In a previous post, I asked the question: How can schools, colleges, and universities help in the process of building the characteristics that tomorrow’s employees will need to be successful?

When facilitating personal growth beyond knowledge and skills any approach must first be intentional. Personal growth doesn’t come by accident. It also isn’t achieved over night.

Using competency models (knowledge, skills, abilities and characteristics) within an academic setting can help students to see the bigger picture of success. For example, when I was in college as a journalism major with a photojournalism emphasis, my English professor pulled me aside and told me that my first job was not going to be as a photographer but as a writer/photographer for a small newspaper. Not one professor in the school of journalism mentioned this but my English teacher truly guided me by helping me see the big picture. She helped me to be a better writer so that when I graduated I was able to step into a job as a Sport’s Writer. Understanding the competencies I needed, gave me an opportunity to be successful after graduation.

My English professor, used coaching and mentoring, to guide me down the right path. This too is an important component of leading students to be successful in their career field.

Another way colleges and universities may intentionally address expand their view of a student may be in their educational model. Rev. Russell Smith, pastor of Covenant-First Presbyterian, relayed his educational experience from a summer program at Oxford,

The methodology was that we would have twice weekly tutorial meetings with a professor in our chosen subject….we would have assigned reading that we were supposed to preview and then the tutorial (usually 1-on-1 or 1-on-2) was a matter of hashing through it and demonstrating an ability to interact with the material.

While I’ve not participated in this type of educational experience personally, it does seem that it opens the door for personal growth opportunities that far exceed the traditional lecture format of a course.

While coaching and mentoring can be very powerful for personal growth, a formal competency model however, can provide a more clear image of the knowledge, skills, abilities, attitudes and behaviors a student will need to be successful both at school and later in their career.

If a college provided students with a complete competency model (knowledge, skills, abilities and characteristics) for specific career fields and mapped these models to specific courses as well as demonstrated behaviors, students would be better equipped for success.

Let me provide an illustration…
My first day as Sport’s Editor, was also a day that our weekly paper went to the printer. The stories had been written, so after meeting the staff, my task that first day was to simply layout the sports page: one page, for each of three newspapers. After working nearly all night trying to make the stories and photos and ads fit together on the page, I knew that I should have worked harder in that Layout and Design class I had a the University of Kentucky. I had passed the class with an “A” but the real world was very different than the experience I had in class.

My professor was a professional editor for a large paper. He knew what it was like in the real world so I must have missed attaining a competency that would have been useful that first day. If I would have had a better picture of the competencies I needed to attain in the course, I may be been better prepared for my first day as a Sport’s Editor.

Competency models give students, employees and employers the specific information they need to be successful. When those competencies are synchronized with training resources and coaching / mentoring, students can see the knowledge, skill, abilities and characteristics they need for success.

Related Articles
- How Do We Support Competency Models?
- Facilitating Personal Growth Through Training

In a previous post, I asked the question: How can training support the evolution of characteristics like attitudes and behaviors that are important to a given role? And its that question that I wanted to take up in this post. I’m sure there are many more perspectives on this but I wanted to offer at least one.

I think there are some formal and informal ways in which training can support the attitudes and behaviors defined in a competency model. Some of the formal approaches include

• Soft skills training such as interpersonal communication, conflict resolution, team leadership, etc.
• Personality evaluation tools like Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument by Hermann International http://www.hbdi.com/

Informal approaches may include mentoring relationships where managers and peers support one another in personal growth. But I also believe that we can the instructional design that lies behind a course can consider what I call “secondary objectives.” These secondary objectives may not be main focus of the course, but underlying goals that can be integrated into the training session.

One approach may be to document these secondary objectives and design learning activities that creatively address attitudes and behaviors below the surface of the main goals of the educational experience.

One key to being successful in this type of approach is to understand the internal process someone may experience as attitudes and behaviors are changed. Dr James Loder suggests as individuals change they go through a series of stages:

• Conflict
• Internal Scanning
• Constructive Imagination
• Release and Openness
• Interpretation

Loder believes that insight, or in his language the “imaginative construct,” is the key to transformation. In The Transforming Moment, he suggests there are “Aha Moments” in our lives that can trigger insight. “Discontinuity effected by an imaginative construct is the key and center of the knowing event; indeed, it is just this discontinuity that makes transformation possible.” These knowing events have five steps that inform how people are transformed: conflict, interlude for scanning, constructive act of imagination, release and openness, and interpretation.

As an individual encounters change, he or she experiences a discontinuity, which facilitates the imaginative construct, or insight, that allows for the release of the old belief system and openness to a new one.

The diagram below shows how an individual may pass through the five steps inside of a knowing event. As the client has more interaction with the subject of the knowing event, he or she moves closer to interpretation, or the application of the new understanding.

Loder suggests that “Aha Moments” can trigger insight that creates an opportunity for change in understanding. In a single training event, we may not be able to facilitate growth in the most conflicted individual. But if we intentionally design training materials with the secondary objectives in mind, we may be able to facilitate the leap in understanding for someone who has already begun to reflect on their own attitudes and behaviors.

Obviously, Loder has done some deep level thinking on this subject that may help us consider how to facilitate the characteristics that may be desirable in an employee.

Writing training courses that not only explore the primary content but that also leverage the training event to facilitate and reinforce personal growth is a difficult challenge. But as competency models strive to identify the characteristics of the most successful people, training will need to offer resources that will facilitate and reinforce personal growth.

Related Articles
- How Do We Support Competency Models?
- Competency Models Drive Success

I’ve always enjoyed helping people. I think that’s why I started my career as an elementary teacher. While at times it was a challenging job, I feel that some of the most rewarding moments in my life thus far were experienced in the classroom or working one-on-one with my students. The feeling that comes with making an impact in someone else’s life is immeasurable. I have seen this same dedication to service demonstrated in TiER1’s culture, and I appreciate and am proud to be a part of that. Through my work with TiER1, I’ve been able to help our clients meet their performance needs through the solutions I help design and deliver. And lately, I’ve thought about taking the next step by getting involved in the community.

In my experience, TiER1 really ‘walks the walk’ when it comes to service to others, both inside and outside of the office. The company supports its employees and clients and cares about their goals and well-being. Whether it involves providing opportunities for personal career growth, independent pursuits, or even supporting the development of our clients’ in-house teams through our co-sourcing model, the company has displayed a willingness to build and invest in relationships. I think TiER1 recognizes that relationships are crucial to the success and health of the company as a whole, and it’s refreshing to see a company that committed to its people. Recognizing the importance of people in companies is more the exception than the rule, at least in my experience. This interest in its employees and clients is what sets this company apart for me. Additionally, many of TiER1’s employees actively volunteer their time to helping others through their work for non-profit organizations, community events, and in the little day-to-day things they do to give back. It’s this special culture that I admire, and in turn, want to perpetuate in my work and personal life.

Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of day to day life, it’s easy to lose sight of what truly matters. Winston Churchill said: We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. Taking some inspiration from Winston, TiER1, and its many team members who give back, I’ve decided to become a mentor. I am excited to give more of myself and make a bigger impact in the lives of others.

Competency models are becoming increasingly important to the sustainment of a work force. Whether faced by challenges of replacing highly qualified team members who choose to retire or building skills to improve quality, competency models provide a framework of the knowledge, skills, abilities and characteristics (attitudes, behaviors) that are vital to a given role.

The competency models developed for specific jobs or organizations can be used to aid the hiring process and to help determine the training that is needed. So, there is a direct link from competency models to the training models used.

I’ve heard it said that in designing training courses the key is to ask, “At the end of this unit of instruction, what do you want the learner to know or be able to do?” However, this seems to focus only on the knowledge, skills and abilities of the learner. What about the characteristics component of the competency model?

Some organizations are not going to take the time to teach attitudes and behaviors. Instead, they are going to seek out individuals that have already developed the attitudes and behaviors identified in their competency model. But there is no perfect candidate and so these characteristics have to be considered as we build training models that support the competency models.

Therefore, I have 3 questions:

1. How can training support the evolution of characteristics like attitudes and behaviors that are important to a given role?
2. How can educational institutions help in the process of building the characteristics that tomorrow’s employees will need in order to be successful?
3. How can social network environments be used to support competency models that include attitudes and behaviors?

Obviously these questions are more than can be answered in a single blog post, but they are important questions for the community to discuss.

Over the remainder of this week, I’ll explore these questions and will look forward to what others may have to say.

Related Articles
- Facilitating Personal Growth Through Training
- Competency Models Drive Success

About 20 years ago I started designing and developing computer-based training (CBT) using Authorware. At that time I knew nothing about a process for this type of effort. My experience was primarily in print design and production. It was an interesting experience making the transition. Print designers enjoyed a long established design process which was not the case with development of CBT or “Multimedia”.

So how did we start the transition? Well, what I did was attempted to use existing tools and knowledge to create a process. Funny thing was that the tools for multimedia, for the most part, were not as advanced as those available for print.

The transition struggle was multi-faceted. There was the design, the production process and client management (reviews and revisions). Traditionally the print design process was (roughly explained) thumbnail, design comprehensive (comp), final layout, print proof and then final printed piece. On the other hand software design was (in practice)… Analyze, create a design document, hand it to developers and they would lock themselves in a dark “magic” room and appear weeks or months later with something that loosely resembles what you expected.

While making the transition from print to multimedia wasn’t easy, I learned a few things along the way. I think the most important lesson was that you cannot solve all your problems or even know what problems you need to solve at the beginning of any project. I am not saying that analysis and upfront work is not important. But discovery and evolution within the process is equally as important.

A good rule of thumb as a creator of e-learning courses is to design and develop as much as you are willing to throw away before showing it to the customer for revisions or approvals. I sometimes refer to this as Successive Approximations. This process does a few things:

• It allows the customer to become more involved in the process at key decision making points
• the project doesn’t go too far in the wrong direction which keeps from wasting work, allows for design revisions
• the process allows for evolving design based on new discoveries
• the end product is much closer to the desired result

Traditionally many instructional designers use the ADDIE model as a process to create e-learning. The ADDIE is a five phase generic process of Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. It is, by nature, a linear process.

What I tend to use is a more iterative, customer involved process. I have attempted to explain it in a general sense here:

Analysis -
- Audience, Objectives, Budget, Schedule, and Scope
Design & Develop -
- Phase 1 GUI & Content structure
Implement & Evaluate -
- Run it by stakeholders, review and revise direction
- If necessaryReview/revise budget & timeline
GAP Analysis (Discover and Evolve)
- Audience, Objectives, Budget, Schedule, and Scope
- Review/revise budget & timeline
Design & Develop
- One small portion of the content
Implement & Evaluate
- Get a sample user base involved at this stage.
- Review GUI, content structure, and content treatment.
- At this point design and content treatment precedents are set.
- Review/revise budget & timeline
GAP Analysis (Discover and Evolve)
- Audience, Objectives, Budget, Schedule, and Scope
- Review/revise budget & timeline
Design & Develop
- A larger portion of the content keeping in mind the risks involved with doing too much at one time.
Implement & Evaluate
- Use the same user base to Review GUI, content structure, and content treatment.
- Review/revise budget & timeline
GAP Analysis (Discover and Evolve)
- Audience, Objectives, Budget, Schedule, and Scope
- Review/revise budget & timeline
Design & Develop
- The remainder of the content.
Implement & Evaluate
- Pilot test
- Review/revise budget & timeline
GAP Analysis (Discovery and Evolve)
- Audience, Objectives, Budget, Schedule and Scope
- Review/revise budget & timeline
Design & Develop
- Revisions
Implement
- Final version

By revisiting the parameters of audience, objectives, budget, schedule, and scope at key areas of the project allows us to adjust any of those parameters and set priorities for the future of the project. The end result is a course or application that comes much closer to the customer needs.

I had lunch today with my friend, Tim, who gave me a tour of his offices afterward. What struck me was 2 things:

1. Everyone seemed genuinely engaged in what they were working on
2. Everyone seemed genuinely happy and content

To some of you who read this, my examinations may be commonplace, yet to others of you this may be foreign and even a little bit envious. I would venture to guess that many of you fall into the second category. You have never experienced a work environment where you were genuinely engaged, believed in what you worked for everyday, and were happy and content to go to work.

Many people I talk to long for this kind of workplace. There are numerous studies that show the value of this kind of workplace. My friend Alex is on a crusade to promote “happy” workplaces. So, what can you do?

Well, you have a couple options. One of which is to look for this kind of organization that you can give yourself to — one that you appreciate and one that appreciates you! Another option is to attempt to create this kind of environment within your current workplace. Is it doable? It depends on the level of influence and determination you have. Explore all your options. Wouldn’t you rather get up excited about what you’re doing for work rather than dragging your rear into a dull lifeless job while waiting for retirement?

It’s possible. I have seen it. Granted, I have seen it in a handful of places, but those are becoming more frequent. Get started today! Bring a Foosball table into the office, have an afternoon that you take the staff to the movies, do something — anything to make work fun and engaging.

BTW- did I mention, Tim’s office was having a mandatory Ping Pong tournament? Everyone had to play singles or doubles. What do you think of that? Mandatory fun!

Who’s the Customer?

Ultimately all business transactions are about the exchange of value. A vendor provides a service or product of value to an organization who ultimately adds value to it, creates something else of value and passes it on to another organization until ultimately a “consumer” receives value…which is the ultimate end of the value chain. Or is it the beginning? Since that consumer also, presumably, is a producer of value exchanging their knowledge and/or labor to some company that gets value from it in exchange for cash. And in this virtuous cycle lies a constant exchange of value where money is the arbitrary medium used to quantify the value created.

So ultimately it begs the question of who really is the customer? In a barter economy, both parties were clearly customers – each producing products of value to each other and exchanging them, possibly just to be exchanged with someone else for something else of value. Money helps reduce the friction of an economy allowing us to exchange more goods and services for more goods and services. So why, in today’s economy, does the party providing the money constitute the role of customer?

In my opinion it doesn’t. Both parties in each exchange are customers of each other. Philosophically that means we have to treat vendors, suppliers, contractors and most certainly our own associates and employees as though they are our customers. They are all “buying money” and paying for it with their service…which we combine and turn into something more valuable for our clients. This mindset is critical and we see it every day in our own best clients. Those organizations – and individuals – who get that partnering together makes for the best outcome, that having an interest in each other’s success ultimately leads to the success of both of us, are the same ones that consistently have high performance and thrive in their own marketplace. It’s not a coincidence. Understanding that we are all part of a large value exchange and not in an isolated value stream that flows one direction, is critical to understanding how to succeed within it.

What does this have to do with knowledge? Ultimately learning and knowledge in business are contextual. Too often the learning processes of organizations are very disconnected from the functions that drive value. Ultimately learning and knowledge transfer in an organization are only worthwhile activities to the extent that they create value – for the organization’s customers by providing better products, better quality, etc. OR for the organization’s investors by providing more efficiency in the company and thus better return on the capital (i.e. “value”) they’ve exchanged with the company OR for the organization’s employees who are being compensated for the value they contribute both by the cash (salaries, bonuses, benefits etc. they receive) and by all the intangibles they receive…such as training, education, and personal development. In all of these cases learning and knowledge transfer are value-creating activities in a broader value-exchange. All of us are charged with understanding how what we do ultimately contributes value to others and also knowing how to appropriately quantify that value so we can invest in it appropriately.

If you’re familiar with Marcus Buckingham ’s book, First Break All The Rules, you may recall the section about great managers not spending a lot of time with their poor performers. The idea being extolled here is that if you work with your star performers you and the company will benefit more than wasting time and energy with their poorer counterparts. There is certainly some truth to this concept and it has been played out in businesses all around the world. While I would not totally disagree, I have learned that some people just need a little push of encouragement.

I am coaching my son’s little league team. There are some poor performers on the team. Should I not spend much time with them? I have several players that are very good for their age. Should I focus more time with them?

Defining Moments
Think back to when you were on a sports team, or in school, or starting your first job. You were a little clumsy, maybe shy or awkward — definitely nervous. Then along came this coach/teacher/boss that you will never forget. He or she saw something in you that others did not. They encouraged you by spending time with you and telling you that there were big things ahead for you. You latched onto those words and never forgot. To this day, you count that as a defining moment. A time that someone, whose power and authority you were under, gave you the nudge you needed to get rolling. You will never forget that. Some of you have even had the chance to tell that person, now later in life, how much that meant to you then and that you wouldn’t be where you are now if it were not for that moment in time. Some of you wish you could tell that special person how much they meant to you but, time and distance have gotten in the way and you’ve lost touch with them.

A Little Push Can Start The Engine
Don’t chalk this article up to a “feel good story”. I have seen how an encouraging word fires up a person and gets their self-confidence engine running. I have seen it in the work place. I have personally experienced it when I was in school. And, I see it each week on the baseball field as these little guys come out to practice.

Back to my question: Should I not spend time with the poor performers and focus more on the star performers on the team? Yes and no. My objective as coach is to provide leadership. This involves feedback, direction, and encouragement. I have no idea how my words affect these guys on a weekly basis…No…the fact is, I do have an idea.

There is a very real, practical, and powerful principle at work here. The power of words. Words spoken in ways that can build up and not tear down. Words that can inspire and not demoralize.

Those of us in positions of influence and authority can wield words like a healing balm or a wounding sword. Bosses, parents, teachers, coaches, and trusted advisers take heed. Spend a little extra time with your poor performers. Encourage them and speak words of life into them. Like the character Richard Dreyfuss played in the movie, Mr. Holland’s Opus [one of my favorite films on this topic], you may find yourself the center of admiration for the next generation.

There are many facets to a leaders role. One important facet is giving of yourself to those around you.

Did you know you cannot out-give? If you give to someone, they will almost always want to give more back. This is the Principle of Reciprocity.

When you look out for your employees and co-workers, even your friends and family, they will want to return the favor. Giving is infectious.

The only drawback is the motivation for giving. If you give out of selfish ambition, then guess what? You may get something back, but it will never be what you hoped for or as much as you hoped it to be. And, when you do not get anything back, you’ve only done harm to yourself because you are the one left feeling “hacked-off”.

Don’t give in order to get.

When you give, not expecting a return, the reciprocal giving is that much sweeter. And, when you give, not expecting a return, your feelings will not have been hurt if you receive nothing in return.

Take a look around your workplace, your personal networks, your clients, your friends and family — who can you give to?