The future of learning and corporate leadership development programmes is changing, radically. This is becoming clear the more I talk to my clients. My belief is that virtual programmes will become much more common. This style of learning may not replace the whole programme but will certainly make up significant elements of it.
I believe this because there is never ending pressure on cost and, maybe more importantly, pressure on leaders to do more. Taking days out for workshops is just too much of a luxury for most executives.
However, virtual programmes or elements of training allow people to learn when it suits them. This also honours differences in learning preferences and attention, which is pertinent when considering the generational difference where younger executives are used to just in time learning rather than traditional methods of just in case programmes.
Virtual programmes can provide a variety of channels and different types of material – available when people want it and easily accessible if people want to revisit it again and again.
However I believe that the ‘pull element’ of this style of training will make the biggest difference to leadership and learning programmes.
My consultancy has studied the neuroscience of learning and behaviour change and there are many elements that point to a greater benefit from virtual programmes over traditional learning programmes.
The trouble is much of this is ignored as virtual learning inherited a bad name from the early e-learning programmes that were little more than a book or manual put on line with a test at the end.
But the neuroscience is telling us that people learn best:
- when they have control over when and how they consume material
- when that material is designed to create insight not just impart information
- when they learn in a community and have interaction with others
- and when the learning engages emotions and speaks about how it will help them personally be more successful
For long term behavioural change people need to embed the learning by applying it and using it in a number of ways until it becomes habit. Part of how they work.
Watch my consultancy’s video on this here
You can of course build all of these elements into a more traditional programme.
Technology can help companies to produce virtual programmes that engage and mange learning more effectively.
For the last year my consultancy has been experimenting with this method and have found that for best results you need to:
- Position the programme with participants and their managers or sponsors.
- Make sure communication about the programme enable potential participants to identify the ‘what’s in this for me’ features of the programme.
- Participants need to come to the programme with a sense of responsibility for their learning.
- Introduce employees to the technology, in a simple, engaging and intuitive way
- Design the programme to be virtual, don’t just compress the face to face programme into the new style
- Include these three elements in each module of content: knowledge, processing, and application. Then repeat them for each module
Maybe the biggest block to virtual learning is the attitude of learning professionals themselves.
That is why for our experiments we started with our own learning group, tested ideas on ourselves before using them with clients.
The other thing we have done is look to other areas of learning like education for ideas and confirmation of our own discoveries. One of the most inspiring is the Khan University. You can see Salman Khan talking about their methodhere.
If you are sceptical this might just shift your thinking!