Training Industry Magazine - July/August 2017 - 9

GUEST EDITOR
MICHAEL CANNON

THE REAL LEARNING CURVE,
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING,
AND L&D'S RESPONSIBILITY

After a golf lesson, my handicap dropped
from 11 to 5. One piano lesson prepared
me for the recital. I participated in a
sales bootcamp, and now I'm trained
and ready to hit the streets.
Everyone recognizes the folly of the first
two statements. And yet, in the world of
corporate L&D, the approach reflected in
the third statement is far too common.
Need to be a better presenter? Take a
presentation skills class. Need to improve
your negotiation skills? Take a negotiation
class. Just promoted to management?
Take a new manager class.
The concept of needing more than just
formal training isn't new. Models, such
as The Center for Creative Leadership's
70:20:10, Dan Pontefract's Pervasive
Learning, and Bersin by Deloitte's
Continuous Learning, address the need
for experiential and social learning. I
would like to share my views on some
tough questions.

WHY DO CORPORATE LEARNING PROGRAMS
STILL RELY HEAVILY ON FORMAL TRAINING?
It's what we know how to design,
develop and deliver. It's what our
business stakeholders and learners
understand and expect, and what we

think we know how to measure. We
also have some level of control over the
training environment.

WHOSE JOB IS IT TO ENSURE EXPERIENTIAL
AND SOCIAL LEARNING ARE IMPLEMENTED?
It's our job! Our job as learning
professionals is not training; our real
job is to sustain behavior change and
improve performance. If we could
give every employee a pill to improve
performance, we would. Since no such
pill exists, we rely on L&D interventions.
However, unless they consistently
include more than formal training, they
will not produce sustained behavior
change, and we will not have done
our job.

WHAT IS OUR BARE MINIMUM RESPONSIBILITY?
1. Explain to business leaders that
performance improvement will only
happen
if
they
support
L&D
interventions that include on-the-job
practice, feedback, reflection and peerto-peer support (i.e., experiential and
social learning).
2. Set realistic expectations for learners
by explaining the Real Learning Curve
(Figure 1). Constantly explain that

formal training (e.g., e-learning) is
only the beginning of the learning
process. Without a commitment to
ongoing practice, reflection and acting
on feedback, new skills cannot be
developed. Ensure learners understand
it's normal that the first time applying a
new skill results in reduced performance.
3. Don't just tell participants to apply
formal learning or develop their own
"after class action plan." If this is all we do,
we are abdicating our responsibilities as
learning professionals. Develop and
fight for programs that include designed
experiences and reinforcement outside
the classroom that guide learners
through the experiential and social
phases of learning.
The bare minimum steps are difficult.
At Red Hat, we've been on the journey
for over two years, and still have some
distance to go. Like most learning
organizations, we don't have direct
authority to force business leader
support or employee commitment
to experiential and social learning.
Nonetheless, I believe we have to
ensure it happens. Otherwise, there
won't be sustained behavior change
or performance improvement. And
without that, what values have we
actually delivered?
Michael Cannon joined Red Hat in March
2015 as the senior director of Red Hat
University, where he leads a global team
of 40+ L&D professionals responsible
for leadership development, technical
development, sales development and
professional development. Email Michael.

T R A I N I N G I N DUSTR Y MA GAZ INE - EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING 20 1 7 I WWW. T RAI NINGINDU S T RY . C OM/ MAGAZ I NE

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - July/August 2017

https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_winter2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_fall2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_summer2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_spring2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_winter2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_fall2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_summer2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_spring2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_winter2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20210910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20210708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20210506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20210304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20210102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20201112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20200910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20200708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20200506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20200304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20200102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20191112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20190910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20190708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20190506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20190304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20190102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20181112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20180910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20180708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20180506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20180304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20180102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20171112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20170910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20170708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20170506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20170304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20171112_se
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20161112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2016fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2016summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2016sales
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2016spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2016winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2015outsourcing
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2015fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2015summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2015leadership
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2015spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2015winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2014fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2014summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2014spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2014winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2013fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2013summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2013spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2013winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2012fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2012summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2012spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2012winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2011fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2011summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2011spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2011winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2010fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2010summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2010spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2010winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2009fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2009summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2009spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2009winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2008fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2008summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2008spring
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