As a leader or HR professional, you might need to find and implement a robust learning experience in your organization for any number of reasons.
Scenarios could range from a short-term training course on new technologies after a DX initiative, a micro-learning experience to integrate formal employee training, or targeted coaching for a group of high-potential future leaders.
Plenty of courses, classes, and programs are available, but choosing one that will produce long-term results and sustainable change can feel overwhelming. It is tough to wade through promises and guarantees, but adult learning and education look very different from childhood education. Adults learn in different ways than children and need different tools to integrate the learning and make sustained changes.
Here are six questions to help you decide whether a learning experience will result in sustained change for your organization.
Any learning experience should be relevant to the learner’s world. Adults need to know that the time they spend learning something new, implementing that knowledge, and making appropriate changes will positively impact their lives. They need to see a connection between the experience and job or career growth, professional improvement, and even personal development.
As the old saw reminds us, the only way to eat the elephant is one bite at a time. Breaking down big ideas into smaller pieces helps people digest information better and remember and apply concepts more effectively.
Take, for instance, the concept of leadership. Someone looking to improve leadership skills would need help knowing where to start with such a big, complex idea. Stewart Leadership has broken down the vast topic of “leadership” into quadrants and further into specific leadership dimensions within each quadrant with its LEAD NOW! Model. This model helps leaders drill down into more specific, targeted areas for improvement and allows them to focus on their most critical challenges.
The more we learn about storytelling, the more evidence we have that using stories to provoke action, change, or development can have a deep impact on the brain and help improve chances for long-lasting change. In a TED Talk from 2021, leadership consultant Karen Eber points out that data does not change behavior—emotions do. When someone tells a story, the entire brain of the story receiver will light up, and the story receiver will experience a connection with the storyteller that will engage emotions and senses. As these connections are made, the ability to retain information and the desire to make lasting changes will increase.
When a learning experience includes storytelling, the overall impact of the experience is greater than it would be without story. One experiment suggested memorizing a list of words in story form improved retention six to seven times over memorizing the same list without a story. Remember, only about 20% of your employee audience will feel motivated by data; the other 80% needs to connect with information through another type of story.
Closely tied to storytelling is the impact of short, powerful statements. Sometimes these may take the form of parables, fables, or illustrative stories that have a memorable point or moral at the end, as our Leadership Gems. Other statements might be memorable quotes or images that learners can keep readily available to help remind them of learnings. Such tools help reinforce the learning experience as learners enter the implementation phase of learning. As they practice putting new behaviors in place, “sticky” information will help them remember and reinforce the new behaviors.
Adults learn best when they apply learning in a real-life setting. Any learning experience should tie the learning back to daily experiences by giving hands-on practice. Remember, 70% of development should be experiential, which may require a solid time investment. Learning new software or systems might take only a few days or weeks, but solidifying a behavior change may take months. The learning experience should give time for the learner to receive information, practice it, evaluate overall results, revise, possibly revisit the learning or knowledge, and then practice some more.
Don’t expect learners to take on everything all at once and immediately be proficient. Learning that results in sustained change should proceed in stages that allow time to receive, process, integrate, and practice new information and behaviors. Sometimes, learners must revisit information or practice for some time for lasting change to occur. An impactful learning experience will break information into smaller chunks and give participants time to establish competence before adding another layer of information.
Formal learning experiences through courses or seminars, team coaching, and one-on-one coaching can all be valuable additions to ongoing professional development within any organization—but only when they are designed to support and produce sustained change. At Stewart Leadership, we’ve spent decades designing and developing the tools you need to produce long-term growth in your organization. To learn more about how we can help, contact us.