Imposed v chosen change: strategically manage change in your business
Human beings are pretty amazing, and one of our many impressive elements is how adaptable we are. In our everyday lives we may find solace in routine or familiar surroundings, and may feel all at sea if our routine is interrupted, but it is evident that it is our ability to undergo significant changes that […]
Laughable lines from learners in training sessions
I’ve been a trainer for the best part of 25 years. I’m STILL amazed by the lines some learners come out with in the training room, thinking me and my colleagues haven’t heard them before. Can you relate to any of these humdingers?! A delegate barges into the training room for the first time, […]
How to deal with participants from hell
There’s a common nightmare amongst those of us who run development workshops. It is guaranteed to rouse us from a deep sleep and transform us into feverish, agitated blobs of jelly. It concerns encounters with ‘participants from hell’! Whether you are a novice to development, or an experienced workshop leader, we can all be scared […]
Making board meetings shorter, sharper and more productive
Meetings. The bane of executive life. It’s the all-too-frequent gripe of middle managers that they waste time in meetings when they should be focusing on the business. But once you’ve joined a board, meetings are your work. Often there is precious little else, other than getting ready for the next round of meetings. From years […]
How to start online business
If you have entrepreneurial blood, you will at some point consider beginning a startup business. A startup is defined as a business recently launched with the hopes of tremendous growth. I’m sure your primary goal for starting any type of business is to earn. Of course, you want to offer services to the world. But […]
Books and films for inspiration
Procrastination and lack of inspiration are quite working moments, familiar to each of us. Nevertheless, not everyone knows how to deal with them productively. The answer lies on the surface. Many psychologists and business coaches say that watching certain films and reading books increases our desire to work and achieve success. We decided to find […]
A day in the life of: “I desperately want them to do well, but know I can’t give them the answer.”
We’re always curious to hear how our members and contributors tackle the challenges that the ever-changing world of L&D throws at them. We’ve got a wealth of experience and knowledge across the site, and what better way to showcase the diversity of our community than to get them to walk us through an average day? […]
Can you really teach your people to be more creative?
Creativity can be intimidating and subjective, and the information on the subject overwhelming. At any point in their careers people can be deemed creative ‘haves’ or ‘have nots’ and this can influence the way they think about themselves and others. I first became interested in the L&D aspect of creativity when I became responsible for […]
Why accelerated learning increases your L&D ROI
HR departments are always under pressure to reduce costs and reduce returns. How can you get better value for money? Can you really deliver more with less? Using accelerated leaning could be the answer. Advanced training methods based on the latest psychological research Accelerated learning is an advanced training method, designed to speed up and […]
Risk
Please could anyone provide any material to supplement a risk awareness workshop. As this tends to be a dry subject I would like to inject some fun into the sessions. Any ideas would be gratefully recieved. Please could anyone provide any material to supplement a risk awareness workshop. As this tends to be a dry […]
Competency frameworks: how can we beat cultural bias towards extraversion?
Are you an “introvert” or an “extravert”? Chances are, you already know the answer to this question – as it’s the basis of many personality tests, a common topic of small talk and a very simple way in which to classify both ourselves and those around us. However, when we consider that these two types […]
Always have a wingman when dealing with difficult people
Claire Ferguson of Mediacom has some sage advice on dealing with difficult people in the workplace, and explains why you should always take a probation period seriously. “My best piece of advice on managing difficult individuals is ‘try not to react emotionally’, but it’s hard to do that, because clearly you’re still talking about people. […]
How to develop digital leaders
The uncertainty of the 21st Century demands a new breed of leader. These leaders have a digital mindset. They motivate employees and deliver results in the face of constant change. Many are missing from today’s succession plans and leadership programmes, which were built to develop traditional leaders. To find and nurture this new breed, we […]
Supporting elearning authors, an existential crisis for L&D and goal-setting for remote colleagues
Give yourself a well-earned break and take five to catch up on some highlights of this week’s L&D news and opinion. Let us know what you think of the articles we’ve shared, and tell us what you’ve enjoyed reading too! A new goal-setting framework for a team that doesn’t work on projects together (Buffer Blog) Goal-setting […]
Is ‘radical candour’ really a new approach to management?
If you pride yourself on your care and consideration for colleagues and your ability to sidestep potential conflict, you might smugly consider yourself to be doing rather well. But I have news for you: your lack of candour means you’re in dangerous territory known as ‘ruinous empathy’, or so says former Google executive Kim Scott, […]
Helping our learners learn by reducing information overload
Emma Sue Prince is the founder of Unimenta, a free resource for practitioners delivering experiential learning or soft skills. Join them today. Let’s face it – we are all overwhelmed with information these days coming at us from every angle. From morning to night we are all suffering from a massive dose of information be that […]
Fixing diversity programmes: diversity, inclusion and deliberate practice
No one should be arguing against increasing diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Strategically, ethically, and financially it makes sense that organizations can benefit from being diverse. The Return on Investment (ROI) for a diverse workplace has been widely accepted by most CEOs and Leaders and backed by studies with impressive statistics such as: a 1% […]
Are filler words really that bad in life?
Sheryl Sandberg once told an employee that she sounded “stupid” when she said ‘um’ a lot during a presentation. The employee, Kim Scott, took this candid remark to heart and used it as the basis for a whole new company. But what about the catalyst for this seismic change, Scott’s use of the filler word […]
Graduate recruits – trainees or the finished article?
Last week, the Association for Graduate recruiters (AGR) released their annual development survey. As reported in school and university bashing newspapers the main focus of the report was, apparently, about how young people joining the workforce in graduate programmes lack team working, problem-solving and other so-called soft-skills when they start work. Employers are, if media […]
History and context: the changing face of apprenticeships
At their heart, apprenticeships are about combining working, learning and earning. This is an attractive combination for both individuals and employers, which is why they have been around for hundreds of years. However, in this time they have changed significantly and will continue to evolve in the years ahead. Richard Marsh, from Kaplan, explores the […]
