Chief Learning Officer - March 2008 - (Page 25)

learning solutions nicest mayor she could, and the city kept going bankrupt. She looked at me and said that from that experience she learned that, in order to be nice, sometimes you have to be mean.” The lesson that girl gained from playing the game will serve her well in her life. She has learned something about the importance of putting up boundaries and making difficult decisions. Here are some guidelines that are important to create an effective game and/or simulation. • Start by understanding what you want to debrief. It does not matter whether you win or lose the game, it matters how you debrief it. Games allow people to try new things, gain insight from their response and apply what they have learned into their work or personal life. It is through the combination of playing the game and providing an insightful debriefing that the participant gets an “a-ha” moment that signals that real, sustainable change has been made. • Don’t rush it. Simulations allow you to move from the consciously unskilled to the consciously skilled and then to the unconsciously skilled. It is a process that takes time. Allow people the opportunity to run the simulation several times and work their way through the learning. • Give positive reinforcement. My daughters are very competitive. When they play a game or try something, they have a real desire to win, or do it perfectly. When they do not win, I have to sit down with them, ask them what they learned and tell them what a great job they did. If not, they would give it up as being too hard and never move beyond the consciously unskilled stage of learning. Having worked with many organizations, I see the same trait in my daughters as I do in many of the adults I work with. It is important that any game or simulation that is designed or implemented continually give positive reinforcement. It does not matter what the company mission statement is or what the values say, people learn by carefully observing how others are succeeding around them. If they see people being rewarded for keeping their heads low and not rocking the boat, they learn to do the same. It does not matter if it is a game or a mentor, we all learn not just from listening but through example. in practice: The Treasury Board of Saskatchewan: Training the Trainers With Experiential Learning Michael Rosenberg Learning by experience is a transformative process. For the Treasury Board within the government of the Canadian Province of Saskatchewan, it was central in adjusting the workforce to rapid changes in the public sector. When Bonnie Nixon became the director of organizational development for the Treasury Board, there was a demand to change the role of human resources from transactional to strategic. At the beginning, there were just three consultants, a previous manager and a part-time assistant, all of whom needed to learn a whole new approach to human resources. The first decision that had to be made was how they wanted the staff to transform. A plan was created around what needed to be done in the corporation to make it a more strategic function. Teams were set up to work on all the areas of implementing competencies within various departments of the Treasury Board. The consultants selected the departments they felt were the best fit and could provide the department with the greatest benefit. Nixon handled overall management of the project and provided the needed coaching and expertise across the teams. As the teams worked, it became apparent that there were additional organizational needs. These were built these into work plans for the new OD consultants. The consultants signed up for areas that interested them and where they felt they could make a positive contribution. They also held regular meetings with Nixon to chart progress. Throughout all of this, she maintained an “open door” policy whereby consultants and staff could come and chat when they needed assistance or just another point of view. The consultants took on lead roles and were given continuous feedback and coaching. They were to come up with a project plan and timeline for their team. They were expected to lead meetings. When it was discovered that additional help in facilitation would be necessary, one of the consultants co-presented a two-and-a-half day workshop with Nixon. This not only helped the consultant learn facilitation skills, but also increased the competence of her peers at the same time. The Results By allowing these consultants the experience, space and support to move from being a transactional force to a strategic one, both the organization and the individual benefited. The accomplishments included: • Developing a human resource plan with an advisory committee of senior managers under the title Improved Organizational Performance. This provided strategic direction for human resource initiatives in the organization. • Facilitating 10 division and branch/regional strategic planning sessions in alignment with the corporate plan and priorities. • Taking on work that was normally farmed out to external consultants, which saved the organization in excess of $89,000 a year. • Designing a best-practice, three-year leadership development program that helped managers, directors and executive members reach their full potential as leaders to the benefit of themselves, the corporation and those it services, as well as a two-year learning and development program that helped employees meet their full potential. In the end, this initiative provided “wins” for individuals in the OD function as people stepped outside their comfort zones, giving them the opportunity to succeed and internalize the learning. Learning by example also allowed participants to become more engaged in their work, which has had a significant impact on retention of talent. 25 March 2008 I www.clomedia.com I Chief Learning Officer http://www.clomedia.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Chief Learning Officer - March 2008

Chief Learning Officer - March 2008 Editor's Letter Table of Contents Imperatives Selling Up, Selling Down Strategies Take Five Learning Solutions The Treasury Board of Saskatchewan: Training the Trainers With Experiential Learning Clo Profile Environment Xerox: Creating a Learning Masterpiece Tactics Capturing the Knowledge of the Workforce Productivity Succession Planning Tips from the U.S. GAO Human Capital Influencing Competency Management Case Study Case Study Business Intelligence Advertisers' Index Editorial Resources In Conclusion

Chief Learning Officer - March 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.