Curse of Knowledge: how experts can improve their schtick
Why are experts kings or queens of their subject, but paupers when they explain it? These articles explore i) why experts are cursed by what they know ii) how to beat the Curse of Knowledge symptoms and iii) ways learning professionals can support experts to create videos, podcasts et al that make sense and help people […]
Curse of Knowledge: the symptoms and how to beat them
Why are experts kings or queens of their subject, but paupers when they explain it? These articles explore i) why experts are cursed by what they know ii) how to beat the Curse of Knowledge symptoms and iii) ways learning professionals can support experts to create videos, podcasts et al that make sense and help people […]
Curse of Knowledge: why experts struggle to explain their know-how
Why are experts kings or queens of their subject, but paupers when they explain it? These articles explore i) why experts are cursed by what they know ii) how to beat the Curse of Knowledge symptoms and iii) ways learning professionals can support experts to create videos, podcasts et al that make sense and help people […]
Forget Millennials, Prepare to Train Generation Z
A lot has been written about millennials in the workplace. Often, they’re observed like some kind of alien species, and discussed as if they’re all a single organism: They’re narcissistic and entitled, they want feedback that’s as instant as the gratification they demand. These strange and foreign creatures operate well within a structured chain of […]
Directing data security
GDPR! It’s a topic which seems to be on everyone’s lips and yet when a colleague recently attended a business show the organiser was complaining that they could find no-one to deliver a seminar on the subject. Perhaps that’s not so surprising. The General Data Protection Regulations don’t take effect until 25 May 2018 and, […]
Moonshot thinking: disrupting the norm in business
Maybe you’ve thought about your core values, your mission statement or your vision but what about your moonshot? Yes, your moonshot. Mission, values and vision can often sit on a shelf gathering dust. A moonshot is different. Origins Originating from the Apollo and Soviet lunar programmes aiming to land humans on the moon, the term […]
World of Learning report: the end of binary thinking?
Last month I was privileged to have been the Chair of the World of Learning Conference at the NEC in Birmingham. As Chair I get to participate in a whole raft of different sessions and think about these inputs from three perspectives: Does this work for the audience? When planning the conference I always emphasise […]
How to align your team with good co-ordination
Better managers recognize that the art of management is something they need to learn. No one becomes a fully competent manager overnight. There are, of course, many ways of learning how to be an effective manager. There is no doubt that experience is the best teacher – the time you have spent as a manager […]
A Guide to Using Emotional Release in your Life.
Utilising emotional release in your everyday life If you have been suffering from mental health conditions, from anxiety to depression to post-traumatic stress, you have no doubt been researching many different treatment options to try and overcome the challenging associated symptoms. If you go to your doctor’s surgery, they will typically suggest taking some type […]
How can mindfulness make you a better leader?
I have been involved in leadership programs for many years, and have often noticed that on them, very intelligent, aware and senior people still surprise themselves by discovering uncomfortable truths about themselves, especially triggers or personal ‘hot spots’. They often feel the need for self-management tools, especially for use under stress. They understand that the […]
Information to transformation – moving from knowing to doing
Is it true that learning has not taken place until it results in a change of behaviour? Over many years as a trainer, coach and lecturer I have had the pleasure and privilege of working with hundreds of managers and team members. One theme I have noticed, which seems more prevalent now that individuals have […]
How to Gain Buy-in for Training Technologies
Agile training organisations like yours will, eventually, face a conundrum: In order to increase course bookings and offerings, do they hire an army of administrators or invest in a training management system? When seeking fast and sustainable growth, training technologies tend to be the answer. These systems are, ultimately, less expensive than inflating the wage […]
Welcome to the new age of leadership development. Here’s what you need to know.
Only the most mutton-headed business leader has failed to realise that we live in a new, extraordinary, disruptive era – a digital age where new technologies, mindsets, and working cultures emerge at dazzling speed. But what of leadership training? Are the models adopted by many companies and organisations still working along traditional lines, and if […]
The competitive advantage of deliberate practice
One of the most critical competitive advantages for any organization is the skill level at which their people have important conversations. Interpersonal interactions, whether customer-facing, coaching, diversity & inclusion or leadership, can positively or negatively affect an organization more than a marketing campaign, a recognizable logo, a great product, or a good price. Business leaders […]
Have virtual meetings made our meetings worse?
An increasing proportion of our meetings are virtual – through tools such as videoconference, conference calls, WebEx and Skype. As the number of tools proliferate it is becoming increasingly clear that meetings’ facilitators often lack the skills to plan and run re-engaging virtual meetings. Meetings are essential to effective collaboration and decision making and, as […]
Why don’t improvements to our meetings stick?
Many organisations have attempted to improve their meetings but found that, despite initial improvements, changes are hard to sustain and bad habits quickly creep back in. In Kill Bad Meetings the authors Kevan and Alan Hall propose an alternative method for reducing the number and improving the quality of face-to-face and virtual meetings. Meetings are […]
Why learning transfer is more important than evaluation
Most learning and development professionals are great at building content focusing on the learner. We can also evaluate and test if this knowledge retrospectively. However, we don’t have the data and insights to know that behavioural and skill development is being displayed in the work place. Being able to measure learning transfer and look at […]
Chairing meetings – what does a strong chair look like?
Let’s be honest – we’ve all been to meetings that have added no value to our day. Surveys on how much time, energy and resentment badly run meetings cost us range from horrifying figures of anywhere between 35-50% of our time. Think of the opportunities lost from having half your working week wasted in unproductive […]
How to design a development programme for managers of remote teams
Some companies have embraced location-independent work and it has become a part of everyday life, without a single reference to “remote” or “virtual”. On the other hand, some organisations have found themselves making a very deliberate and fast transition to “remote work”, “flexible work” or “agile working”, which all involve working with others with whom […]
Transforming training cynics into model employees
Workplace negativity can spread like wildfire. It only takes one cynic to turn a once proactive team into a dispirited group of individuals. Once that ‘get up and go’ has got up and gone, it can be difficult to restore and this can have a negative impact on the wider business and the bottom line. […]
