More emphasis is needed in the downstream, post-training work context where Performers confront moments of need that do not conform to what we build storyboards to address. Transferring knowledge through linear learning is great for raising awareness, but sustained capability in the form of consistent performance results happens downstream at the point of work. That’s where the rules of engagement have changed.
Tag: performance support
In a previous life, I worked for a large medical equipment manufacturer and was tasked to lead a team to improve leader development. We developed a Leadership Academy that had a replicable 10-point Organizational Change Management [OCM] model as part of the curricula. I’ve found the OCM model instrumental in positioning new innovative, and even disruptive…or should I say especially disruptive…enterprise initiatives. Embedded Performer Support [EPS] is as innovative and disruptive as they come.
We know everyone leaving our class on “Digging the Perfect Hole” knows which end of a shovel to hold and the finer conceptual points of digging a very fine hole. With confidence we can say they have the potential to actually dig one. Heck, we have proof; they loved the course per our smile sheets, and they passed the test with flying colors. Houston, we have the promise of potential! We also have a high degree of false competency.
Building competency is a journey. It is a journey that extends well beyond the formal learning event [Training] and into the post-training work context where there is no longer any safety net. Mistakes at this level cost money. Mistakes are part of learning. How much learning can one afford at the hands of mistakes?
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AGILE Is As AGILE Does
As with earlier conferences that I’ve spoken at this year, there is once again a lot of buzz around the concept of AGILE. AGILE what? That is a key question to ask because from what I’m seeing, not all AGILE approaches are scoped equally when it comes to learning and performance solutions.
Implementing Embedded Performer Support [EPS] can be as daunting a task as eating an entire elephant. Not sure I’d ever want to eat an elephant, but if I did, it would be one bite at a time versus scarfing down the whole thing. One bite at a time rings true for implementing EPS as well. Keep in mind that EPS is not a technology [though technology may well be part of the effort]; EPS is a discipline.
In my current role, I work in a virtual environment that is strategically located between corn and soy beans in the rolling hills of southeastern Indiana. Driving narrow, rural country roads to breakfast at the local truck stop this morning, I encountered numerous other pick-up trucks. Yes, I drive one too, but no rifle rack, nor is there a confederate flag in the back window. You might be asking yourself what any of this has to do with performer support. Answer: Plenty
Knowing what to do…and being equipped [supported] to effectively do what needs done… are the equivalent of comparing great training to the effective application of learning. We train the former…and we support the performer on the latter. This distinction becomes a liability when we treat performer support as an add-on to training or as an after-the-fact development cycle rather than including it as part of our core design discipline.
Last week [October 25th] I had the distinct privilege of sitting in on the Tin Can API break-out session that was presented by Aaron Silvers of ADL. I’m not sure of his exact title, but his role was in a leadership capacity on the Tin Can API project. His business card says “the Beard”…and while that was accurate, I still don’t know his real title. Given ADL was also the birth mother of SCORM, I walked in and sat down with a preconception or two that this was SCORM in a new dress. Wow, was I wrong!
Have you ever explained something to someone who is either hearing it for the first time or is still trying to get their head wrapped around the concept? You know how they will nod slowly in seeming agreement while looking off into the ether and saying dreamily, “Yeah…” really, really slowly?” That far-off look is confirmation that they are indeed interested and yet remain clueless for the most part. The room was full of those folks in the Tin Can break out session where I heard this new sound bite. I must confess now knowing enough to be dangerous and yet confident in the implications to the point of being way too excited to sit down.