Lessons Learned

We don’t take failure lightly. Learn from our experiences.

L&D Lessons Learned from Being a Parent (Part 3 of 5)

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Poop

I am not sure I can write a mini blog series on lessons I’ve learned in parenting without including a poop story, can I? But don’t worry, thankfully, this blog comes sans smells, and I will leave out most of the gory details.

When our youngest was two months old, we traveled as a family to Southern California for vacation. The trip unfortunately coincided with some constipation for our little one. With little babies, this isn’t necessarily uncommon. However, most caregivers know that after a poop hiatus, when it comes, it’s likely to be EPIC… so we were on high alert.

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The One Word Resolution (2022 Edition)

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Dating back to January 2013, I’ve made a one-word resolution as my final blog post of the year. It’s something I read about from another blogger and I really liked the concept – to set an intention which I will think about constantly through the next year.

As a learning professional who is also a small business owner, author, blogger, father and friend, my one-word resolution always helps me in my L&D career, but this is a post that goes beyond that one dimension of my life. If you think that setting an intention for the next year would be helpful in your work and/or personal life, I invite you to adopt the tradition.

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Lessons in learning design from a former marketing and advertising pro

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The professionals in the world of marketing and advertising are very effective at grabbing our attention and moving us to action so that we’ll buy their products.

Danielle Wallace, who led advertising and marketing efforts for some very big brands before launching her own learning and development company about eight years ago, dropped by the Train Like You Listen podcast to share some lessons that she’s successfully applied to training initiatives.

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How can everyone on your team learn from one person’s professional development experience?

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On Thursday, I shared a short story about a recent team meeting that was nothing short of magical. One of my colleagues, Erin Clarke, had recently attended a virtual conference and shared a few of her take-aways with the rest of our team. As she shared, the team grew more curious about how the rest of us could apply some of the things Erin was sharing.

Perhaps you just returned from ATD’s International Conference and Expo. Perhaps you or someone on your team attended a virtual conference, or even a webinar. During today’s podcast, Erin and I talked a little more about how she was able to inspire the entire team with both curiosity and the desire to try new things by sharing her own virtual conference experience.

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What are the most “radioactive” elements you can include in a training program?

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The Association for Talent Development’s International Conference and Expo kicks off in earnest today, and in the final podcast of our series featuring ATD ICE speakers, my longtime friend and fellow L&D nerd (and VP of Organization Development at FORUM Credit Union in Indianapolis), Michelle Baker, fills in as our podcast interviewer to ask me some questions about my upcoming session (which will take place on Wednesday, September 1, from 8am – 9am Mountain time).

My presentation will focus on the “radioactive” elements that are often (mis)used in training programs, and how they can best be leveraged to yield maximum impact on your learners. These elements include lecture, PowerPoint, subject matter experts, handouts, smile sheets, icebreakers, elearning, augmented reality, role play, games and data.

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When technology attacks (Virtual Training Edition)

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What happens if there’s some sort of technological glitch (or worse, a catastrophic freezing up of your computer) when you’re delivering a virtual session?

A few weeks ago, my colleague Lauren Wescott offered a series of virtual sessions focused on the role of a producer. A producer exists to ensure your presenter can focus wholeheartedly on presenting information and engaging the participants.

One important way a producer can do this is by helping troubleshoot issues with the technology while the facilitator focuses on delivering a high quality session. Below is a guide that may help you identify some potential issues your participants are having specifically with Zoom (we’re working on a similar job aid for other platforms).

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Computer Tips for the Learning and Development Professional

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In what seems like a former life, I worked in IT departments monitoring the health of Linux servers, and keeping people’s work computers up and running. While a gratifying choice of work, I soon came to find that people are rarely happy to see the computer repair girl because it means they are about to have a frustrating day/week. I also found out I like training people to use their computer more than actually fixing it. Continue reading →

Reflections on Diversity Training

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With Martin Luther King Jr. day approaching, my daughter recently asked me a why we take next Monday off school to remember him. As a trainer and a parent, I typically relish in opportunities like this; moments where the learner is engaged and asking good questions. As I began to tell her all about great speeches and peaceful protests, I realized I wasn’t getting through to her. At that moment I thought about all of the diversity training I have sat through in my life and I realized this wasn’t a moment for a lecture. Continue reading →

Trainer’s Fishbowl: An Inside Look at a Pilot Program that Didn’t Hit the Mark

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Fishbowl

This week we had an opportunity to pilot a training program that we’ve been working on for the past two months. We were excited to unveil it before a pilot audience, especially because we had an opportunity to incorporate a board game into the module.

At the end of the pilot session, we realized that we didn’t quite hit the mark in our first draft. Yesterday, the Endurance Learning leadership team came together via Slack to debrief the experience.

Today’s post is a sort of “fish bowl”, an opportunity to take a look into the conversation that took place as we de-briefed this session.   Continue reading →