Angela beamed as she left her manager's office. She had gotten the promotion to senior analyst she had been working to earn for quite some time. She would have a team of analysts reporting to her in her first supervisory role. "I better learn how to lead people," she thought excitedly. She sat down at her desk and conducted a search for leadership articles and videos on the internet to help her. You Can't Beat 'Em, So Join 'Em Does this scenario sound familiar? In today's fast-paced business world, professionals often obtain their own development by simply conducting an internet search. This informal learning is intimidating to some training professionals; some organizations are asking their training function to manage and measure it. For the purpose of this article, informal learning is defined as learning that occurs outside the realm of traditional instructorled classrooms and asynchronous courses. The informalization of learning is a trend that is likely to continue and grow. "Lifelong learning is no longer just a hopeful ambition; it will soon be a requirement of remaining relevant at work. According to a 2019 IBM report, the average time companies reported for upskilling or reskilling workers jumped from three days to 36 days in just the past five years," said Brandon Busteed, president of University Partners at Kaplan. When learners seek out their own sources of training materials, they are actually doing training professionals a favor by diminishing the time required to develop content. This allows trainers to get involved in strategic planning and performance support. Regardless of the source of the training content, learning is of little value unless it prepares the participant to perform better on the job and | 28