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The dilemma of Learning & Development

Post COVID-19, many L&D leaders are waking up to the realty of leading from the front rather than taking orders from their management.

NASA’s space shuttle Columbia lost a piece of foam when it took off to space on Jan. 16, 2003. While many within the Johnson Space Center captured the moment the foam got detached, only few did something about it. According to the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB), senior officials within NASA declined an offer by the US Department of Defense to use their orbital spy camera to get a closer look of the missing tile. Meanwhile, some junior engineers in NASA who had a better view of this development was purportedly turned down by their seniors. The result we all know was catastrophic when the shuttle returned to Earth.

Fast forward to May 11, 2010. Online learning platform Udemy took off without a glitch. While many within the Learning and Development (L&D) community noticed the analog piece of learning becoming detached, only few did something about it. According to Global Digital Transformation Survey, one of the reason E-Learning market value was still under $200 billion in 2019 was L&D and HR’s unwillingness to push back those who resisted going digital. Meanwhile, some junior Instructional Designers within L&D, who clamored for a virtual training experience was relegated to the sidelines. The result we all know was catastrophic when COVID19 struck.

There is a caustic joke floating on social media which says the real leader who brought about a complete digital transformation in many Organizations was neither the Chief Executive Officer nor the Chief Technology Officer, but Mr. COVID-19! Humans have a long-standing reputation to adapt and have been able to survive several millennia despite various external threats and changes. However, the suave and deferential humans — especially the L&D team — have been short-sighted far too often and are thus facing the danger of becoming extinct.

The novel corona virus has fast forwarded the human experience by about 20 years. Today, every school, college, SME, big corporates, mom-and-pop stores, NGO and even rural households want to hop into the digital bandwagon. The assumption being the virus is here to stay and would prevent any kind of face-to-face interaction for a long time to come. While this news is true and exciting to hear, there will be short-circuiting in the ensuing chaos, when everyone tries to be on board the “digital supersonic jet” at the same time. Meanwhile, the L&D team which played the infamous “Hare” character all along now dreams of a priority boarding.

The consequence for L&D not having the early mover advantage is the lost right to prescribe a new learning model — a self-learning culture where learners become “knowledge seekers” and teachers become “mentors.” L&D may once again find itself performing the same old delivery role — designing new digital content and curating existing digital content. Truth be told, in many Organizations, L&D is still viewed as a cost center than as an investment opportunity. And when the bottom-line of many Organizations is in shambles right now, where would the eye of a CFO be right now? The answer undoubtedly is overheads (like plugging existing courses onto a digital platform) which can be safely outsourced or automated.

If L&D needs to be seen as a force to reckon in this accelerated digital age, it first needs to shed its “old wine in new wine skin” accoutrement. While there is a clear case of Instructor Led Trainings being far superior than a virtual training, harping on the inefficacy of virtual learning is akin to ignoring the problem behind the symptom while considering the symptom as the problem. Attacking symptoms is a cultural thing — like popping sleeping pills when we have a headache. However, a good designer will try to solve the ‘right’ problems. This is because, making a service “that delivers beer right to your door” is more manageable as a challenge than making a service that provides safe drinking water to a doorstep that doesn’t exist.

The surreal pace of change happening today can either be viewed as an obstacle or an opportunity depending upon one’s Organization culture. Nigel Paine, managing director of NigelPaine.com and former head of people development at the BBC recently said, “Learning teams need to “work with, not work against” the most recent technology trends.” While this is a massive opportunity, it can also bring challenges, much like in all situations where digital transformation and Organizational culture is involved. This means adapting to how learners want to consume content in the modern age and the devices they want to use for the same. Paine said 80% of learning in Organizations “happens without you doing anything at all” as employees connect, chat and learn in an age where digital technology allows them to do so. “Learning has to work out what it needs, learning has to decide how it can adapt and fit and make a big difference” Paine said, in relation to L&D’s scheme of things.

The golden ticket which would not just allow the L&D team to board the digital supersonic jet, but also captain it is the confession that “knowledge imbalance era” is finally over. COVID19, the great leveler, has brought enormous amounts of information to the fingertip of everyone — including the tribal child in the Amazon forest. In this new normal, a sane Learning professional would prioritize imparting wisdom to handle vast amount of self-learnt knowledge. He/she would neither want to be another learning summit and get drowned in the sea of knowledge nor would want to create another “click-click-next” e-learning program and force their CEO to outsource the L&D department. Instead, an agile L&D team would pivot and explore Executive Coaching, Business Consulting and Learning Experience Design, which combines learning and performance. Remember, we have been warned earlier by Udemy and now by COVID19. So, let us not waste this crisis or the third chance.

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