Delivering significant results is probably the expected outcome of any learning programme. But how many truly deliver...and how many drift into a box ticking process? £2.4 million in additional sales definitely sits in the significant result box in my mind and that is the kind of outcome that Sue helps her clients regularly deliver. So how does she do it? In this episode Sue shares some of the ways in which she approaches these challenges: from the way she instills self care into her learners, deliberate reflection time, detailed dashboards and established accreditations....oh and cardboard knickers on a washing line too!
Sue's wonderful and warm personality shines throughout this chat and you can't escape her genuine desire to help others unleash their potential!
https://linkedin.com/in/sue-reed-talent-director-fisme-mmild-mibm-tap-dip-94967480
How do you make sure your learning is accessible for all? In this episode the wonderful Hayley Brackley uses her insights and personal experience to share numerous practical suggestions that any facilitator or coach can embrace to make the learning experience work for everyone. From how you create and share resources, how you manage collaborations, ways to set up practice activities and organising virtual break-out rooms. And of course, that starting point of creating the psychological safety whereby participants feel they can talk to you and explain what they need. Hayley's default question: "What can I do to make this learning experience work best for you?" is one that can sit in any facilitator's preparation. Hayley also generously shares her own neurodivergence and helps us understand what Facilitators can do to help themselves bring their best to the group. An episode packed with tangible suggestions, and tips to ensure we are prepared and can run learning sessions that are accessible for all.
The wonderful Lycia Harper shares insights into the world of working and thinking systematically. Recognising that our organisations and relationships are complex, that history has a role, that stories are crucial, that the territory we operate in influences our behaviour and therefore our outcomes. Lycia shares how she initially approaches organisational challenges, the questions she asks, the areas she focuses on, how she helps individuals, groups, communities build maps to help their understanding and therefore start to make the necessary changes. We also discuss what this means for the coach/facilitator, and how you have to trust yourself to ask the right questions rather than provide a ready made solution. Lycia also points us in the right direction to learn more about this approach with insights into those who have influenced her. A fantastically interesting toe dip into the world of systemic constellations that will leave you hungry for more!
www.linkedin.com/in/lyciaharper
Recommended reading:
Embracing Complexity, Jean Boulton
Seeing Systems, Barry Oshry
The fantastic Jamie Dixon joins us for the third time on Learning that Sticks, and as always Jamie has wonderful insights to share. This time we look at how people learn and the facilitators role in that. From Doaism to fish we discuss if concepts and models are getting in the way of how people truly learn and agree a more facilitated and coaching approach, stripped clear of those potentially outdated models and concepts is far more likely to result in real learning.
In this episode with the fabulous Gwyn Wansbrough we turn the spotlight firmy on to the Facilitator, and how transformative facilitation can help create those breakthrough moments that mean learning has truly stuck! And the focus is firmly on the people rather than the plan, on the community rather than the content. That's not to say content isn't important but without laying the crucial foundations of psychological safety and building community it is unlikely people will lean into the content in a way that means breakthroughs happen. Gwyn shares her experience and approach to show how transformative facilitation can make all the difference!
The Quest Newsletter - free weekly insights and tips on facilitation and learning.
Breakthrough Facilitation - a 4-week live online course in virtual facilitation for professionals who lead online groups
Innovating to help it truly stick
The context of the learning may be different (in this case, safety in the construction and energy sectors) but the motivation is still the same: learning that sticks and can be turned into the right performance at the right time. The challenge for Dick (and the 1000 or so learners that they work with on a daily basis!) is that they are training skills that people would rather not have to use and may not need to use for months, even years. To address this, Dick is shaking up the traditional approach and innovating to ensure their number one goal, safety, is achieved. This means using Virtual Reality, Spaced repetition, analogical scaffolding and emotion triggering videos. Most importantly this isn't innovating for innovations sake and is not about the latest new toys, but what will help them embed the skills, awareness and behaviours that can be tapped into at a moment's notice despite not having regular practice opportunities. Sticky learning at its very best!
The learner at the centre of digital learning
Following on from their episode in Season 1 on making digital learning sticky, Erica and Hayley join me this time to talk about keeping the learner forefront and centre of any digital learning, even the asynchronous solutions. They share great insights and expertise around curating varied mediums of content (not just point and click e-learning!), ensuring it is easy to access and is available for in-the-moment needs rather than when the L&D team schedules it. This is well worth a listen as we continue on our digital revolution in the world of learning!
Sometimes you need to stop, look back and reflect! So in this episode I am joined once again by the wonderful Emma Spence to review our Season 2 episodes. And what a collection it is....such a variety of ideas, methods and means to facilitate truly sticky learning. Amongst all the rich pickings there were some common themes emerging though, none more so than the individual learner needing to be at the very heart of it, to lead it. Enjoy this review, with Emma, it's made me want to dive back into every single episode!
"We don't just learn from the neck up"! In this episode Lena brings to life how she uses embodied learning to help the learning truly stick! Differentiating this from practice, Lena highlights that many of the physical exercises she creates in learning sessions are done in isolation and designed to resonate on a physical level rather than solely cognitive. From "walking on eggshells" to pushing against a wall some of the simplest of metaphors can reveal the physical behaviours that impact our thinking. Lena also shares brilliantly creative physical exercises that generate instant impact. Link two people, a ball and a tree and see how this unpicks a misguided approach to coaching!
If you want your participants to truly embed their learning, check out this episode for how to help them learn through the whole body!
Following on from her fabulous episode on Experiential Learning in Season 1, Romy joins us to talk about the critical subject of Psychological Safety which is at the very heart of sticky learning. No, not some fluffy hand holding ice breaker but the essential connection and belief that you can create in the group as to how they can show up, engage, work with each other and embrace the tough elements of true learning such as failure and feedback. Romy cites many leading experts in the field but you only have to listen to hear the brilliant and passionate belief Romy has in the role psychological safety has in learning and she shares numerous practical ideas for how you can build this, regardless of context or medium.
Graphic Facilitation
This isn't just about recording outcomes on flipcharts. And it isn't just about being fantastic at graphics. Keisuke combines his facilitation and graphics skills to reflect, in the moment where the conversation is going, what is happening and what is being said along with the oh so important context of what isn't being said. The emotions, the missed connections, the interesting perspectives that a facilitator can pick up on, but then beautifully represented on the board with Keisuke's graphics. And this isn't just for a take away at the end of the session but is a powerful mirror as the conversation progresses and as Keisuke says, he can add spice to the graphics to prompt discussion and reflection from a different perspective. In person facilitation, coaching and visual workshops with 100's of participants, this is such a fabulous method to generate the stickiest of learning!
Lynda is usually involved in large development programmes that will run over 6-9 months and often have large numbers of participants. Despite this, her starting point is not content, not showcasing her or her team's knowledge, but connection. Connection with the participants and connecting them with each other. The better that you understand where they are, their starting point, the journey they need to go on then the better facilitator you can be.
You are also much better placed then, as Lynda says, to "make yourself redundant". Not permanently, just with that group on that journey, where they take control and continue to stretch and learn without needing your guidance or facilitation. Lynda generously shares her insights and ideas as to how you do this and how you can, even on big long programmes, create genuinely sticky learning experiences.
"The Story Habit"
In series 1 Jamie shared his wisdom around making Training as practical as possible. In this episode Jamie brings to life his "Story Habit" which resonates so deeply with sticky learning on every level! Starting with a wonderful fable Jamie cuts through the world of Training commissioned and done to people and illustrates why we have to help people shape their own stories. Where are they right now, what is their "map" like, when is the time right for them to commit to stepping into the stretch and challenge of learning and where do they want and need to get to. If you're planning a learning intervention soon, I challenge you not to use the metaphor of the village and the dark forest!!
Embodied Learning
From Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to practising being uncomfortable by debating London taxi drivers, Pete takes us on a journey of understanding as to what Embodied learning is. Learning to be comfortable being uncomfortable is at the heart of this approach and so it is no surprise that this is very much for the motivated learner. Defining outcomes based on longing, tuning into emotional soundtracks, identifying these somatic markers, recognising you are a beginner in terms of choosing your response and then using deliberate and varied practice in order to develop choices rather than our ingrained response. This is the very embodiment of sticky learning!
A deceptively simple approach to deep high quality learning! Sarah Jane and David return to "Learning that Sticks" to share how they use the ABT model (And, But, Therefore) to help build a coaching style approach to learning using our everyday methodology of problem solving. With heavy emphasis on collaboration, reflection and learner led responsibility this seemingly simple approach lends itself to vivid depiction of desired outcomes (And), concise and objective recognition of the problem or barriers (But) and deep commitment to the required solutions (Therefore). As in their previous episode in series 1, Sarah Jane and David are a Podcast delight with their insights, ideas and generosity making the complex (deceptively) simple!
https://www.thestoryspotters.com
"Truly making a Difference"
At the heart of "Learning that Sticks" is a desire to help make sure any learning intervention genuinely delivers for it's participants. However, learning interventions, in whatever shape, context or size rarely work in isolation. To make a real difference often involves the wider organisation, deep discovery conversations, establishing the real business needs and making sure everything and everyone is set up internally to enable that. This is the approach and expertise that James and Katie provide, partnering with organisations to make sure the decisions they are taking around learning are decisions that will truly make a difference to the business and are not led simply by the latest fad or shiny new learning toy.
https://www.thelearningeffect.co.uk
Reflective practice
For Sam, reflection is part of the very DNA of the programmes she runs.This not some hopeful activity that is left to chance but an integral part of the learning journey and an essential component of any programme that truly sticks. We look at what reflection really is, when it can happen, in what format it can be done and how it can be baked into the design of a learning programme. We also look at the barriers to reflection (have you really not got time for such self-care?!) and recognise that the more a learner makes choices about this, and takes personal responsibility for developing reflective habits, the greater the results are gained.
Phil's episode from Series 1 brilliantly highlighted the integral role that practice plays in learning and I instantly adopted two of his phrases: "Deliberate practice" and "Practice comes first"! Returning in series 2, Phil shares deeper insights into how practice fits into a true learning journey (Yes, right from the start!), how we need to practice at practice to ensure it helps us learn and we also touch on the Dunning-Kruger effect and how this can hold people back from utilising practice effectively. Once you've listened to Phil, practice will never be that rushed role-play at the end of a workshop again!
We've probably all experienced it. The vacuum in learning that can happen between sessions. The need to use session 2 to remind, reflect, review and practice what was covered in Session 1, because everyday work just got in the way! In this episode we focus on what coaches and facilitators can do to help ensure the learning continues to happen when you're not there. The necessary action, practice, reflection and accountability that makes the learning truly stick. Dr P has a great phrase of the "Scaffolding" of this time between sessions, a framework of accountability, action taking and teamwork that fits everyday work rather than being in competition with it. As Dr P says, like being a genie in their pocket!!
In this episode we venture to Australia to chat with the wonderful Catherine Mattiske, delving into her vast experience of learning (31 books and counting!). We focus in on the power of high performance learners, those that are motivated, committed and crucially self aware of how they best learn. When you combine these with facilitators who are driven by Catherines values (100% of the learners achieve 100% of their performance outcomes) then you truly get sticky learning! Tie in the fact that Catherine had been delivering 100% virtually since 2011 (no waiting for a global pandemic)! and you'll realise that we have only scratched the surface of her expertise.
https://www.id9intelligentdesign.com
https://linkedin.com/in/catherinemattiske
