The future of learning at work part 4 – performance support
In the fourth of this series, Donald H Taylor looks at the key challenge for L&D: providing performance support. How should learning and development (L&D) practitioners adapt themselves to the changing world of twenty-first century work? In a series of articles I’m working my way through four areas of change described in the series opening […]
Navigating the challenges in developing mobile elearning content
Are you looking to develop mobile learning applications? Ted Osuch of Tidalfire gives the community some pointers. There are three things that most adults carry with them on a daily basis: keys, wallet and mobile phone. Once considered a rarity, the mobile phone is now a daily essential for many workers. For employers, then, mobile […]
Free resource: Holding a development discussion
A practical guide for line managers who are looking to hold development discussions with their team members. Many thanks again to James McLuckie of eden tree for sharing with the community. If you have a free resource you would like to share with other TZ members, drop us a line: editor@trainingzone.co.uk. A practical guide for […]
Organisational development: Vive la difference?
Is diversity management heading in the right direction? Professor Daan van Knippenberg has his doubts but offers some new insights into how to do it effectively. Mike Levy reports. The Professor of Organisational Behaviour at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, spends a lot of his time studying the leadership of diverse teams. His own diverse […]
Leadership transitions: More than just business sense
How does leadership style change across the differing echelons of an organisation? Our monthly columnist, Mark Loftus, believes it’s not just about business intelligence. In 1969 Laurence J Peter and Raymond Hull formulated what was to become their famous Peter Principle: "in a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence". Formulated such […]
Top 10 tips to design and implement a successful mentoring programme
Gaby Marcon gives her top tips on ensuring your mentoring scheme gets up and running without a hitch. Successful mentoring programmes are the result of good planning and implementation. The checklist that follows is based on experience in a wide variety of programmes. Whether you are starting a programme or addressing issues with an existing […]
Figuring out the complex world of organisational development
OD can be a confusing business at the best of time. Here Chris Nutt tackles the tangled web. Organisational Development (OD) is not so much a discipline as the application of accumulated experience of dealing with differing theories, practices and models. This often involves considering two or more apparently contradictory theories at the same time. […]
The skills jigsaw puzzle
How can you identify skills and skill gaps in your organisation? George Blair shows us how with this handy ‘can do’ chart. When it comes filling competency gaps and recruiting the right people it’s all about planning ahead, rather than just by throwing money at the problem. This is achieved by focusing on implementation, as […]
Modern leaders: Time to look again
In the first of new series dissecting modern leadership, Mark Loftus turns his attention to our current political failings. On a recent BBC Today programme Major Richard Streatfeild, in his Afghan frontline diary, mourned the loss of a 19-year-old Rifleman in his Company: “He was a future leader. He held no fear of rank; admirably […]
How to realise your leadership potential
Are you realising your leadership potential? The Journey’s Kevin Billett give us his top tips on ensuring you attain yours. 1. Context & Vision You cannot be all things to all people, so decide the specific context in which you will lead – business, social, parenting, political etc. Ask, “What am I passionate about?” 2. […]
Would you pass the leadership test?
Paul Kennedy, HR director of global sportswear brand New Balance poses the questions every great leader should be able to answer. Since 1990 we have operated with a calm economy, successful organisations, low unemployment and generally a good warm feeling about everything that we do. In the last 12 months, the world has gone mad, […]
Leadership for changing times
Jonathan Gilbert discusses leadership techniques to empower people during change initiatives. Every organisation is affected by change, especially during times of economic volatility. However, project managers tasked with leading change initiatives are all too aware of the alarming failure rates that can occur. The critical missing piece is largely the failure to take into account […]
Organisational change – which model should I use? Part five
In the fifth article in his series, Larry Reynolds looks at the ‘Appreciative Inquiry’. Many approaches to organisational change are based on two key assumptions: first, that the change will be somehow led from the top of the organisation; and second, that the reason for change is that there is some kind of problem to […]
Organisational development – which model should I use: Part 4
In the fourth article in our series on organisational change models, Larry Reynolds examines the pros and cons of the ‘Systems theory’. Most people who want to bring about change in their organisations think in terms of cause and effect. If we introduce a new performance management process, then performance will improve. If we send […]
Magic pills are poisonous!
Continuing his series on organisational development, Paul Kearns argues that ‘quick fix’ management methods are not always all they’re cracked up to be. While some of us might like to think we can work miracles for our organisations none of us should ever fool ourselves into thinking that we can perform magic. Yet in practice that […]
Competence is not enough
Mark Loftus argues that character assessment is the key to selecting the most effective leaders. This article has a very simple point to make. All of us in business must take our innate ability to assess character and use it to predict how leaders will shape the character of their organisations. The systematic assessment of […]
Knowledge management: L&D’s hidden asset
Knowledge management is an effective means of measuring and understanding the skills of your workforce. Mary Clarke explains how L&D should be taking advantage of this undervalued assett. In today’s business world, knowledge is a marketable commodity. It is the most valuable attribute for workers to promote when job hunting, and thus the most highly […]
Organisational superheroes
In the first of a new series on learning and HR strategy, Paul Kearns argues that it’s time L&D and HR teamed up to become a people mangement force to be reckoned with. It is amazing that HR and learning professionals do not work more closely together. Anyone seriously involved in trying to improve […]
The creative challenge
While many organisations crave creativity in their workforce, a fear of failure means that few really foster the conditions to encourage it. Nigel Paine assesses how to develop a culture where innovation can thrive. It was the tenth anniversary, recently, of the publication of Ken Robinson’s report on creativity, education and the economy: All Our […]
The learning leader’s tips for tough times
In the current economic crisis same-old same-old is not an option. This is a time for fresh thinking, new ways of learning and adapting to business priorities. Nigel Paine offers these five tips to help learning leaders innovate their way through the recession. I am leading a Learning Technologies webinar and the topic is […]
