Training Industry Magazine - January/February 2018 - 57

SECRETS OF SOURCING
DOUG HARWARD

ADAPTABILITY

Much has been written about the values
and advantages of adaptive learning
and testing. Both use computer-aided
technology to allocate and deliver content
based on learners' needs. And both are
sound strategies for delivering content
and evaluating a learner's abilities. These
approaches to adaptability are based on
the notion that adaptability is a function
of technology - meaning that through
machine learning, we can leverage
information to adapt to the differences in
learner styles and abilities.
I would suggest we think of adaptability
in an alternative way as well. Let's consider
how an individual can and should adapt
themselves to changing conditions in
their workplace, and how they adapt the
use of information while learning so that it
becomes more personal, or more relevant
to them.
According to research by Dr. Anders
Ericsson, a psychology professor and
neuroscientist at Florida State University,
adaptability is a skill set found in all of us.
He argues that all humans have the gift to
adapt the human brain and body based on
their experiences and changing conditions
in their environment. His research has
found that individuals who demonstrate
extraordinary performance in their chosen
profession also demonstrate the ability to
be adaptive, to learn from experiences,
good and bad, and get better through
deliberate efforts.
We all have the ability to adapt, but some
learn how to be more adaptive than
others and can achieve much higher
performance. In other words, adaptability

is a skill set that can be learned and
developed. We learn to be adaptive
by learning how to process training or
the consumption of formal instruction
and day-to-day experiences. The more
deliberate and purposeful we are about
how we turn this information into behavior
change can determine how successful we
can be in our profession.

ADAPTABILITY
IS A SKILL SET THAT
CAN BE LEARNED
AND DEVELOPED.
In his book, "Peak: Secrets from the New
Science of Expertise," Dr. Ericsson shows
that individuals who best leverage their
ability to adapt by being purposeful and
deliberate in getting better at what they
do, consistently improve at levels greater
and faster than those who haphazardly go
through the motions of repetition, doing
tasks over and over with no clear approach
to getting better.
As simple as this sounds, the concept of
deliberate practice has huge implications for
learning and development professionals.
Corporate training organizations have
traditionally been guilty of assuming that
their responsibility towards improving
an individual's performance happened
within the classroom or structured
learning environment. And assuming how
the individual applied skills or knowledge
from the training course on the job was
the responsibility of the learner.
What we can take from this research is
that the more deliberate we as training

professionals are at preparing the learner
to adapt in workplace conditions, and
how we shift our focus from being a
course provider to a performance support
organization can and will have huge
implications to the value we provide to
the business.
THREE LESSONS
From where I sit, there are three very
simple lessons we should consider adding
to job training in our organizations. First,
let's become deliberate about how we
teach adaptability. Adaptability is a skill
set that deals with knowing how to assess
and diagnose on-the-job situations that
may be out of the norm, how to determine
alternatives that may be suitable solutions,
and how to be deliberate about improving
through repetition.
Secondly, we must consider how we
design and formalize on-the-job training.
We all recognize that employees learn
more on the job than in the classroom,
so let's assume the responsibility of
teaching workers how to get better on
the job. Consider on-the-job training as a
formal experience.
Lastly, consider how you can teach the
process of deliberate practice. The more
an individual learns to be deliberate, and
how we personalize our own learning and
performance improvement, can not only
be a game changer for us on the job, but a
life-changing experience as well.
Doug Harward is CEO of Training Industry,
Inc. and a former learning leader in the hightech industry. Email Doug.

T R A I N I N G I N DUSTR Y MA GAZ INE - ADAPTING LEARNING 2018 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 - January/February 2018

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