Chief Learning Officer - December 2008 - (Page 27)

“I mentor a lot of young people in the organization,” she said. “The two areas of my job that I love the most are interacting and working with young new hires in the company and teaching leadership. I wish I could spend more time on these two areas. When I go into an emerging market and teach leadership to young people who have never experienced this stuff, I’m there 10 to 12 hours a day, and nobody wants to go home. “Many of them have never been exposed to this stuff, and they just soak it up. Seeing the lightbulbs come on is really exciting to me. I’m pretty pleased that these young people are teaching me so much. Even someone who has been in the company as long as I have can learn new things.” Also, even after assuming her current role, Alexander maintained connections with the company’s global HR function as a member of its leadership team, which adds another layer of responsibility. “I truly lead an interesting existence between HR and education. I think the connectivity between PODCAST Visit www.clomedia.com/podcast to hear Cheri Alexander discuss how General Motors is using learning to navigate through a difﬁcult economic environment. she added. “I need to sense and respond to what’s going on through the entire organization. I need to have the pulse of General Motors, from the new hires all the way up to the chairman. I interface with the top leadership of the company, as well as my peers around the world in global HR.” To improve the business’ position in the automotive industry, GM University has sought to form strategic academic partnerships. One recent example is the relationship it established with the University of Michigan. Through that collaboration, GM developed a customized master’s of engineering degree in “I have to control my passion because I know we can’t be everything to everybody instantaneously. It’s a challenge for me because I’m very driven.” – Cheri Alexander human resources and learning and development is a critical space that needs to be operating in corporations. I try to make sure we’re fully integrated.” This ties back to her learning philosophy, which emphasizes accessibility and approachability. For example, Alexander recently started a blog, which kicked off with an announcement of a new global new-hire orientation program. Additionally, she regularly corresponds with GM personnel both within the university and across the enterprise to ensure the learning function is focused on what’s important for the company. “Giving guidance and helping my leaders in GM University is the most critical [part of my job]. Whenever I’m here, I try to be as accessible as I can for anyone who needs me. It’s the same thing when I go overseas. Typically, every week, I am interfacing with direct reports, whether they’re here or any other place in the world. “I regularly talk with all levels of the organization,” energy systems engineering, which Alexander said will help the company in its research and development efforts around electric-powered vehicles. “We are becoming the leader in the electric vehicle ﬁeld and the advanced propulsion technology ﬁeld,” she said. “To be able to produce this curriculum in half the time that we normally do and deliver this kind of program with the University of Michigan is exciting. It’s being championed by our senior vice president of manufacturing and our vice president of engineering.” Additionally, she’s focused on a future that includes robust m-learning, due to its speedy, cost-effective and convenient delivery. “I want to get learning into people’s palms. We’re not there yet, but it’s surely in my vision to stream video into handheld devices so we can be 24x7. I can see that vision, and I want it today. It’s not quite there yet, but I can taste it.” CLO Chief Learning Ofﬁcer • December 2008 • www.clomedia.com 27 http://www.clomedia.com/podcast http://www.clomedia.com

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

Chief Learning Officer - December 2008 Editor’s Letter Contents Connections Business Impact Best Practices Effectiveness Guest Editorial The Future of Learning CLO Profile Learning Opportunities Embedded in Social Networking ManTech Leverages Knowledge Management Approaches for Social Networking Agility Training for the Learning Organization Creating an Agile Organization With Learning 2.0 2008 Learning In Practice Awards Corporate Social Responsibility: How Can Learning Contribute? Union Fenosa Corporate University: How CSR Education Impacted the Bottom Line Training in the 21st Century: Everything Old Is New Again Zions Bancorp.: Connecting the Dots Case Study Business Intelligence Advertisers’ Index Editorial Resources In Conclusion

Chief Learning Officer - December 2008

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