Training Industry Quarterly - Spring 2013 - (Page 33)

by understandIng stages of complexIty, leaders wIll understand where InterventIon Is necessary wIthIn theIr organIzatIons date has accomplished in the past. It is also quite common today for managers to require the candidate to take a skills test and perhaps even a personality inventory such as the DISC or the Predictive Index. These assessments can help determine if the candidate possesses the required skills for performing the job, predicting how well one is suited to the job and how well they will enjoy performing the tasks, but that alone does not tell the entire story. Figure 1 shows the third critical element in assessing an employee’s ability to successfully complete the tasks and responsibilities of their job: stage/task performance. It is important to note that complexity is not the same thing as one’s “intelligence.” Over the years, intelligence has been understood theoretically as a single general ability factor greatly influenced by one’s genetics and thus not subject to change. Hierarchical complexity is best described as one’s ability to resolve complex problems. Because this ability is primarily developed through experience and learning everyone has the potential to transition and grow. (See Figure 1, at right) Unfortunately, rather than focus on what can be done to transition from one stage to the next, our society has a tendency to simplify the environment to fit the current stage of hierarchical complexity. For example, criteria for a passing grade or skill certification may be reduced over time when lower-stage individuals are more prevalent in the environment. However, with the right preparation, experiences and support, a stage change is possible that will allow the employee to learn and apply new skills. Stage has an enormous impact in the world and in the workplace. By understanding stages of complexity, leaders will understand where intervention is necessary within their organizations and what interventions work at each stage. Over time with the use of scores that represent changes in stage, one can discover what role each level plays in producing behavior change and whether it is helping or hindering the change needed to progress within and between stages. The good news is that scientific tools are making their way into the workplace to help businesses measure how well an applicant or employee will perform on the job and how well they will deal with the ever growing complexity of the workplace. Michael Lamport Commons, Ph.D., is the CEO and co-founder of Core Complexity Assessments. Terri Lee Robinett, Ph.D., is the vice president of Core Complexity Assessments. Email Michael and Terri. Takeaways • the missing element of predicting learning success is the concept of stage. • stage measures the cognitive complexity of a task, as well as the employee’s stage of performance on that task. • If a learning or job task being taught is more hierarchically complex than the employee’s current stage, it may have no effect at all on the employee’s performance. that means learning did not occur. Figure 1 Personality/Behavioral Assessment Interest/ Performance Stage/Task Performance Best Possible Result Knowledge/ Performance Training Industry Quarterly, Spring 2013 / A Training Industry, Inc. magazine / www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ Interest/ Knowledge Skills/Experience Assessment 33 http://www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Quarterly - Spring 2013

Training Industry Quarterly - Spring 2013
From Where I Sit: Back to the Basics
Table of Contents
Ad Index
Guest Editor: A Brave New World
Extracting Learning From Work
Poor Behavior: Your Brain is Partly to Blame
How to Design Engaging Training Programs
The Missing Link in Learning
Don't Let Training Be Half-Baked
What the Latest Brain Research Tells Us about Designing Learning that Sticks
Motivation: The Key to Learning Transfer
Improving Learning Outcomes with a Bite-Sized Strategy
Adult Development: Predicting Learning Success
From One Brain to Another: What We've Learned about Learning
Formalizing Informal Learning
Tracking Trends
Tweet Suite
Company News

Training Industry Quarterly - Spring 2013