It’s nice to be needed. There’s been an uptick recently in coaching and executive education engagements in South Africa, India, France, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and, ever so gradually, the United States. Organizations are rethinking their business strategies after the financial collapse.
However, ambiguity abounds. There is an obvious tension — as if “nervous” is the new “strategic.” Management wants results quickly, with a heightened financial vigilance and intensified ROI expectations. We’ve watched participants text reviews of our performance during the sessions. One bad day in class and summary dismissal looms.
But it’s also an opportunity for learning professionals to step forward. Just be prepared for the following challenges:
- As teachers, we are now expected to actually do hard work. There were times when coaches flew in for a “star turn,” which was usually easier if you had recently written a book or two. Today, we have to deliver results. This is a good change.
- With money so tight, we find that the manager who owns an engagement is more keenly aware of his or her own need for success. There is a “chain of nervousness” about buying interventions that extends all the way down to the learner.
- Participants are under pressure to improve quickly for job security. Learner feedback is more critical, particularly on how applicable the material is to day-to-day duties. This is an improvement as much as a challenge. We want end users to take their experiences seriously.
- Everyone expects fresh content. We can’t redo something that worked well last time. We log countless hours on conference calls designing and redesigning programs that may not take place for 12 months. Yes, this inspires innovation, but powerful processes are sometimes jettisoned in the name of “new.” It’s a challenge because much of the best work that happens is an interpersonal process: more dependent on teacher and learner than on a flashy packaged curriculum.
- Top management has always been dubious about ROI, and leaders are more desperate for results they can see right now. This can scuttle a learning engagement before it gets started or, worse, before it’s finished.
Everyone is suffering from uncertainty. That’s why the pressure is on. It’s also why education, training and development are being called in, the way King Arthur summoned Merlin. But we have to rely on our human powers, with a little help from the social sciences.
Learning organizations can help their companies find strategic responses to the post-collapse economy, but it won’t happen any faster than it did in the good old days. We need to discuss how our haste got us in this predicament to begin with. Businesses were in a hurry to advance people based on very singular functional strengths, such as negotiation, closing deals and finance skills. We allowed executives to test out of people skills and to ignore their weaknesses.
So let’s consider three primary opportunities for corporate education.
- Don’t let the dysfunctions that got us here cause us to repeat our mistakes. Counsel management to implement learning initiatives more deliberately and intentionally than before. The CEO desperate for a solution needs to understand that the first step is being a true learning organization and needs to allow calendars to be cleared and budgets allocated for comprehensive development.
- ROI should not be ignored. Our field has yet to define it in any terms that a CFO will accept, but we can present the case for the cost of skipping the process for shortsighted goals. The return we can promise is a more stable organization with well-rounded, confident leadership. And we shouldn’t overlook the problem of uncertainty and fear that’s now palpable from Manhattan to Mumbai. The act of coming together face to face as a group can demonstrate that the organization has a plan for improvement and long-term investment in people.
- Develop a curriculum that helps people master uncertainty. Our work suggests that the ability to manage uncertainty and confidently engage in unknown, ambiguous contexts is a trait of effective leaders. Luckily, it’s an ability that can be learned. The leader who sees the opportunity in ambiguity is the leader who will be successful.
The job’s a little harder, but as learning executives, let’s not miss the opportunity to offer a better understanding of our practice and the results we can and should deliver.