Recently, I had a skeptical reaction to a TED talk in which Adam Grant seemed to be encouraging us to categorize each other into three categories of people: givers, takers and matchers. It was my sense that people’s behavior is probably too socially-embedded and fluid to be captured through this sort of categorization. I also […]
Better Learning = Better Work
Don’t start your journey until AFTER you have made sure your elephant knows where it is supposed to take you
As human beings who sleep, wake up, do stuff, then go back to sleep, we all share a common dilemma: How do we make sure we don’t end the day feeling like it was a day wasted? Together with my colleague Andrea Konuma, I developed AFTER as a cuing mechanism I use at the start of […]
Can we really be categorized into givers, takers and matchers? Or are we just learners adapting to the cues we pick up as we wend our way across organizational minefields?
As I listened to this highly engaging and entertaining TED talk, I kept wondering what assumptions about organizations and people led Adam Grant to believe that it would be helpful to suggest we can (should?) divide our peers up into givers, takers and matchers. I believe he is onto something important, and I agree that […]
Who controls employee experience?
What did you experience at work today? Was it satisfying? Frustrating? Exciting? Boring? Energizing? Tiring? Does what you experienced really matter? Evidently, it matters to your employer. Companies invest a lot of money in trying to improve the way employees evaluate their work experience. They conduct climate surveys to learn more about how you feel […]
For deep learning start with real priorities
Collegial Action Learning uses learner-centric design principles to enable professional knowledge workers to thrive in a world of wicked problems. This article describes the flow of a kick-off session of a Collegial Action Learning initiative. We reframe the learning process by starting with the real interests and priorities of the learners. We then come back […]
Leverage Agency, Purpose and Connection to Drive Transformation
The following is a rough overview of factors I have considered in the design of initiatives using an action research methodology called Collegial Action Learning. Collegial Action Learning combines individual reflection, ideation and experimentation with collaborative reflection, learning and ideation to spur additional individual action. In an CAL initiative, professionals refine and test their own […]
Let the learners own the learning!
Many executives say they would like to see their people take more initiative to learn and change, but our basic assumptions about learning may get in the way. Over the years, I’ve experimented with many learner-centric modalities that give learners more ownership of objectives, approaches and outcomes. This post describes what I have learned from […]
The downsides of framing learning as a marketplace
In my last post, I looked at the role of the teacher in the learning process. I described my sense that great teachers are great because they help learners find their own reasons for learning. I also lamented the fact that formal learning systems tend to be teacher-centric and teaching-centric, and that this seems acceptable […]
Great teachers let the learner take charge
The teaching profession has always held a certain attraction for me. I don’t think I am unique in saying that many of those who have had the greatest impact on my thinking have been teachers. I have great respect for the champions of education, including those with alternative titles such as facilitator, trainer, coach or […]
Mindset – Do you REALLY believe you can learn?
Do you really believe you can learn? According to Carol Dweck, author of Mindset, this is a more nuanced question than you might think. Her research indicates that people operate with one of two assumptions about their abilities. Some people assume their abilities are innate and cannot be changed. Dweck calls this a fixed mindset. Others assume […]