Chief Learning Officer - April 2008 - (Page 27) our opening example, the concept of “owning the patient” becomes quickly engrained in junior and senior team members alike. These principles drive the philosophy that everyone is a teacher and learner at all times, learning occurs best when it is done in the course of work and considers real patient problems, and learning increases when individual team members are asked to stretch themselves as the point of the wedge. Transferability to the Corporation While not all of what is described above is transferable to the corporate world, many of the philosophies, processes, methodologies and structures could facilitate the creation of a unique and productive learning environment. Following the philosophies of point of the wedge and owning the patient — and using the Socratic method — would bring benefits to corporations hoping to accelerate the learning and development of employees. However, doing this, and creating the most beneficial learning culture and environment possible, requires a focus on truly high standards of teaching and learning that: • Are supported through constant assessment and feedback. • Are practiced in the context of daily work. • Are supported by leaders who espouse the strategic and personal value of learning. Benefits of Applying the Teaching Hospital Model Corporations stand to benefit greatly by applying the teaching and learning model employed in teaching hospitals. Acting as the point of the wedge will accelerate development, increase productivity and time to proficiency and quicken the development of competencies. In addition, acting as the point of the wedge will bring confidence and prepare a person more quickly to handle difficult client interactions and other challenges faced routinely in more senior roles. As the development of junior staff accelerates, senior staff members will be able to leverage themselves more effectively with reduced risk. The heightened levels of responsibility and accountability in the junior staff created by employing the teaching hospital model also will aid in the retention of generation Y employees, who crave challenges and public recognition. Additionally, through increased interaction and learning, knowledge sharing becomes more natural to both teams and individuals. And ultimately, though it will take time, a corporation can create a distinctive learning environment similar to those in the country’s best teaching hospitals and build distinction for itself in the marketplace as well as on campuses in the recruiting process. Diagnose Your Organization As companies think about how to accelerate employee learning to create competitive advantage, the questions below can serve as food for thought: 1. Do your managers view employee development as a task, separate from their day-to-day work? Is the development plan portion of your appraisal form the most difficult to complete? 2. Do you spend a substantial portion of your educational budget on programs designed to instill presentation and communication skills? 3. Do your younger employees feel underutilized? 4. Do your more experienced employees illustrate confidence and an ability to present a point of view under difficult circumstances? Even in an environment in which errors can have life-changing and possibly fatal impact, everyone realizes that mistakes will happen and people should learn from them. Therefore, teaching opportunities are created from certain near misses and outright errors. 5. Is coaching viewed as “directing” or “telling employees what to do?” Is coaching synonymous with employee evaluation? 6. Are you under pressure to reduce the amount of time employees spend in the classroom? Are you pressured to increase the relevance of your employee training to customer service? By valuing patient care and learning equally, teaching hospitals have created an environment in which students and doctors learn continually and rapidly in the context of their daily work. Through team-based and problem-based learning, individuals learn interpersonal and technical skills simultaneously. Teaching hospitals build leaders, both inside the hospital and beyond. Isn’t this what corporations are striving to build as well? CLO Jared Bleak is an executive director at Duke Corporate Education. Stephanie Scott is a program manager at Duke Corporate Education. They can be reached at editor@clomedia.com. Chief Learning Officer • April 2008 • www.clomedia.com 27 http://www.clomedia.com
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.