I am in a weekly conversation group to improve my Spanish. Even though it is helping, it is really hard for me to motivate myself to show up each week. My Spanish is not great, and it is strange and uncomfortable to struggle so much in front of other people. It is embarrassing and vulnerable, so much so, that I cannot always convince myself to go. When I do, I am so glad, because it is a kind, supportive group, and I know my Spanish is getting better.
Until one week, I said something ignorant. In Spanish, I might add (can I still be proud of conjugating something correctly in another language if it is considered ignorant?) It was a fact that many people know about a popular book many people have read. I neither knew the fact nor read the book and mistakenly attributed its country of origin to Mexico rather than Spain.
And then one of the other group members laughed at me. Loudly.
“Mexico?!” she said incredulously. “You know, this is the most famous book in the world, right?!” And she kept on laughing. Did the derision somehow feel worse in Spanish?
I now know and will likely forever know the setting of the story in this not-the-most-famous-book-in-the-world, Susan (!). But that learning came at a great cost. I did not speak for the rest of the session and I did not participate for a few weeks after. Whenever I ended up back in Susan’s group, I did not speak.
I am guessing you have a similar story, maybe from your childhood or as an adult. Perhaps both. Do you remember how you felt? Can you still feel it now just thinking about it? Most people can. It is common for people to feel shame for not knowing something and it is common for people to shame others for not knowing something. When people ask for help about what they should do, they often receive reprimands about what they should have done.
As a result, many people keep quiet, or stop showing up, physically or mentally. They arm themselves with protective phrases like, “This may be a stupid question but…” because too often people will let you know when they think you have asked a stupid question.
When it comes to learning and growing, we take these experiences with us. And as leaders who help other people learn and grow, it is essential that we recognize this. To support our staffs in their growth and development, we need to create a culture of support and safety. We cannot, we must not, perpetuate experiences of shame and shoulds.
Within this culture of safety and support, we need to provide professional development that works which necessarily includes the universal principles of adult learning while incorporating the individual needs and preferences of each person.
PEOPLE LEARN WHEN THEY CARE ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE LEARNING
Have you ever seen a movie that you thought was absolutely amazing but someone else thought was terrible? Was the movie wonderful or terrible? Impossible to say, right? The same can be true of most anything- food, clothes, books, and learning. People have different tastes and preferences. Often these preferences are less about the quality of something and more about our personal interest in that something. I might listen to the most highly regarded podcast on The Housewives, but since I do not care about The Housewives, it is going to be of no interest to me.
This is true for learning too. You might go to the most highly touted breakout session at a conference, but if you do not care about the topic, you will likely not find much value in it. You may bring in the best trainer in the land, but if your staff do not care about the content, it will be challenging for them to stay engaged and learn.
When it comes to your staff’s development, it is essential that you focus on what is meaningful to them. Involve them in the process and give them agency over what they want to learn and how they want to grow.
PEOPLE LEARN WHEN THEY APPLY THE KNOWLEDGE
In the learning and development world, a common saying is that people do not want information, they want transformation. Most of what we want to learn can by found online and often for free. It is not that someone cannot look up how to become more organized or write a strong grant proposal. It is that it is hard to know where to begin and how to apply what they are learning. This is where effective professional development comes in. It breaks down the steps and provides opportunity to practice.
Training that simply regurgitates content is not training. It is sharing of information. And that is important too. There are many pieces of important information that need to be shared, but that is not professional development. Professional growth and development require the opportunity for the participant to apply the information they are learning and then both reflect and receive coaching and feedback on that implementation. That is how people learn and grow. Not simply by listening to how something is done. They need the opportunity to apply it.
Too often, organizations hire a trainer to come in and do a workshop and it is never spoken of again. There is no follow up discussion or feedback. There is no real learning or growth happening. Staff can choose to implement the learning or not. This is not how people learn and grow.
Before you book that trainer, think about how you will follow up after the training. How will you check in with your staff about how it is going? How will you provide feedback and coaching? How will you provide future opportunities to deepen that growth?
PEOPLE LEARN WHEN THE CONTENT IS RELEVANT
For professional growth and development to be valuable, it needs to be relevant. This is closely related to #1 but not exactly the same. Your staff may care about a topic, but if it is not relevant to the work they are doing or hope to be doing someday, then it is not going to help them reach their professional goals. What do your staff need to know to reach their goals? How are you involving them in the process to find out?
Too often, organizations piecemeal professional development together as it presents itself throughout the year. Emails are shared back and forth with comments such as, “if you’re interested” or sometimes without a message at all. What is the context? Where does this fit in with the rest of what we are trying to do?
Instead of being reactive when it comes to professional development, it is far more effective to be intentional. At the beginning of your organizational year, sit down with each staff member and map out what their professional development will look like throughout the year. Remain active in the process by following up with staff and providing them the feedback, coaching, and continued support they need to further develop throughout the year.
Professional development for professional development’s sake benefits no one. Make a commitment to providing professional development for your staff and with your staff that truly benefits them and ultimately the organization as a whole.
