‘Make the most of life on the inside’ by Don Hutson and George Lucas, Training Journal, December 2010

I began by seeing this article as a series of rather patronising statements of the obvious but ended up thinking that it does still offer some useful insights. Though there will not be much new knowledge for the experienced Learning & Development person, it does provide a checklist and some interesting pointers around the skills required for success.

The central argument is that the key skills required by the Learning & Development person are those of negotiation and collaboration with those in other functions. The authors break this down into a number of specific skill requirements, including listening and questioning skills, particularly when dealing with senior management who may not have thought through their needs as carefully as they should. In this case, knowledge of the company’s KPIs and their main drivers is critical. The authors emphasise the ability to challenge assumptions and dig deeper as being critical to success.

All this is perhaps rather obvious and could just as well apply to those in other business partnering roles. The more interesting success factor comes next; the ability to create and maintain good relationships with subject matter experts, both inside and outside the business. This requirement matches very much our own experiences when dealing with Learning & Development people around the development of finance and business programmes. Those where the conversations go well are those who have an excellent relationship with financial colleagues and either know enough about financial and business issues to hold their own or bring such colleagues into the discussions at an early stage.

There is also interesting coverage of the importance of external relationships with providers who provide specialist expertise, and the need for mutual trust. We may be biased in this respect but I know that we design and deliver much better programmes where this mutual trust exists and where there is an ongoing and balanced relationship. Where the relationship is transaction based and you are only as good as your last course, the commitment, challenge and strategic advice are all bound to be at a lower level.

The article closes by stressing the importance of fostering a learning culture over the long-term rather than just delivering training programmes. It is always interesting to see the response of Learning & Development professionals when we ask the question - what is your learning culture? The quality of the response and the insight provided is usually a good indication of the calibre of the Learning & Development professional.

Overall this is an article that will be more helpful for the person just entering Learning & Development but with a few thought-provoking insights for everyone.

Click here to read the article in full;
http://www.trainingjournal.com/feature/2010-12-01-make-the-most-of-life-on-the-inside/