Impacting Organizational Capability - Future Readiness
TD professionals should be knowledgeable about technologies that will have a broad impact on talent development. As AI systems, robotics, and cognitive tools improve, almost every job is being reinvented, creating the "augmented workforce." This trend is growing rapidly, causing organizations to reconsider job design and how work is organized. TD professionals should stay current with these emerging technologies, including:
Artificial intelligence (AI). AI refers to a set of computer science techniques that enable systems to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision making, and language translation. In some organizations AI is already a key part of talent development, enabling personalized learning and development using algorithms to respond to individual needs and adapt to their preferences. Other implications are that some jobs will be replaced and others will be dramatically changed. Even though talent development may not have ultimate control of AI, it must at least have an opinion, create a plan, and be accountable. Talent development's plan must be part of a larger plan. And if there is no larger plan, TD professionals should take the lead to put one in place for the organization to ensure the integration promotes an approach that is aligned to the organization's values. Analytics and evidence-based talent development. Talent development will likely use data to drive decisions, not just show impact. Moving from measurement to analytics will require it to do things differently. Impact management analytics is the practice of setting up an evaluation so it feeds back into the initiative in real time. This means acting on evaluation findings during the initiative rather than just at the end. [See 3.7.1] The Internet of Things (IoT). IoT can be used to create more comfortable places to learn. For example, smart speakers allow TD professionals to access information and resources more easily. Things that can announce when they need attention or repair make work more efficient, and will soon be able to teach people how to best interact with them. Interactive whiteboards are currently available for educators to use, and a significant part of IBM's $3 billion investment into IoT will be for education (Thompson and Smith 2019). Wearable technology. TD professionals should stay informed about wearable technology.Augmented reality (AR) layers information onto the existing world by "seeing" where the user is and matching the information to that context. As TD professionals endeavor to embed microlearning into the natural course of work, they'll find growing applications for AR.Virtual Reality (VR) can provide a highly immersive, completely simulated world in which people can learn. In its most sophisticated form, it can create entire learning experiences. As this technology becomes less expensive to create, TD professionals should uncover where it can add value. Simulations and serious games. Talent development has seen a recent resurgence in these tools. Gamification is the application of typical elements of game playing (point scoring, competition, rules of play) to development initiatives that are used as either the optimal learning approach or simply as a technique to encourage engagement. Simple and cost-effective, short simulations offer a way for TD professionals to use that technology (Aldrich 2019). API and xAPI. It is possible that Tin Can API may soon overtake SCORM as the standard for learning record storage as talent development seeks to capture a wider range of development experiences. [See 2.4 and 3.7]
3.8 Future Readiness
Future readiness requires intellectual curiosity and constant scanning of the environment to stay abreast of forces shaping the business world, employees and their expectations, and the talent development profession. Monitoring emerging trends and technologies is essential to prepare for the demands of future learners.
I. Environmental Scanning
In a time of constant disruption, TD professionals should be constantly searching for information to understand what is changing and how it will influence the products and services they provide.
I. Evaluating Emerging Learning Technology
New technology emerges regularly, which creates two critical obligations for TD professionals: to ensure that the organization and the people in it take full advantage of these breakthroughs, and to prevent waste, disruption, or damage from technology that is not viable or appropriate.
3.8.1.2 Forces Driving Change
Several forces are currently driving change within the workplace. TD professionals should consider the affect they will have on the delivery of their products and services.
3.8.6.2 Learning for Personal or Professional Development
The resources for personal and professional development are virtually unlimited. While every talent development member may not possess every attribute of learning agility, there is at least one requisite: a hunger for learning. TD professionals must avail themselves to multiple resources to enthusiastically pursue lifelong learning. [See 1.7]
3.8.6.4 Personal Mastery
According to Peter Senge, personal mastery is the "discipline of continually clarifying and deepening our personal vision, of focusing our energies, of developing patience, and of seeing reality objectively. People with a high level of personal mastery are able to consistently realize the results that matter most deeply to them" (Senge et al. 1994). Senge (2010) introduced the concept with seven pathways to personal mastery: Personal vision. The ability to picture clearly the best person possible and work toward that with focus, determination, and diligence. Personal purpose. The drive to make a difference. Personal values. Knowing the things that matter most. Personal alignment. A person's personal vision, purpose, values, and behaviors are congruent with each other. Personal perception. Awareness of the frames of reference through which people perceive things. Personal awareness. How much people know (or are willing to know) about themselves. Personal transformation. People's capacity to reshape themselves to be more in harmony with their personal vision, values, and purpose.
3.8.2.1.1 Types of Environmental Scanning
Astute TD professionals will likely find themselves scanning regularly and asking what it means for the future of talent development and the organization. It will be more beneficial when TD professionals use formal methodologies to obtain information for specific purposes. Formal environmental scanning can be either centralized or comprehensive: Centralized scanning looks at specific components of the environment or proposes a hypothesis that is assumed to influence current issues, such as research on the use of virtual reality. Comprehensive scanning looks at the broader environment without a specific hypothesis. It often leads to a decision to do one or more centralized scans to gain further insight. Doing both centralized and comprehensive scanning at once is referred to as mixed scanning.
3.8.6.6 Learning Theories TD professionals should understand the foundational learning theories:
Behaviorism assumes that all behaviors are a response to certain stimuli in the environment, which are a consequence of the person's history, especially reinforcement and punishment. Cognitivism focuses on thinking, knowing, memory, and problem solving with the goal of affecting the thought processes in the learner's head. Learning happens when a new situation disturbs the equilibrium and requires the learners to accommodate the new information into an existing schema. Constructivism articulates that learning is an active process, directed and managed by the learner. People can add new information, assimilate it into existing understanding and practice, or completely rethink and change what they do. Constructivism fits well with the concepts of individualized, learner-directed development. [See 2.1.1.2] Social learning theory assumes that the acquisition of knowledge can be directly related to observations from social interactions, media, and experiences; essentially, through interacting with the environment. Learning is optimized when the environment is supportive of learning. [See 2.1.3.10]
3.8.3.4 Techniques to Generate Creativity
Creativity techniques can be divided into two primary categories: divergence and convergence. Best practices in creativity and innovation promote the use of multiple techniques in both categories. 3.8.3.4.1 Divergence Divergence means generating a maximum number of ideas from which to choose. These tools include: Brainstorming is the most common divergence tool for sparking creativity. There are numerous variations, including reverse brainstorming (what would someone do if they were trying to accomplish the opposite of the current goal) and random adjective brainstorming (applying random adjectives to ideas to spark more ideas). Lateral thinking or perspective shifting is the practice of considering the problem or opportunity from an unusual point of view; for example, "How would a five-year-old view this?" Analogy thinking takes concepts from other industries or organizations and applies their best practices in a new context. Benchmarking against other organizations can be especially useful when adopting new technologies or finding ways to expand markets.
3.8.2.4 Internal Scanning
Conducting environmental scans of the organization is often referred to as internal scanning. TD professionals could do internal scans on the organization, functions, processes, jobs, and technology: Organization scans provide a high-level overview of the organization, and clues to what areas need an in-depth assessment to determine talent development needs. An organization scan reveals information about culture and values, strategy and structure, and strengths and weaknesses. It signals the kinds of development initiatives that will have the greatest impact on the organization. Functional scans explore a specific function within an organization and its effect on the organization's goals and effectiveness. Process scans explore a specific process to see how it operates and whether anything needs to change. A process scan also reveals best practices and identifies any skills gaps that need to be addressed for best results. Job scans identify the skill and behavioral dynamics that are required for success in a job. The job's manager and top performers provide input in a job scan. Technology scans can add value because technology has become such an organizational driver. A technology scan may help TD professional understand where the organization is leveraging or dependent on technology and how likely that technology is to change.
3.8.3.4.2 Convergence
Convergence means starting with many ideas and then analyzing, filtering, and combining them to get more new and better ideas. Convergence techniques are crucial in converting creativity into innovation because they help narrow ideas into something that can produce innovation. Convergence approaches include: Mind mapping starts by placing the objective into the center of a diagram and then organizing thoughts and ideas into branching subcategories, connections, and trends. The Six Thinking Hats approach designed by Edward de Bono (1999) is used to generate and analyze ideas from multiple perspectives to get convergence. Idea shopping uses voting to sort ideas by a group. Each individual gets currency and can spend whatever amount they choose to "buy" the ideas they like best. Other convergence techniques include clustering ideas to see if they can be combined, using paired comparison to select ideas, and forms of evaluation matrices. [See 1.2.7.2]
3.8.3.2 The Value of Innovation and Creativity
Creativity and innovation are important to organizations because they help with: inventing new businesses or lines of business providing the means to do more with less by increasing productivity and reducing cost fueling problem solving and process improvement creating new products and services to meet new customer needs and preferences attracting employees who want to work in innovative environments.
3.8.3.1 The Difference Between Innovation and Creativity
Creativity is the act of producing original ideas. Innovation is the act of translating a new method, product, or idea into a service or good that creates value. In organizations, innovation satisfies customer expectations or meets their needs. It is possible to be creative without innovating, simply by not doing anything with a new idea. It is also possible to be innovative without being creative, by taking someone else's idea and implementing it. In most organizations, the two are linked (Surbhi 2018).
3.8.3.5 Design Thinking
Design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation or problem solving that integrates the needs of people with the needs of the organization. It fosters creativity and innovation. Although design thinking was developed relatively recently, its roots have been developing in global conversations for decades, starting with the melding of aesthetics and engineering principles by John Dewey in 1935. It was also influenced by the work of Horst Rittel and Richard Buchanan and focuses on finding the right solution rather than solving a problem. Design thinking follows five phases: Empathize requires a clear and empathic understanding of the problem. Define the problem requires compiling and synthesizing what was learned in the first phase. Ideate begins once there is a clear understanding of the users and their needs, along with a solid background created by compiling the data. Like brainstorming, the idea is to get as many ideas or solutions as possible at the beginning of the phase. By the end of the ideation phase, TD professionals should be able to investigate and test a couple of ideas to find a good option. Prototype requires the team to produce a number of scaled down versions of the solution. This is an experimental phase. Test is the final phase to evaluate the final product. However, given the iterative aspect of the process, the results generated are often used to redefine the problem and inform the users (Lewrick, Link, and Leifer 2018; Gibbons 2016). [See 2.2.13]
Perhaps the first step in preparing an organization for new TD technology and the disruption it can bring is to determine how ready the organization currently is. TD professionals should do this by developing insights in four areas:
Determine organizational readiness. Consider the level of technology awareness, sophistication and use in the organization, how much support there will be, and how easy access will be. Decide if there are process issues. Make sure the new technology doesn't conflict with existing policies or procedures and that it will be supported by existing systems. Prepare the TD staff. Make sure the team has the expertise to build or buy the program, as well as roll it out and sustain it. Obtain necessary support from IT. Often, new learning technology will require staff time, server space or cloud connection, and other services from IT. Make sure they're bought into these plans.
3.8.2.2 Value of Environmental Scanning
Environmental scanning is an essential element in an organization's strategic planning process and a direct link exists between scanning and organizational performance. Environmental scanning is also essential to plotting the future course for talent development. Environmental scanning improves TD professionals' ability to implement change, capitalize on opportunities, and better meet their customer's needs. It connects them with the organization and positions them to be business partners. It also highlights threats, the needed decisions, and the capabilities required to move into the future. [See 3.2] The results of these scans feed directly into the products and services that talent development produces. If TD professionals understand how environmental factors affect leaders, managers, and employees, they can deal with those issues in programs and initiatives. The information they gather can serve as situational context for tools and development support. TD professionals then can predict the preferences of new generations of learners and implement the technologies and delivery platforms that are most likely to have the greatest impact (Brown and Weiner 1985; Choo 2012; Fahey and Narayanan 1986).
3.8.2.1 Environmental Scanning Defined
Environmental scanning is the organized and deliberate study and interpretation of the internal and external events and trends that can influence the organization. By doing so, they can identify threats and opportunities toward the organization's future plans. The primary concerns of environmental scanning are reducing the randomness of information flowing into an organization and providing early warnings of changing conditions (Aguilar 1967). Scanning also promotes future-oriented thinking and planning. It can help TD professionals anticipate the needs of an organization and develop new plans, policies, and approaches to meet them. They can also use scanning to identify new technologies, new services and products, and different markets. And, it can help them see emerging competitors, threats, and opportunities, as well as their own strengths and weaknesses.
TD professionals can also assess what new capabilities and levels of expertise will be required of the target audience to make effective use of the new technology. Talent development can follow several practices to prepare the organization for new learning technology:
Foster a digital culture. A digital transformation will be more likely to succeed if the organization embraces a digital culture. Research shows that 90 percent of organizations that had successful digital transformations focused on culture first (Hemerling et al. 2018). Provide ample information about the technology. Communicate well in advance about any technology that may be viewed as a significant change. Learn who is using it, where, how, and for what, and then share that information. Although most employees won't need a lot of guidance, it is the TD professional's job to create awareness of the vast array of digital tools at their disposal. Ensure that systems, processes, and rules are supportive. TD professionals should help organizations identify and address any systemic issues that could prevent an effective adoption of digital learning tools. Provide training on effective and secure use. Employees need to understand common mistakes and potential misuses for any new technology. This will help them understand what support they can expect from talent development and IT, as well as where and how to report issues and get that help. TD professionals can support the creation of a workforce that embraces technology. Reward effective use. Talent development can promote technology that has proven effective and recognize the pioneers and early adopters of new technology. It can apply metrics to determine the effectiveness of traditional EPSSs to technology-based learning and be sure to credit the initiators when it originates outside talent development. [See 2.4] Maintain a data security focus. The chance of an organization experiencing a data security breach increases every day. TD professionals can stay involved and informed about how to prevent breaches and help ensure the organization has a cybersecurity information team.
I. Influences on the Workplace of the Future
In times of continuous disruption, innovation and agility are keys to success for any organization. TD professionals should be in constant touch with the internal and external business environment to anticipate, adapt, and thrive in this disruption.
3.8.5.1.2 Information Seeking as a Strategic Process
Information seeking as a strategic process is based on the belief that the search can be more strategic if it is done consciously. This awareness incudes three elements: Be aware of the exact terms of the search. Searchers track how and when the query changes. Often, when a searcher doesn't obtain the desired results, they'll change a word or phrase and start a new path. Recording these changes maintains what occurred for continued searches. Sometimes the search engine suggests word changes or provides a list of related searches. Record the pathways taken. Many sources contain hyperlinks to other documents or cited sources. When taking any of these paths, it is easy to lose track of how the searcher got there. More significantly, it is possible to assume that they've obtained all the pertinent information before being fully exposed to the original sources sought. If the approach changes, it should be done consciously and the reason recorded. Check on progress. Searchers must ensure that they track any cost or time parameters that are part of the search. Compare progress made to the timeline set for the search.
3.8.5.1.1 Information Seeking in Stages
Information seeking in stages is often used in complex searching, beginning with recognition of need. However, this first stage may not be clear because the searcher needs highly complex, sophisticated, or extensive information. Information seeking in stages allows for a more deliberate approach to complex issues. The six stages are: Initiation. The recognition of a need for information. (I wasn't trained as a TD professional and I need those skills.) Early searches will be general, trying to better understand the nature of the problem or opportunity. Selection. Selection of the general area of the search. (I need to understand instructional systems design.) Exploration. Determining the best way to get the information on the general topic. (What is available to help me become expert at ISD?) The step includes discovering a number of possible approaches and resources (such as getting a degree, attending conferences, or watching webinars). Formulation. At this point the search becomes better planned, and some sources and options are eliminated. A sequence or a timeline may be developed. Collection. This is the gathering of the specific information over time to meet the need. At this point the process can become iterative and branching. Presentation. The search is completed and a judgement is made as to whether the search has been successful. If the need has been met the process is complete.
3.8.5.1 The Standard Information-Seeking Model
Information-seeking is a relatively new topic. Research on how searchers interact with search engines started just before 2000 and is still forming; so far it has focused on models used and the kind of searches conducted. When seeking information, TD professionals should know the value of conducting both horizontal and vertical searches: Horizontal searches are general and typically produce a large number of results over a wide range. Searching for "coaching for leaders," for example, will get hundreds of thousands of hits that vary and may include anything from how-to videos and books to university programs and executive coaches. Vertical searches are targeted, usually producing limited results, such as searching for "brainstorming tools."
It's also important that the person knows when the search is done. The most obvious indication is that all the needed information is in hand. But there are other reasons to stop as well:
It isn't all the available information, but it's enough to do what's required. The cost of further searching isn't worth the expected results. The search itself proves that having the information is not as valuable as was thought. New priorities call for a different search. The circumstances that prompted the search may have changed (Hearst 2009).
TD professionals should be prepared to help their organizations move into the future by considering some of their changes and current dilemmas. They can then select those they think will have the most influence and explore how they can prepare for the future workplace (Biech 2018). Some dilemmas they may encounter include:
Leadership gaps. There is an ongoing need to fill the leadership pipeline. Executives are struggling with leadership gaps at all levels. More than half of all organizations cite "leadership gaps" as a top business challenge. Leadership skills. The leadership requirements of tomorrow may be very different and will likely require the skills to form and reform teams to resolve problems. While these leaders will be less constrained, they'll also need the skills of an entrepreneur (Johansen 2012). They will need to be more focused on self-directed development and change management. Connected world. People, organizations, and countries are all more connected, which offers opportunities for information exchange and employee support. This is good in many ways; however, smaller organizations may not have the necessary systems for fully integrated data to be able to make decisions 24 hours a day. TD professionals should challenge themselves about the best way to leverage this opportunity. Learning where the work is. Continuous learning is taking over the workplace. TD professionals should determine how they can create an environment that is supportive and conducive to learning. They need to work with senior leaders to create a learning culture that supports continual learning, as well as mentoring efforts, helping managers be better coaches, introducing performance support tools where needed, and helping employees take ownership of their development. Agile teams. Dynamic and agile team structures are becoming the norm, and contractors and employees are equally in demand as members of these teams. Future organizations will likely get their work done using self-directed teams, and TD professionals can support this direction by providing awareness and development throughout the organization. Ecosystems. As markets become more connected, small businesses will find increased opportunities in specialized product and service niches that satisfy customized demands. In addition, most organizations will increase partnering options across larger business ecosystems (Johansen 2012). Organizations will also continue to shed assets and pay for the capabilities of other firms, resulting in outsourcing many parts of the business value chain. Employees work from everywhere. Work is becoming a thing you do, rather than a place you go, as more people begin to work remotely from their homes or satellite locations. Talent development needs tools to help employees manage themselves and their work in an increasingly dynamic, virtual workplace. Productivity is one of the basics for an organization's success, so ensuring high levels of productivity and engagement when employees are off-site is required. Reputation is critical. An organization's reputation is key. Employees want to work for an organization with a positive reputation, and organizations want to hire candidates that have a reputation built on a strong track record. In fact, most job seekers will even accept a lower salary to work for an organization with a good brand. TD professionals can assist their organizations by creating and taking advantage of an excellent reputation. Analytics for increased efficiency. While 78 percent of large companies place people analytics among the top three most urgent trends, 45 percent rate themselves as not ready. TD professionals can partner with their leaders to find practical, meaningful results and apply appropriate interpretations to business decisions. Gartner research predicts that analytics will be the top focus for many organizations (Bersin 2016). [See 3.8.4 and 3.7] According to executives, building the organization of the future is the most important challenge they face (Bersin et al. 2017). This signals a shift in thinking. Most organizations were designed to be efficient and effective with predictable patterns. However, this design is not aptly suited to the unpredictability and disruptions facing organizations today, because they need to be designed for speed, agility, and adaptability. This means shifting away from hierarchical teams to a more flexible model of small team networks. TD professionals should help their organizations become more agile and innovative.
3.8.3.6 Lean Approach
Lean is a management approach that uses creativity techniques to focus on eliminating waste while improving quality. The ultimate goal is to cut costs by making the organization more efficient and responsive to the marketplace. The Lean approach began in manufacturing, initiating the Six Sigma movement, and it's now applied to all aspects of business. In 2008, Eric Ries adapted the principles to high-tech startup companies, and it is now viewed as a way for companies to emulate the innovation and nimbleness of startups. The five steps include: Define the value. The definition uses the customer perspective to establish customer-based objectives for every development experience that is delivered and produces only those elements that meet those objectives. Map the value stream. Process mapping describes each step of the process and every activity that produces the customer value. This allows non-value-added activities to be identified. Unnecessary activities are eliminated and those that are necessary are streamlined. Create the flow. The focus is reducing cycle time and expense and increasing quality and satisfaction. Process users implement the streamlining by employing a number of tools, including cross-training, workload leveling, changing job responsibilities, and reconfiguring the process. Establish pull. Creating a pull-based system is a just-in-time production, which means work is done in time to meet customer needs and no sooner. In talent development, it may mean creating learning experiences in small chunks according to the greatest need, rather than based on a curriculum design. Pursuit of perfection. The last step is challenging and perhaps the most pertinent to innovation. It is working to make continuous improvement a part of the culture. This step demands that the organization constantly learn to be better.
3.8.6.3 Benefits and Value of Learning Agility
Learning agility is increasingly critical to individual and organizational success. Learning agility is often a required characteristic for high potentials, and its link to organizational success is reflected in the increasing appearance of the concept in corporate annual reports. According to Josh Bersin (2016), "Organizations with a strong learning culture are 92% more likely to develop innovative products or processes, 52% more productive, and 56% more likely to be the first to market with their products and services." A high level of learning agility was found to be a key predictor of executive leadership success in a study that also recommended strategies such as executive coaching to develop this competency (Goebel and Baskerville 2013). Learning agility is rapidly becoming the key to organizational survival and success. "Learning agility (mediated by job content on-the-job learning) was found to be a better predictor of being identified as a high potential than job performance. Career variety was also found to be positively associated to learning agility" (Dries, Vantilborgh, and Pepermans 2012).
3.8.6.1 Understanding Learning Agility
Learning agility is the ability and willingness to learn from experience, and subsequently apply that knowledge to perform under new or first-time conditions. Learning agility is based on these attributes: self-awareness—knowing oneself well, understanding one's capabilities and where there is room to grow, and knowing how one affects those around them mental agility—breaking down complex problems, seeing patterns and connections, and considering multiple possibilities change agility—a hunger for learning, willing to take risk and experiment, and ability to effectively deal with ambiguity and change people agility—understanding and relating to others, harnessing diversity, and understanding other viewpoints and motivations results agility—finding the way to meet goals and produce results in new and changing situations (Knight and Wong 2017). Other attributes commonly associated with learning agility are speed, flexibility, collaboration, feedback seeking, and the ability to be coached.
A standard information-seeking model is used most often and has two variations: the first is presented in stages and the second is a strategic process. The steps in the standard information-seeking model represent the impact of iterative searches:
Recognize, accept, and formulate the problem. Express the problem. Identify all possible sources. Select best sources (most reliable information and answers; Hearst 2009). Examine the results. Reformulate the problem (Marchionini and White 2008).
3.8.6.7 Techniques to Apply Knowledge in the Future TD professionals should leverage what they know to project their work into the future using ideas such as:
Reflect on what has been learned. Before it can be applied in a future context, the new information must be understood fully. Part of that reflection can include challenging assumptions or finding others who will. Talking or writing about what has been learned can also be effective. Create a strategy and a plan for the future. Doing so will predict in practical terms the actions that apply to talent development's work:Focus on the relevance of the knowledge to the strategy, and plan to anticipate emerging issues that apply to the future.Determine which short- and intermediate-term goals can help pave the way to the future. Understand and manage disruptors. Events, situations, or politics may force a short-term view. They may be important now, but they don't have to eliminate a long-term focus. Anticipate consequences. Predict the rewards for individuals and the organization if the knowledge is applied into the future. Predict the consequences if it isn't applied. Practice and reinforce in a future context. For example, the information could be implemented in a progressive part of the organization or delivered via an external network or association of like-minded thinkers. Track and measure. Create a plan to apply new skills in the future, use milestones, and measure against them.
3.8.5.2 Identifying Resources
Steps three and four of the information-seeking model should are critical and TD professionals should not assume everything is on the Internet. It isn't. TD professionals should consider visiting a library, because the librarians in their college or city library can be a wealth of knowledge. Consider looking for scholarly papers that will delve into research and use others' skills for compiling and curating details. TD professionals should begin by determining the purpose of the search they are conducting, such as to inform, persuade, or describe a process. They should then identify all possible sources, depending on the kind of information they need to support their process. Examples include: current statistics or data: news articles, databases, government reports, journal articles, almanacs, research papers, and surveys historical facts: encyclopedias, books, and research paper references recent information: online newsletters or magazines, news site indexes, and interviews with experts opinions: newspaper op-eds, magazines, and websites.
I. Fostering Innovation and Creativity
TD professionals have a responsibility to enable their organizations to reach goals on time, within budget, and with the highest quality possible. They should also help the organization develop creativity and innovation to accomplish things it has never achieved before.
3.8.1.2.1 Reimagining Performance Management
TD professionals need to address the expectations for performance management; for example, many organizations are opting for real-time, ongoing feedback. A change for talent development is the decoupling of development planning from the performance review process. Performance management is shifting toward meeting the needs of employees and focusing on supporting future performance.
3.8.2.5 Internal Scanning Techniques and Methods
TD professionals should know about the techniques used for scanning: Prior knowledge. Employees and experts may already know how things are done. While this is a place to start, it is rarely enough. Document analysis. Looking at reports, budgets, presentations, operations reviews, statistical updates, and a host of other documents can reveal a great deal about how things work. Questionnaires. When done well, questionnaires can be informative; but the numbers can be hard to interpret. Open-ended questions are rich with data and it will take time to study them. Today, algorithms allow for much richer data and even offer the opportunity for continuous, realtime data collection. Interviews. These can be done with individuals or groups. Structured interviews are more manageable, but unstructured interviews can reveal more inside information. Direct observation. This can be an excellent source of data if done as part of a well-designed approach. At the job level, a common approach is to observe key performers. In this process, at least three key performers are identified, and then each is observed by more than one person. Verification. This is a lesser used approach and is always done in combination with others. It doesn't work at the organizational level, but it often can at a function, process, or job level. In short, benchmark against other organizations that have already conducted scans.
3.8.4.4 Considerations for TD Professionals of the Future
TD professionals should be aware of these issues as they relate to emerging learning technologies and support systems: TD professionals should sponsor development options. Talent development should serve as the sponsor of both quality and utility of technology resources and options for the organization. It can create guides for self-service, and portals that prioritize trusted sources and solutions. The goal is to make it easy and natural for employees to use well-vetted methods and sources. [See 2.4.3.7] TD professionals have a responsibility for guidance. Talent development should help the organization and each person in it understand what technology is available, what they need, and how to locate it. As development and career pathing partners, TD professionals can help employees identify the most useful technology. The organization should have an infrastructure that individuals can use to create their own development experience, and TD professionals can help those who need support. These responsibilities require TD professionals to become more involved in the adoption of new technology. TD professionals should adopt and encourage an experimental mindset. TD professionals should embrace experimentation on their own part and on the behalf of learners when it comes to development opportunities. They can act as role models to design training solutions. In the experimental environment, there is not always control of or even predictability about results. TD professionals should also encourage individuals and groups to launch their own development experiments and support their experimentation by helping them find the experiences that are most relevant to their development needs and most valued by the organization. If individuals are increasingly in charge of their own development, development experiments should also be in their hands. TD professionals can influence how much and how well individuals experiment by offering options or tools; recommending websites or actions; inventing challenges through competition or games; delivering reminders of encouragement; and sharing others development experiences. TD professionals should do more coaching and consulting. Coaching is beneficial to the organization because it promotes organizational consistency, furthers leadership development, reduces turnover, and helps ensure solid leadership succession. Likewise, with continual change ahead, TD professionals also need to be effective internal consultants for their organizations. Consultants have a unique set of competencies that go beyond the typical TD professional's role. Both coaching and consulting benefit TD professionals, who become more respected contributors. In addition, when they practice coaching and consulting skills, TD professionals increase their own capacity for leadership and enhance their ability to support their organizations (Biech 2018). [See 2.7 and 3.2]
I. Learning Agility
TD professionals should be lifelong learners who can apply what they have learned to new situations. In this era of perpetual disruption, the products, services, and strategies that work today may not work tomorrow. The best performing organizations require TD professionals and employees who thrive on change.
3.8.1.2.3 Workplace Digitization
TD professionals should be part of the decision for workplace digitization or the advanced use of technologies to connect people and spaces to organizational processes. The goal is to improve productivity, reduce costs, engage the workforce, and encourage innovation. TD professionals can be trusted advisors to the C-suite as they make decisions about the best technology to explore for the workplace and recommend tools that provide the greatest value.
3.8.1.4 The Workforce of the Future
TD professionals should be prepared to help their organizations move into the future by considering some of their changes and current dilemmas. They can then select those they think will have the most influence and explore how they can prepare for the future workplace (Biech 2018). Some dilemmas they may encounter include:
3.8.1.3 Anticipate the Workplace of the Future
TD professionals should begin to consider how the workplace will change in the next few years and how work will be conducted. Current changes are likely indications of the workplace of the future, such as rapid technological changes; new, tougher competition; a demographically changing workforce; increased globalization; higher customer expectations; greater employee expectations; and a constantly increasing rate of change. TD professionals need to attend to an increasingly large number of pressures that are placed on organizations.
3.8.6.8 Commit to Applying Learning for the Future
TD professionals should create a strategy and plan for future learning. It is a big step, but they could consider a "goal a month" or a "goal a quarter" approach. For each month, they identify one way to apply what has been learned to the future. Ideally they should be expressed in measurable, behavioral terms. Several tools can help TD professionals organize how they can apply what they're currently learning for the future: The "Think-Puzzle-Explore" tool can help organize broad and disconnected thoughts to find patterns in prior learning by simply adding the words "in the future" to the explore column (Ritchhart, Church, and Morrison 2011). The KWL chart is a simple three-column tool to record what the person knows, what they want to know, and what they've learned. In that same spirit, an LPD chart notes what was learned, what the plan was or is for acting on it, and what has been done. And finally, TD professionals can join a group that talks about the future and about how to apply new knowledge to the future. Sharing goals and milestones among group members creates a focus to meet them. Such groups celebrate success and share advice. Technology is available to support writing plans, tracking progress, keeping journals, and documenting wins.
3.8.5.3 Selecting the Best Resources
TD professionals should ensure that the sources of information they use are reliable, credible, and current. To determine this, they should consider where the information originated, whether the person is an expert, whether the organization is viewed as an industry leader, or whether the information was presented as opinion or fact. They should also: Note how current the date is. Determine the author's credentials. Verify the legitimacy of the organization, group, or individual. Examine whether the information was cited. Track specific data to the originating resource or verify it with another resource. Determine whether quotes are opinion or backed by data and facts. Review the content for evidence of bias.
3.8.2.3 Process for Environmental Scanning
TD professionals should follow this process to conduct an environmental scan: Set direction. Determine the purpose for scanning and what questions should be answered. Develop a project plan outlining the approach, participants, timeline, resources, and deliverables. Gain skills. Determine the skills needed for scanning and how to get them. External expertise may be available. Scanning for the future is a capability talent development may want to retain. Gather information. Decide what sources of information will likely be most useful and collect information according to the plan. Assess the information. Look for patterns, trends, and other useful information, including answers to the original questions. Communicate the results. This may be for internal use by talent development or shared with the broader organization. The key is to deliver the results of the scan to the decision makers. Take action. Use the results to create a plan that will position talent development for the future. Monitor or repeat to stay current. Although continuous scanning is ideal, it requires more effort and resources than many TD professionals have. It may be possible to partner with the planning department.
I. Identifying Information Sources
TD professionals should know where to locate quality resources and be able to guide others who are seeking them. [See 2.5.9]
3.8.1.2.2 Democratization and Transparency in the Workplace
TD professionals should recognize the influence of democratization (things accessible to all) and transparency (honest and openness) on their deliverables. They need to address things such as who gets developed, how they are developed, and what capabilities become development targets. In the future, development may encompass a wide array of services and resources that are available for everyone inside and even outside the organization. Today's environment is becoming more transparent and it's nearly impossible to limit the spread of information. Employees (and non-employees) have access to substantial amounts of information about many organizations, their performance, the activities of their leaders, and their future plans. Development options that are not available to everyone may be viewed as exclusive and thus decrease engagement.
3.8.4.1 Stay in the Know of Future Technology
TD professionals should stay current regarding emerging technology. For example, they should consider joining groups that discuss emerging technologies, or identifying groups, associations, and nonprofits that take a broader societal view, focusing on technology and its potential impact. In addition, TD professionals can attend conferences and programs offered by associations, government, and universities. [See 2.4.15] Other approaches to staying current include networking, reading publications, following blogs, or simply getting to know someone who is deeply involved in new technology, such as an IT manager. TD professionals can also track the technology trends of their customers, their consultants, and other organizations with whom they partner. Ask about the technology they are using, what they are exploring, and what they plan to adopt. Finally, TD professionals can study those who predict future events such as Josh Bersin or Bob Johanson referenced in this chapter.
3.8.3.3 Promoting and Supporting Creativity and Innovation
Talent development is a lever that promotes creativity and innovation, and TD professionals can strengthen their brand by knowing how to support creativity and innovation in the organization. Talent development can help the organization by: Promoting and supporting an innovative culture. Talent development can lead the growth of skills in communication, collaboration, teaming, and problem solving, which are at the heart of innovation. TD professionals can help the organization improve how it delivers feedback, celebrates ideas, and values diversity. They can also promote the symbols of creativity and track the benefits of innovation. Helping leaders champion creativity and innovation. TD professionals can help leaders develop the knowledge and skills to model creativity and innovation. They can provide tools and training to recognize and reward creativity, risk taking, and productive failure. Open communication and frequent feedback are hallmarks of an innovative organization. Making creativity and innovation part of the culture. TD can help the organization be more deliberate in its efforts by:sponsoring brainstorming sessions, hackathons, and idea competitionssetting aside times dedicated to creative thinkingintroducing innovation as a formal part of every job descriptionmaking collaboration tools universally availabledeveloping and managing innovation labsencouraging creativity and innovative social networkscreating virtual and live forums for suggestions. Organizing for creativity and innovation. Creativity and innovation happen most often in teams, so talent development can promote, train, and empower teams. It can also help the organization embrace flatter structures, implement flexible work schedules, and spread decision-making authority. Further, TD professionals could develop people to serve as innovation champions—employees who are passionate about and encourage innovation throughout the organization. Organizations should adopt "after action" reflection as a standard step in any project. Talent development can also help create physical spaces that encourage creativity where employees can gather to exchange ideas and collaborate. Benchmarking. TD professionals can study other organizations that are best at creativity and innovation and bring those lessons to the organizations they serve. This ensures that best practices and next practices are shared throughout the organization. Creating a common language. Two popular approaches for promoting innovation are design thinking (which is applied broadly to organizations) and the Lean approach (a methodology to eliminate waste and improve quality of processes). Either can provide a discipline to create a common language for innovation. [See 3.8.3.4 and 2.2.13]
3.8.1.1 Factors Influencing Talent Development
The factors that influence talent development are changing constantly both within organizations and in the broader environment. Factors that TD professionals should monitor include: External factors that influence organizational strategies and goals. TD professionals should monitor external factors by routinely conducting PEST analyses. This is a tool used for environmental scanning that examines the political, economic, social, and technological events and trends that can affect an organization. A first-time PEST analysis needs to be thorough; updates require less effort (PEST Analysis Tool 2019). Internal factors and organizational decisions. These include organizational strategies and goals, organizational structure, products and services produced, the systems and processes that produce results, the organization's growth rate, mergers and acquisitions, changes in leadership, changes in organizational structure, financial and budgetary issues, natural and man-made disasters, and labor relations. TD professionals should predict how these might influence talent development. Talent-specific factors that directly influence talent development. TD professionals should monitor these factors carefully by remaining in touch with their professional organizations, staying current with reading, and forming groups to explore the future. Factors influencing talent development include employees accepting ownership of their development, the expectation that managers should develop their employees, technology that has enabled new distribution channels, emphasis on how talent development can partner with the C-suite, and the need for content that is ready when learners need it and where they need it (Biech 2018).
3.8.1.5 Prepare for the Future
To prepare for the future, TD professionals should be able to deliberately shift their vision from a single horizon to the periphery. Ideas that will affect the organization could come from many places. TD professionals should track emerging topics and look for patterns and how these topics could make a difference in their organizations. They should look for connections between these new ideas or how they connect to current practices. For TD professionals the critical question is: How could this new idea help people learn more, better, faster, or cheaper than today. TD professionals should use a combination of approaches to deliberately focus on the future, including: Asking questions about the future. Watch for signs that things are changing. Be alert for those who are trying a new approach or using a new tool or technology. Observing generational differences. Are newer departments or younger workers doing things differently? Do new processes leverage technology that older ones do not? Heeding experts' forecasts. Who are the experts and what do they say? What does the wisdom of the crowd believe? Watching for indirect effects. Some changes may not be noticed until they have second or third order results and unintended consequences. Challenging the data. Don't assume the data is accurate. Things may have changed or taken on new meaning or importance. Encourage discussions and track ideas. Sometimes patterns only become clear when written or articulated, so it's important to keep a running dialogue. TD professionals should realize that preparing for the future is not easy and constant attention is necessary to keep talent development relevant today while at the same time thinking about the future. To maintain their organization's competitive advantage, TD professionals should track the trends that their leaders believe are important to meeting future needs.
Whether improving their own learning agility or developing others based on one of these theories, TD professionals should remember several basic principles that support learning agility:
Understand the learners' perspective. TD professionals should analyze the current state to determine the rewards and punishments in the environment and how they will be perceived by learners. Find out what they already know and why they may want to learn new content. Create tools and resources that adapt to varying levels of readiness. In a personalized world of learning, learners will start from different places. Adaptive learning means that individuals can move through a totally customized development process. Confirm the information is relevant. Find ways to understand the learner's goals to help them see learning relevancy and connect it to their current mental models. Structure learning in easily consumable pieces. The most valuable aspect of microlearning is that it allows learners to add information in easily digestible chunks. Measure progress in real time. With the right system, TD professionals can get feedback they can use to improve the resources immediately. [See 3.7]
When completing internal scanning at any level, TD professionals should include both key performers and average performers to learn what they know. It will be valuable to consider what is likely to change and what would drive that change. Try to uncover the difference between the "as is" and the "should be," and remember that just because something is written, it may not actually occur that way. Scanning is about gaining a broad understanding, not fixing a specific problem.
When completing internal scanning at any level, TD professionals should include both key performers and average performers to learn what they know. It will be valuable to consider what is likely to change and what would drive that change. Try to uncover the difference between the "as is" and the "should be," and remember that just because something is written, it may not actually occur that way. Scanning is about gaining a broad understanding, not fixing a specific problem.
3.8.6.5 Past Experience
When people look at situations, they are not merely comparing them to what they have already experienced. The brain tries to apply rules, criteria, and categories to connect the new input. This means that learning from past experience actually rewires the brain so people can categorize the things they experience and respond appropriately currently and in the future. In the last two decades, the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has shown that this rewiring is not just functional, but physical (Adlaf et al. 2017). In the brain, new knowledge shows up as changes in connections between neurons. Increases in cell-tocell cooperation produce reliable and sustained learning. Stronger connections between teams of neurons representing separate moments in time let the brain predict what happens next. Neuroplasticity is the term coined to describe the brain's ability to reorganize itself, both physically and functionally, due to the environment, behavior, thinking (learning), and emotions. When the brain strengthens a new connection it also weakens other connections that may interfere or conflict with the new information. The more difficult the change, the bigger the required brain change. The more important the change is perceived to be, the bigger the change. Memory research has shown that if the new information is repeated within five minutes and then again within 30 minutes, it is more likely to be retained. TD professionals should remember that initial changes in the brain are temporary. Past experience controls the process. When people practice, the brain discards the bad, remembers the good, and enables progressive improvement. Mental rehearsals trigger the same kinds of neural changes as real-world practice sessions. But this can only happen when the brain is ready. If a person is alert and prepared to learn, the brain releases the chemicals to enable change. If the person is uninterested or distracted, it doesn't.
