Getting managers involved in learning and development

Since the time Jay Cross highlighted the relevance of informal learning on performance , discussions are rife to undertand what is informal learning, and how does it work. Most of us at work have received valuable tips, from colleagues, bosses, peers and others. A formal study of managers done by GoodPractice confirms that 76% of managers feel that they are not well supported by the Learning and Development development and further 75% of the managers also train people for performance. 82% of the managers will consult someone to solve a tricky performance problem as a learning activity and they 55% would follow trial and error as a learning activity. Two things are highlighted in this i.e., a. need for learning on the job and b.need to follow self directed learning. Performance is an outcome of proficiency or the lack of it. As we move forward, it is important to accelerate the capability mechanism in the organisation. Which means training people, coaching people, creating engagement process that allows people to narrow the gap between standards of performance and actual results.Over a period of time, self directed quest for knowledge and competence allows experiementation to raise the bar. Only when the blend covers all these elements can we have a measureable impact on performance and sustainability.Therefore, informal learning is extremely important. So where is the challenge ? To begin with it is important to see the entire chain from training to performance in a holistic manner.

A Learning Country -China

A few weeks ago a noted Chinese rising star politician Li Yuanchao stated that China is transcending into a learning country. We have heard of a learning organisation - Courtesy Toyota Corp and Peter Senge's 5th Discipline - but a learning country !!! But let us see how. The Party leadership has mandated learning and development as foundation to integrate in a globalised world. They read books by thought leaders and have absorbed technologies to search for new knowledge. This way they are aware and informed . The same politician visited Google and the attending offcial was surprised when he indicated that they browse the net regularly to update their knowledge. Reading books is encouraged and in some meetings they read the books collectively followed by intense discussions. From the era of Den Xiaoping they have systemically embraced learning and technology as their planks for innovation and leadership . "We believe that a ruling party only remains viable and vibrant when it masters state-of-the-art knowledge," Li said. Post the earthquake in China , a plenium was held to discuss lessons learned and how to respond better. Learning is not isolated from real world experience.Imagine this position , when the political body is driving learning can the rest of the administration lag behind ? "In a 2009 international computer competition--sponsored by the super-secret U.S. National Security Agency (for obvious reasons)--China fielded the most finalists (20), well ahead of second-place Russia (10) and far ahead of America (2). The worldwide winner of the algorithm-coding contest was an 18-year-old Chinese student" says Robert Kuhn in an article published by Forbe. This is true reflection of a knowledge based performing society. Can we institutionalise learning and development from a unstructured discretionary environment to a structured and systemic society ? Yes we can, because , despite our political systems, we have evolved and learned in our own unique way. In the process , we got several things wrong but by serendipity we also got lot of things right. Behind our indigenous system is respect for knowledge and respect for ascription which are propelling us forward. Our dissatisfaction is we are not able to translate it into performance which really matters. Therefore while China had the foresight to see ahead and prepare capacity and capability, we are lagging far behind. Their population is barely 10% ahead of ours but the GDP is 2.5 times greater. The difference between a learning country and learning organisations is clear.

Overladen Children

My son's class mate - a grade 7 student - came the other day to check on some course material. Casual conversation indicated that he puts in 9 hours of studies on holidays. Wow, this is real hard work. Further probe revealed, that parents are preparing him to be competitive and IIT degree is the aspiration. In the last few years , we notice that the intensity to excel has increased exponentially. The same student does not depend on the school academics alone. Off school, most of his time his spent jumping from one tutor to another. What about games ? What about a life outside of books ? For the available free time, sitting in front of a computer and chatting in a social networking site or playing violent computer games seems the best recreation. It is interesting to note , that many proponents of computer games opine that such participation enhances a child's mental agility. I will add one more to this one - also improves keyboard dexterity. School principals are extolling the academic performance of their students on number of toppers. It seems that the child only has to live above his neck. Is this the world we are creating now in middle class urban India ? A great example of education based hierarchial caste system. Where do you think the problem lies ?

Our education system needs a major overhaul in every count. While this may take pages of elaboration, let me reflect on two major ones for the existing set up. When did we last review the B Ed curicullum in India ? How much investment is going towards teachers skill development ? India has a close to 7 million teachers covering all types of education . Your guess is as good as mine that most are ????? Now let us look at the other concern . Are we ever going to see some overhaul in Instruction Design . Howcome , in this digital age tons of text books are the only recourse to learning. Why does a child need to carry a sackful of books to school ? Many educationists seem to be concerned about it, yet , year after year, this remains a lip service issue. How do we still encourage chalk and talk teachers in the classroom ?