Leadership in Quarters by Josh Seldin

Episode Overview

Host Josh Seldin interviews Dr. Carrie Graham who explores how to build organizational learning cultures that empower employees through collective learning approaches, effective facilitation techniques, and continuous improvement cycles that develop essential leadership skills.

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Listen Here > https://youtu.be/L2rOE2xU2Do?si=MC_y52WExQo3FTP-

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10 Key Points

1. Organizational Learning vs Learning Organizations: An organizational learning culture prioritizes collective learning where everyone at every level engages together, unlike learning organizations that simply focus on building learning-related products.
2. Leadership-Driven Cultural Transformation: Building a learning culture starts at the top with leadership conducting objective assessments of current learning practices and identifying gaps between organizational vision and actual training and development delivery.
3. Trust Foundation Through Personalized Training: Organizations build trust by creating training experiences that consider individual backgrounds, current events, industry changes, and personal circumstances rather than delivering generic content in isolation.
4. The ERA Method for Effective Facilitation: Successful facilitators focus on Engagement (meaningful to audience), Retention (memorable content structure), and Application (practical usage) rather than entertainment or information dumping.
5. Facilitator vs Teacher Mindset: Effective training and development requires shifting from instructor-led teaching to facilitation that acknowledges adult learners' experiences and creates collaborative learning environments.
6. Audience Assessment Strategies: Quality training begins with understanding learners through surveys, conversations, and real-time assessment of participants' current state and needs to develop appropriate leadership qualities.
7. Feedback Integration Throughout Training: Rather than collecting feedback only at the end, embed continuous feedback mechanisms throughout multi-day sessions to enable real-time adjustments and maintain engagement.
8. Data-Driven Continuous Improvement: Effective professional development plans require systematic analysis of feedback data, comparing trends over time, and making evidence-based improvements rather than assumptions.
9. Transparency Builds Trust: Sharing feedback results and explaining training modifications based on participant input demonstrates that organizations value employee input and continuously improve their learning offerings.
10. Collective Learning Benefits: Group-focused training and development approaches build community, encourage peer learning, enhance organizational trust, and empower employees through shared experiences and collaborative problem-solving.

10 Takeaways/Action Items

1. Conduct Leadership Assessment: Leaders should objectively evaluate current learning practices alongside organizational vision and mission to identify gaps in training and development programs.
2. Implement the ERA Method: Design all training sessions to focus on meaningful Engagement, information Retention, and practical Application rather than entertainment or information delivery.
3. Shift to Facilitation Role: Develop leadership skills by becoming a facilitator who guides adult learners rather than an instructor who simply delivers content to empower employees.
4. Pre-Training Audience Research: Use surveys, conversations, and environmental assessment to understand learner needs, backgrounds, and current circumstances before designing professional development plans.
5. Embed Continuous Feedback: Integrate feedback collection throughout training sessions using polls, quick reviews, and check-ins rather than waiting until the end of programs.
6. Analyze Feedback Systematically: Establish processes to thoroughly analyze training feedback data, compare trends over time, and identify both majority themes and valuable individual insights.
7. Communicate Changes Transparently: Share with participants how previous feedback influenced current training modifications to build trust and demonstrate commitment to continuous improvement.
8. Create Contextual Learning Experiences: Design training and development that acknowledges current events, organizational changes, and individual circumstances to empower employees through relevant learning.
9. Focus on Collective Growth: Structure learning experiences that build community and encourage peer learning rather than individual-only development to enhance leadership qualities across teams.
10. Develop Emotional Resilience: Build leadership skills to handle feedback constructively, seek mentorship when needed, and view criticism as growth opportunities rather than personal attacks.

Resources

Listen Here > https://youtu.be/L2rOE2xU2Do?si=MC_y52WExQo3FTP-

Read >  Build Trainings Programs That Drive Performance

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Leadership in Quarters Podcast

Hosted by Josh Seldin

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-seldin-b0437811

Leadership in Quarters - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0AaG1Y1MLc5njZ0R7y26SQ