9/30/2015

buildinginformallearninghabits

LoginRegisterContact
Like

Keywords

Tweet

Share

Search

recent_searches
quantum/training/bestpractices/xerox/recognitionengagesgenystay

Topics
LeadershipDevelopment
Coaching
Engagement
Mentoring
ManagementTraining
LearningDelivery
BlendedLearning
ContentDevelopment
FormalLearning
InformalLearning
Management
Alignment
OrganizationalDevelopment
Staffing
Strategy
Measurement
Analytics
Assessment
BusinessImpact
Metrics
PerformanceManagement
CapabilityDevelopment
Competencies
PerformanceSupport
Effectiveness
SuccessionPlanning
CareerDevelopment
Onboarding
TalentManagement
GenerationsatWork
Technology
Collaboration
Gaming
LMS
http://www.clomedia.com/articles/buildinginformallearninghabits

1/14

9/30/2015

buildinginformallearninghabits

SocialNetworking
Tools
Videos
Newsstand
WhitePapers&Supplements
HRJobs
Events
UpcomingEvents
CLOSymposiums
BreakfastClubs
Webinars
SpotlightWebinars
OnlineEvents
EventsBlog
SpeakersBureau
About
Research
LearningElite
Awards
ResearchBoards
ResearchResults
Reports
Community
LinkedIn
Facebook
Twitter
Google+
Blogs
AskAGenY
TheBusinessOfLearning
FromtheEditors
GlobalLeadership
MindOverMatter
YourCareer
TheWeekThatWas
Awards
Newsletters
Magazine
Videos

TopStories
LeadershipDevelopment

SuccessionPlanning

eImportanceofIdlenessLeadershipDevelopmentWorthyofAdventureExperienceIstheNewCompet
September30,2015
HomeBuildingInformalLearningHabits

September28,2015

BuildingInformalLearningHabits
http://www.clomedia.com/articles/buildinginformallearninghabits

2/14

9/30/2015

buildinginformallearninghabits

Shortbutdisciplinedupfrontplanningcanhelpemployeesidentifyopportunitiesforinformalskill
developmentthroughouttheirnormalworkday.
TomSpencer
February19,2013
1Comment
RelatedTopics:LearningDelivery,InformalLearning
KEYWORDSinformallearning
0
ReprintsShare: Like 0 Tweet 1 Share

Theresnosubstituteforexperienceisacommonadageforthosewhohavelearnedbydoingduringalong
career.Welldesignedlearningcanhelpcloseanexperiencegap,buttheexpressionstillholdstruth.
Thereisapracticallimittoarelianceonstructuredtraining.Technologyandthebusinessenvironmentare
changingsoquickly,structuredtraininghasbynecessitytakenabackseattoinformallearningasthedominant
approachtoworkplacedevelopment.
SelfDirectedInformalLearning
Experiencealonecanbeaninefficientinstructor.Valuecomesfromtherelevantandpracticaltakeawaysinan
experience.Highpotentialemployeesareespeciallyeffectiveatgeneratingthesetakeaways.Inhis2011
EverydayExperienceIsNotEnoughblogpost,TomGramofPerformanceXDesignsaid,Experts
continuallychallengetheircurrentperformanceandseekfeedbackfromtheirenvironmenttostayinamoreor
lesspermanentlearningstate,masteringeverydayskillsbutcontinuouslyraisingtheirpersonalbar.This
deliberateapproachtolearningfromexperienceiswhatseparatestopperformersfromthenorm.
Whetherlearningformallyorinformally,employeesatalllevelsneedtotakeownershipfortheirdevelopment.
Thisgoesbeyondannualdevelopmentplansthatspecifyspecialworktasksandconferenceattendance.
Informallearningshouldntbelefttochanceorreservedforthoseskilledinmakingthemostoftheir
employmentexperience.
ForMikeSullivan,chiefpeopleofficeratbreakfastcerealproducerMOMBrands,effectiveinformallearningis
expected.Ourcompanyisambitious.Forustowin,weneedtojugglebeingalowcostproducer,agrowth
companyandagreatplacetodogreatwork.Thelowcostproduceraspectcanoftenbethemostchallenging.
Forcertaininvestments,wesometimeshaveanaffordabilitychallenge.Whileweclearlycantaffordpoor
performers,wealsocantaffordaheavyinvestmentinformaltraining,hesaid.Asaresult,weexpect
employeestobeaccountablefortheirowndevelopmentandthenprovidecustomizedsupporttomakethat
happen.
KevinMunson,chieflearningofficeratSears,saidthatskillnuancesinparticularareoftenbetterlearned
throughexperience,andtypicallyemployeesrelyonchanceforthosesituationstocomeup.Togetthemost
http://www.clomedia.com/articles/buildinginformallearninghabits

3/14

9/30/2015

buildinginformallearninghabits

frominformallearningopportunities,employeesneedtolookforandtakeadvantageofthoseopportunities,he
said.
ThePlanConnectReflectModel
Learningorganizationsshouldteachemployeestoextractlearningfromworkeventsbigandsmall,from
mundanemeetingsandcasualinteractionstotheirownbehavioranditsimpactonothers.Essentially,the
learnerwillplayanactiveroleinorchestratinginformallearningactivities.
Withinformallearning,employeesserveastheirowninstructionaldesigners,Munsonsaid.Theyidentify
theirlearningobjectives,evaluatetheirperformanceagainstthoseobjectivesandarrangeorfindreallife
experiencestoaddressthoseobjectives.
Employeescanintegrateinformallearningintotheirdailyroutineusingathreestepmodel:plan,connectand
reflect(Figure1).

Plan:Employeesrequiretwotypesofplanning:initialplanningtodefinelongtermlearninggoalsregarding
behaviors,skillstobeimprovedandworkplaceopportunitiestoaccomplishthosegoals,anddailyplanningto
connecttheirlearninggoalswiththeirschedule.
Thiscouldincludeoutliningthecontextforinteractionswithpeers,customers,vendors,leadersandexpertsin
meetings,customersalesorserviceinteractions.Whileitistheemployeesresponsibilitytocompletetheinitial
planning,thelearningleadercandrivethisactivitybyestablishingclearexpectationsandprovidingsupportfor
learningalignedwithbusinessgoals.
Weuseadisciplinedapproachtojumpstartemployeesselfdevelopment,Sullivansaid.Wefocusthemon
developingtargetedskillsthatwillincreasetheirpersonaleffectiveness,andhavethemdothisastheyworkto
achievetheirindividualandfunctionalgoals...allinalignmentwithourannualcompanyobjectives.This
avoidsdirectedinformallearningalwayshavingtobeaplusoneactivity.
Dailyplanningisaquickpreviewofthedayseventsandtheinformallearningopportunitiesthatmightsurface,
suchaspracticinganewskill.Beingprimedtolookforinformallearningopportunitieswillmakeiteasierto
recognizeandactonthem.
Connect:Theconnectsteprequiresfollowthroughonthedaysplanandrealtimerecognitionofunanticipated
opportunitiesforlearning.Therearefivewaysemployeescanconnecttheirlearninggoalswiththedays
activities:practice,impact,observe,listenandsetup(Figure2).Intentionallypracticingaskillislikelytobe
themostprevalentlearningopportunity.Itcouldbeatechnical,managementorleadershipskill.Ideally,a
trustedcolleaguewillbeavailabletoprovidefeedbackonthebehaviorsobserved.Thesefeedbackloopscanbe
setupinadvanceorsolicitedafterwardbasedonwhowaspresent.

http://www.clomedia.com/articles/buildinginformallearninghabits

4/14

9/30/2015

buildinginformallearninghabits

Munsonsaiditsalsoimportanttohaveawaytoevaluateemployeesimpact.Employeesneedtoask
themselves,HowwillIknowifIvedoneitright?WhatoutcomewillIusetoevaluatetheimpactofmy
behavior?Howothersrespondtotheirperformanceisagoodleadingindicatoroftheirsuccess.Specifyingthe
responsetheywantupfrontmakesiteasierforthemtogivethemselvesfeedbackinrealtimeandadjusttheir
behavioronthefly.
Forexample,insalesandcustomerserviceenvironments,impactcanbemeasuredbyidentifyingthecustomer
responsethatwilldemonstrateasuccessfulinteractionsuchasagreedtomeetagainordescribedaspecific
salesobjectionandthenevaluatingbehaviorbasedontheresponse.Specifyingthedesiredcustomer
responseinadvancewillestablishaneffectiveleadingindicatortomeasuretheimpactofthenewbehavioron
thecustomerexperience.
Employeesalsocanplantoobserveexemplarsofskillstheyaretryingtomaster.Toextractlearningfromthe
observation,theobservershouldrecordspecificsaboutwhatthepersondidanddidntdoandtheimpactithad.
Thesebehaviorscanbecomesituationaloroverallbestpractices.Likewise,havinganticipatedcontactwitha
knowledgeexpertduringtheplanningstep,employeeswillbeinabetterpositiontolistenactively,toprompt
theexpertformoredetailsandtorelatethatinformationtotheirexistingknowledgebase.
Futureopportunitiesforlearningcanbesetupinconjunctionwithanewproject,attendanceatafuturemeeting
orfollowingupwithanewcontactwhomightofferconnectionstotheemployeeslearninggoals.Likea
salespersonproficientatgeneratingsalesleads,employeesactivelyfocusedontheirlearninggoalsandwork
environmentwillbeabletogeneratelearningopportunitieswhereothersfail.
Reflect:Reflectingonthedayslearningfostersrecognitionandretentionofitsnuances.Thisincludesthe
contextofthebehaviorpracticedorobserved,theimpactofthebehavioronothersandwhatactionable
specificsledtosuccessorfailure.Reflectingallowsemployeestoevaluatetheimpactofwhattheyvedonein
theabsenceofanydirectfeedback,Munsonsaid.Italsoallowsthemtoconnecttheirlearningexperiences
fromthedaywithpastlearnings.Thishelpsthemidentifypatternsinwhatisandisntworkingforthem.
Quickdailynotetakingorjournalingfosterstheidentificationoftrendsinskilldevelopmentandallows
progresstobeevaluatedmoreeasily.Eventrecordingcanbecomeasourceofselfreinforcementas
accomplishmentsarerelived.Manygenericjournalappsareavailabletoreducethetimeandeffortrequiredto
trackandorganizelearning.Whiledailyplanningandreflectingareessentialforpromptandsustainedlearning,
thesestepsneedtoberelativelyquick.Otherwise,themodelwillbecomeburdensomeanditsactiveuselikely
willendabruptly.
BuildingInformalLearningHabits
Thequickestpathtobuildpositivehabitstrengthisthroughsmalldailygoalsandfrequentreinforcement.
Trackingtheuseoftheplanconnectreflectmodelcansetupopportunitiesforthatfrequentreinforcement
(Figure3).Thetimeandeffortrequiredfordailyapplicationandtrackingwilllessenasitsusebecomesahabit
andskillsaredeveloped.

http://www.clomedia.com/articles/buildinginformallearninghabits

5/14

9/30/2015

buildinginformallearninghabits

Reinforcementcancomefrommanysources,suchasselfreinforcementwhatpeoplesaytothemselves
abouttheirperformancethenaturalconsequencesofhowothersreacttoaspecificbehaviorinthemoment,
suchasapositiveresponsefromacustomerorcoworkerandsocialreinforcementfrompeersandmanagers.
Sullivansaidhebuildsscheduledreinforcementintotheprocess.Inourcorporatefunctions,weuse
developmentfocusedmonthlyoneononesforreview,feedbackandreinforcementoflearningactivitiesfrom
thepriormonth,hesaid.Thisistypicallyanemployeedrivenmeeting.Theysettheagendaandusetheir
managerasacoachandsoundingboard.
Employeesalsocanusetechnologytobuildinpotentialsourcesofreinforcementandaccountabilityforfollow
through.MunsonsaidaninternalsocialnetworkingsystemsupportsinformallearningatSears.
Thekeytobuildinglearninghabitsistoensurethatthebehaviorbeingdevelopedgetstimelyfeedbackand
reinforcement,hesaid.OnewaywesupportthisatSearsisthroughasocialnetworkingsitewhereemployees
shareaspecificexampleofabehaviororapproachtheyareworkingonandtheimpactthatithad.Forexample,
employeesoftendescribeanopportunitytoprovideapositivecustomerexperience,whattheydidtoachieve
thatandhowthecustomerresponded.Othersthenprovidesocialreinforcementforwhattheylikedandoffer
suggestionsforimprovement.Thisisbothabragboardandahelpdeskforskillrefinement.
Shortbutdisciplinedupfrontplanningwillhelpemployeesidentifyopportunitiesforskilldevelopment
throughouttheirnormalworkday.Oncerecognized,connectedtoapersonalgoalthatmatterstothem,recorded
andperiodicallyreviewed,theseeventswillaccelerategrowthandadaptability.Withoutthesequickbut
deliberatesteps,incidentallearningfromexperiencewillamounttothrowinglifeagainstthewallandseeing
whatsticks.
TomSpenceristhechiefoperatingofficerforAubreyDanielsInternationalInc.,amanagementconsultancy.
Hecanbereachedateditor@CLOmedia.com.

RelatedArticles

InformalLearning:Accidentalvs.Intentional
LeveragetheFruitsandEaseofInformalLearning
TheUpsurgeofInformalLearning
http://www.clomedia.com/articles/buildinginformallearninghabits

6/14

9/30/2015

buildinginformallearninghabits

RelatedProducts

ChiefLearningOfficermagazineAugust2010
ChiefLearningOfficermagazineDecember2010
ChiefLearningOfficermagazineJanuary2011
RelatedEvents

UnleashingthePowerofAnalytics:DrivingPerformanceatthe
IntersectionofLearningandBusiness
CLOBreakfastClub:LessonsFromtheRoad
Fall2015CLOSymposium

http://www.clomedia.com/articles/buildinginformallearninghabits

7/14

9/30/2015

buildinginformallearninghabits

1Comment
Recommend

ChiefLearningOfficer

Share

Login

SortbyBest

Jointhediscussion
collegepaperservicesreviews ayearago

Inlearning,youmustreallyhaveagoodstrategyandfocusinorderforyoutohaveagoodlearning
habitswhichcanhelpyoualotespeciallyindealingwithsometopicsthatreallyneedstobestudies
effectively.

Reply Share

WHAT'STHIS?

ALSOONCHIEFLEARNINGOFFICER

NewTrainingorMoreTraining?

LooktoGenXforLeadership

3commentsamonthago

2commentsamonthago

JohnGaltoMomentsofneedmaycomesoon

JayHargisItreallyisabouttimesomeone

afterlearningormonthslater.Irecallasituation
whenwesentpeopletotraining

startedpayingattentiontowhoiscurrently
leading.Afterwaitingandwaitingfortheir

CiscoReinventsSocialLearning

SyncLearningUpforGenZ

2commentsamonthago

1comment16daysago

BethCliffWeatEMCagreethatthisisthe

PrisNelsonIt'snevertooearlytobegin

waytogofortraininganddevelopment,and
haveintroducedmuchofthesameas

planningforthenextentrantsintotheworkforce.
Andwhobettertoassistwith

Subscribe

AddDisqustoyoursite

Privacy

HrJobs
LatestChiefLearningOfficerVideos

http://www.clomedia.com/articles/buildinginformallearninghabits

8/14

9/30/2015

buildinginformallearninghabits

1/3

How to Sift Through Generational Data

CLOSymposiumVideos

3/22

Fall 2015 CLO Symposium welcomes Fortune maga...

Registertodayforfullaccess
Currentsubscriber?Activateyouraccount

http://www.clomedia.com/articles/buildinginformallearninghabits

9/14

9/30/2015

buildinginformallearninghabits

StayConnected
Joinourcommunityforunlimitedaccesstothelatesttips,newsandinformationintheHRworld.
ExecutiveBriefings
Thisenewsletterbringsyouindepthinformationaboutthelatestissues,trendsandtechniquesto
enhanceenterpriselearningandproductivity.
HRNewsBrief
AmobilenativedigestofHRnewsandanalysisfromaroundthewebthatprovidesreaderswithaneasy
toreviewsummaryofnewsrelatedtoHRmanagement.
EmailAddress

SignUp

SponsoredContent

http://www.clomedia.com/articles/buildinginformallearninghabits

10/14

9/30/2015

buildinginformallearninghabits

FOLLOWCLOMEDIA
Tweets
Wally Bock
@wallybock

Follow
25 Sep

Important publications that I follow: #ff @fastcompany @financialpost @Forbes @nytimes

@workforcenews @CLOmedia
Retweeted by CLO Magazine
Expand
Jay A. Allen
@jay_a_allen

43m

@CLOmedia #clobc Let your learners change the culture. Deliver what your people need &
watch out.
Retweeted by CLO Magazine
Expand

Tweet to @CLOmedia

http://www.clomedia.com/articles/buildinginformallearninghabits

11/14

9/30/2015

buildinginformallearninghabits

CLO Connections
Tweets from a list by CLO Magazine
Twitter accounts from our authors, editors, blogs and partners.
Wall Street Journal
@WSJ

1m

Al Qaeda Islamist first to stand trial for destruction of historical monument as a war crime
on.wsj.com/1FIimxu pic.twitter.com/7SqoHBovEO

Expand
Forbes
@Forbes

1m

FollowonFacebook
FollowonTwitter
FollowonLinkedIn
FollowonGoogle
SubscribetoRSS

$5,775GrantsforMothers
collegegrants.comparetopschools.com

SeeIfYouQualifyfora$5,775GranttoHelp
PayforCollege.

OnlineClasses&Degrees
2015GrantsAvailable
OnlinePhotographyCourse

Keywords

Search

CurrentIssue

http://www.clomedia.com/articles/buildinginformallearninghabits

12/14

9/30/2015

buildinginformallearninghabits

ReadSubscribeHelp
Topics
LeadershipDevelopment
LearningDelivery
Management
Measurement
PerformanceManagement
SuccessionPlanning
Technology
Tools
Videos
Newsstand
WhitePapers&Supplements
Events
UpcomingEvents
CLOSymposiums
BreakfastClubs
Webinars
SpotlightWebinars
http://www.clomedia.com/articles/buildinginformallearninghabits

13/14

9/30/2015

buildinginformallearninghabits

OnlineEvents
EventsBlog
SpeakersBureau
About
Community
LinkedIn
Facebook
Twitter
Google+
More
Jobs
Blogs
Newsletters
Magazine
Awards
AboutUs
AboutMediaTec
AboutMagazine
AboutTeam
EditorialAdvisoryBoard
PressReleases
Advertise
RequestaMediaKit
EditorialCalendar
EventSponsorships
ContactaRepresentative
Contribute
SubmissionGuidelines
SpeakersBureau
ContactUs
Copyright19952015MediaTecPublishingInc.AllRightsReserved.PrivacyPolicy.TermsOfUse.
Design,CMS,Hosting&WebDevelopmentbyePublishing.
IfyouhaveanyquestionsorconcernsaboutChiefLearningOfficer,contactushere.

http://www.clomedia.com/articles/buildinginformallearninghabits

14/14