What Can OD Learn from L&D?

Change of any kind and no matter how exciting or positive causes stress for most people. This stress is caused by the fear of the unknown and the fact we will need to be operating outside our comfort zone. I recently attended a workshop on change management where one of the key topics was ‘how do you make change stick?’ The consensus of the group was that you have to stick at it, keep focus, get through the ‘muddle in the middle’ and it will come good in the end. As someone who works on the commercial side of learning rather than in OD or change management I was expecting the session to be full of new concepts but this one sounded very familiar. Anyone who has ever embarked on a learning journey will have experienced the ‘muddle in the middle’, it’s the equivalent of the Conscious Incompetence and Conscious Competence stages from Maslow’s learning model (see diagram below). Click on the image for a larger view.

 

I have always looked at this model before in the context of an individual learning journey but from now on it will have new meaning to me. When it comes to organisational change is it simply a learning journey undertaken by many and not just one? If it is should it be managed more like a learning journey? And if it was would better results be achieved quicker?

All replies and contributions welcome.

If it works, take it apart to find out why!

Having been fortunate to recently attend two training courses (Franklin Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and Ken Blanchard’s Situational Leadership II) I wanted to share just one of my thoughts and learning points with you.

Though not directly stated in either event I took a clear message from both that ‘adaptability’ is more important than ‘ability’.  The following explains the difference between average and exceptional leaders. An average leader can be highly skilled in all aspect of people performance; directing, coaching, supporting and delegating BUT tends to be less skilled at using the most appropriate approach based on individual circumstances. Great leaders do not have better ‘skill’ technically or knowledge wise, they are just better at ‘reading’ a situation and adapting their style accordingly.

From my own experience I have seen similar differences between average and high performing sales people. The average tend to have a one dimensional approach to all clients, the high performers adapt their style to suit. I suspect this trend would be repeated in most circumstances and I’ve been thinking hard to come up with an example of when adaptability could be a bad thing but I can’t, can you?

But how does one learn ‘adaptability’? Well practical experience (trial and error) certainly helps providing you solicit feedback from others after both failure AND success. Think about it, we all spend lots of time analysing our failures but we spend so little time analysing our successes. I used to have an old classic Porsche and the owner’s club web site was a great way to source rare parts. One day in a chat room I noticed an avatar with the following line beneath:

“If it works, take it apart to find out why”

Brilliant! I love this quote as it is the direct opposite of the old saying “If its not broke don’t fix it”. I think the answer to learning adaptability is to constantly analyse all of our experiences but especially when things are going well.

Hope that all made sense and that you found it thought provoking.

Franklin Covey – Speed of Trust Seminar 14th April

“Trust is a learnable and measurable skill that makes organisations more profitable, people more promotable and teams more successful at accomplishing their key goals.”

Franklin Covey have given QA discounted places for their Speed of Trust keynote seminar. This takes place in London on the 14th April and the speaker will be the author of the (best selling) book of the same name, Mr Stephen M.R. Covey. The tickets are for either the morning or afternoon session and the discounted rate is just £150 + VAT the RRP is £195.
For furter details and to obtain your discount code visit the news pages at www.qa.com/pd
Please note there are limited tickets available so if you want to go act now!

Sugar goes sour on Liz and hands Baggs lifeline!

Dum de dum de dum de dah! Just love the theme tune to BBC’s modern classic ‘The Apprentice’. This weeks episode saw a shock firing when Stuart Baggs (aka ‘Baggs The Brand’) escaped as Sugar went sour on investment banker Liz Locke.
Sugar had Baggs on the ropes and we expected the KO punch to land any second, Sugar said to Baggs “you are good at sales but you are a one trick pony”. Kpow! That’s it I thought he wont get up from that one. But then, without taking breath Baggs counter punched with one of the best reposts ever heard in the boardroom…  “A one trick pony? Lord Sugar I’ll give you a whole field of ponies!”. Now thats clever!
Like Lord Sugar, I have warmed to Baggs over the past few weeks. What he lacks in finesse he makes up for in other ways. He is the ‘Andrex Puppy’ of the show with baggs of energy (couldn’t resist the pun) that just needs channeling in the right direction.
Is he going to win? I’m not sure but I am sure next weeks interviews will be well worth watching.

Hello world!

“You should write a blog” said my wife one weekend as I regaled stories from my week at work. Maybe she thought if I told the stories to the world, I wouldn’t feel the need bother her with them. She could be right – so let’s find out! Hello world.

If you are involved in any aspect of sales or training and development then I hope you find this blog useful. If you do please tell me and also  share with others. If you have any suggestions (constructive ones most appreciated) let me know.

I hope to update this blog as often as time allows with anecdotes, ideas and comments on the serious (and not so serious) issues of the day.

Words of wisdom #1

How you feel when you lose – will determine how long it will be before you win!