Training Industry Quarterly - Spring 2008 - (Page 39)

10 QUESTIONS WITH KAREN KOCHER 1 What’s most important to a learning professional — classroom/training experience or business experience? 6 What’s the most challenging aspect of your job? In my view, first and foremost it’s a business view. Secondarily I would say it’s a view of how people can and should be most productive. I think what it requires of somebody is the ability to really distill down what somebody is trying to accomplish, what it is they need to most easily accomplish that, and making sure they get it. 2 What’s your favorite training methodology? I would say my most challenging aspect these days is making sure I keep everybody aware of and on board with the vision, of what learning can be and needs to be for both Cigna and the stakeholders. We are shifting so dramatically from a traditional learning organization to something that’s far different and needs to be far different to take us into the future. It seems to be a never-ending laundry list of tasks. What I prefer is managers and peers to be best utilized as part of the learning process, or as the method by which somebody learns. I think that in learning, in training, we far too often look for a formal answer. I think we’re really missing the boat on driving involvement and accountability of managers and more expert peers to be involved in the day-to-day development of those who are lesser-skilled. 7 What’s the most rewarding aspect of your job? The fact that we, in just a year’s period of time, have delivered so much in support of that vision — it’s extraordinary. I think if you asked most of the executive team at Cigna they would agree. It’s really just remarkable. That doesn’t mean we don’t have a long way to go, but we’ve managed to do a lot. 3 4 What’s your most memorable training experience, good or bad? 8 Do you find the time to continue your own professional development? The things that really strike me are the interactions I’ve had over time with different managers or different peers. I think that’s why I lean very heavily to the majority focus being the individual and their peer group and their management structure. Who would you consider your most valuable role model? My role model has probably been my first formal boss, Tere Witherell. She was a woman, it was back in the late ‘80s. She was a very good blend of somebody who knew what she was talking about, had a lot of expertise and experience and was valued by people around her. She was very well respected by senior leaders for getting things done and getting them done in a way that was motivating to others. It was a time where it was a little difficult for women to be treated as equals. She really did a great job making everyone feel involved and getting things done in ways that left everyone feeling whole. Whenever I think about my own development, I rarely think about it in terms of programs or classes. I read all the time. Whether it’s the Economist magazine, Web sites, books, I read an extraordinary amount. It really helps to go to the outer limits of reading material. I get this really great email, the MIT Technology Review. It’s some really far out stuff. It helps my mind go off in new and interesting directions. It made me far more curious. They had some really great stuff on the future of social networking. They really do go off in directions that help your mind open up and conceive new possibilities. 9 Any recommendations for folks out there – books, partners, resources, etc.? 5 What are the most pressing issues on your professional plate now? There’s a couple of books I read recently that I found to be really valuable. One is called “Talent Force.” It really does a great job of looking at talent more as people need to than how we’ve traditionally looked at them. The other is an older book, “Blur.” It makes it clear that all things are possible. You have to look at them with an open-minded view. Who would have thought even 10 years ago that half the stuff we’re making a difference with would be that way? One is leadership development to establish a pipeline of qualified senior talent. We’ve done a good job on first-line manager development and middle manager development, but we haven’t focused enough over time on developing a pipeline. Then it’s the external stakeholder situation. That is a relatively new responsibility for anybody at Cigna and definitely for the university. It’s a lot of your traditional learning activities, but it’s a group that’s broader and more diverse. And the last thing I would say is technology. Depending on what initiative we’re talking about, it’s either not having the technology we need to do something in the most efficient way, or it’s having the technology but people not using it in the most efficient ways. 10 If someone wants to follow in my professional footsteps, I’d tell them to be sure to… Really pay attention to and learn the business from the ground up. There’s no better way to really make sure that what you’re doing and what you’re thinking and what you’re believing is aligned to what’s most important, what the business is there to do. Understand the people and the roles and what it takes to move the business forward, and know it from the ground up. Training Industry Quarterly, Spring 2008 / A Training Industry, Inc. ezine / www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ 39 http://www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Quarterly - Spring 2008

Training Industry Quarterly - Spring 2008 At the Editor’s Desk Contents Winning Organizations Through People Before You Buy… Learning Technologies Take Your ROI to Level 6 LCMS: A Critical Link to Learning Success Establishing Best Practices for Learning Governance Training’s Role in Continuous Improvement Meet Jim Mitnick Meet Karen Kocher Meet Christina Cernuch The Personal Side of Personnel Training Closing Arguments

Training Industry Quarterly - Spring 2008

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