as learning
continued to grow into a strategic
priority became: " Who do we put into
the training job? "
As we remember it, discussions on the
skills needed to initiate the role often
included (keep in mind that essentially all
of these hires were internal):
* A track record of performance: Tenure
with the organization, familiarity with
its culture and a documented history
of meeting expectations.
* Platform skills: Typically featured
experience presenting background,
updates and projections to line
management and occasionally
senior management.
* People skills: Universally likable,
dependable, approachable and
responsive.
Suffice it to say, the role of L&D on the
strategic
landscape has expanded
exponentially over the years, and today
features clusters of integrated and
sophisticated responsibilities:
* Administration: Internal marketing,
metrics, materials fulfillment and
registration.
* Content: Instructional and graphic
design, development and ongoing
refreshment.
* Delivery: Instructor recruitment and
development, facilitation and feedback.
* Integration: learning management
system (LMS), content management
system (CMS) authoring and
compatibility.
Each cluster, and in some cases, each
subset, can be a job in and of itself. No
way one person could possibly do all that
effectively, right? The short answer is: No.
But in reality, and for a variety of different
reasons, there are indeed many L&D
professionals who try!
In that regard, we recently had what can
only be described as an exhilarating
conversation with Edie Stulken, who
is a one-person training department
for an organization with a little over
1,000 employees.
We asked Edie to tell us a little bit about
her job, and it was abundantly clear
from the get-go that she thrived on her
impossible circumstances. Her company
was going through a difficult stretch, and
she was playing a key role in navigating
those waters. The company had no travel
budget and no budget for outsourcing
anything. As she described her reality,
the age-old imagery of a bicycle wheel
came to mind. She was the hub, and each
of the departments and divisions she
supported were function-based spokes
that extended outward.
As Edie sees it, success in her role
depends mostly on people skills. For
example, if the company needs to do
information technology (IT) training, she
interviews a subject matter expert, then
designs, develops and delivers a custom
SharePoint module on the topic. The same
goes for every other spoke in the wheel.
Frustrations aside, it struck us that if
you find yourself in circumstances that
resemble those described above, you
have the opportunity to learn at least a
little bit about everything. It's like you
can become a central repository of
relevant knowledge for everything that
is going on around you. And over the
course of a career, because that will
inevitably take one turn after another,
imagine how that kind of experience
would significantly enhance your value
and increase your options.
Marshall Goldsmith is the world authority
in helping successful leaders get even
better. Sam Shriver is the executive vice
president at The Center for Leadership
Studies. Email the authors.
TRAINING INDUSTRY MAGAZINE - SPRING 2024 I WWW.TRAININGINDUSTRY.COM/MAGAZINE
61

https://trainingindustry.com/articles/content-development/if-you-build-it-will-they-come-6-steps-for-marketing-your-training-internally/ https://trainingindustry.com/glossary/soft-skills/ https://trainingindustry.com/glossary/learning-management-system-lms/ https://trainingindustry.com/glossary/learning-management-system-lms/ https://trainingindustry.com/glossary/content-management-system-cms/ https://trainingindustry.com/glossary/content-management-system-cms/ https://www.trainingindustry.com/magazine

Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2024