People Don't Care About Process...
...they just want results.
To all coaches, trainers, instructional designers, and change managers … here’s the painful reality.
Results are the ONLY thing that matters to people.
We work so hard to find, augment, and nurture the right models, processes, frameworks, and roadmaps. But nobody cares what those are.
And yes, as a methodologist myself, this is painful to write!
But this is the reality, and as such, provides a surprising amount of freedom. Do we really need so much upfront investment in roadmaps, models, or processes?
I will be the first to admit that data should drive everything, but that can be truly terrifying for those applying most learning models, which tend to have high investment and delayed impact.
So how can we achieve lower investment and faster impact that give us space to iterate based on real time information?
The first step is to fully understand the differences between knowledge and competence.
Then understand how they are faking it when they have more information/knowledge than experience.
And then also understand how they are plateauing and getting stuck when they have lots of experience but little knowledge to see nuance.
Here is the map that keeps competency and knowledge in balance across a person’s journey in a particular skill.
Now we can design to where people are on their journey
rather than designing the learning experience to a topic.
What do you mean by designing to a topic?
Your goal: assume it’s your responsibility to have managers practicing iterative planning.
Traditional topic forward training: offer a series of workshops that include story planning, Scrum cycle, and so on. Each of these workshops would include slides, labs, practicing on the job, and even stories of personal experiences.
The problem with topic forward training approach is that 95% of the content will not stick or connect in any way. You’ll be thrilled with 5 or even 10% stickability of something that resonated.
Why is this tried and true method so slow? It’s completely unrelated to your skill as a designer, as an instructor, or as a coach. It’s simply math. Every individual is at a very specific point of the skill acquisition journey, and work around that particular point is the only thing that matters to further their journey. They already know the content that targets and earlier stage, and aren’t ready for the later stuff.
Designing by topic forces us to use this scattergun approach. We have one workshop on the topic and it has to meet the needs of everyone. That means that only small parts can meet the needs of each individual, guaranteeing a low percentage impact for each learner.
What do you mean by designing to where people are on their journey?
Same goal: assume it’s your responsibility to have managers practicing iterative planning.
Alternative precision skill development training: you’ll still have a series of learning engagements, but instead of skill topics, select a specific point in the skill acquisition journey for each engagement. Note that I say engagement, not workshop. Each point in the skill acquisition calls for a different method of engagement.
For example, people who fall in Green Block 1 need engagement that connects the concept with struggles they’ve had in the real world. They need something simple that shows the value they will get from going deeper.
But for people who fall in Green Block 4, you’re designing learning engagement that helps them see that, despite variation, the objective remains the same, but execution needs to adjust. They need nuanced execution and special cases.
Learners within these two specific points of the skill acquisition journey are experiencing different personas and needing different training support to transition their skill forward. However, what makes this far more effective is that you are flipping the math. Now 95% of what you are covering is relevant, with 5 or 10% being a miss.
Both of these Green Block engagements cover all the topic areas (story planning, Scrum cycle, etc.). It’s simply that the topic areas are presented within a very narrow scope of skill.
I’m developing a master class on applying this Green Path in your everyday change needs that get the results you need. Click below to be notified when it’s published!