AchieveGlobal's blog

I ’m a Leader – So What Do You Expect?

By Craig Perrin We recently concluded a worldwide study of what’s different about leading in the 21st century. What we learned will re-shape both what we say about leaders and how we develop leaders at all levels. Given the 21st-century coming together of peoples, economies, and cultures, we were pleasantly surprised to find a firm picture of good leadership emerging from our research.  Effective leaders, we learned, tend to focus their efforts in six distinct “zones of leadership”:

• Reflection: The tendency to evaluate one’s own motives, beliefs, attitudes, and actions.
• Society: The tendency to apply principles – such as fairness, respect, and “the greater good” – to balance individual and group welfare.
• Diversity: The tendency to value human differences, including gender, ethnicity, age, culture, beliefs, and work styles.
• Ingenuity: The tendency to offer and execute practical ideas and enable others to do the same.
• People: The tendency to engage the hearts, minds, and actions of others in productive work.
• Business: The tendency to make and execute sound plans and decisions.

While individual contributors and leaders at all levels in Asia, Europe, and North America endorsed these six “zones,” the relative importance of the zones (and of 42 specific behaviors that comprise the zones) differed by organizational level and global region. My limited point here: Good leadership in part is relative to the expectations of those being lead. If I’m a senior leader, for example, I may see profitable operation as my highest priority. Everyone else, however – all the people I lead – may see my ability to admit my mistakes as the bellwether of my credibility. Until I meet that expectation, I’m less likely to secure the commitment and effort that promote profitable operation. This and many other implications of our study will be the focus of a comprehensive report due out this Fall.

DEBATE: What sort of training do younger workers--digital natives--need to master skills of leadership, sales, and customer service?

by Jack McDaniel The generation coming up in the workforce is learning to learn in a virtual world. IDC research shows “that 45% of companies have workers blogging, 43% use RSS feeds, and 35% of companies have employees using wikis.” IDC also reported that company executives and CIOs are often unaware of employee use of tools on the other side of the firewall. As corporations, we need to embrace the tools workers are using, make it safe to use them, and give workers opportunities to use them to learn. Secondary and post-secondary schools are increasing the number of on-line and virtual classroom sessions. Would any of us feel comfortable sending our kids to a school that did not teach and incorporate computer skills and virtual research techniques? The next generation expects to learn virtually. In addition, as companies are becoming much more global, with work groups that span the country, if not the entire world. Managers manage virtual teams, the service industry is becoming more and more a remote business (with offshore and virtual customer service groups), and sales are moving more toward on-line, with greater emphasis on reducing travel budgets. Corporate decision-makers may be located in three different states, or countries. If the next generation needs to learn to bridge distance and communicate virtually, so why wouldn’t training (including real-time skills practice) be virtual? The new generation is equipped to learn via elearning techniques, they are more comfortable learning via simulations, and they have virtual social skills that will need to be refined for the business world. So the best way to train them is in their native environment… online. If you're a digital native, or hope to be one in your next virtual life, watch this video in which Todd has no chance of winning this debate with me on AchieveGlobal Island in Second Life.

DEBATE: What is the best way to engage learners and motivate them to apply new behaviors in the workplace?

by Todd Beck I’d like to separate the two points—“engage learners” and “motivate them to apply new behaviors in the workplace.” The motivation part is no secret--it’s all about what’s in it for me. So when a behavior leads to more money, more recognition, less work, and fewer complaints, then a learner will absolutely apply that behavior. Motivation is not a training issue. It’s a management issue that determines the success of training. And it applies equally to classroom or elearning. I think, though, that learners infer a lot from the organization’s willingness to invest in training, and if elearning is seen as the cheap, low-priority method, then learners infer that the skills taught are low-priority. There’s something about my boss scheduling me to leave work and spend time in class that says, hey, this behavior must be important either to my boss or to somebody even higher up. And that means it’s important to me. As for “how to keep learners from being bored,” I think either classroom or elearning can do that equally well, if properly designed. If you're bored, you should check out this video where Jack and I engage each other in debate on AchieveGlobal Island in Second Life.

DEBATE: What is the best way to engage learners and motivate them to apply new behaviors in the workplace?

by Jack McDaniel Regardless of the learning modality, the best ways to engage learners are to 1) make the content relevant to their jobs, and 2) make learning highly interactive. Simple techniques, such as a case study real to the learner instead of a generic situation or a skill practice that resonates with the learner’s real-life situation, can make a world of difference. This kind of learner engagement can be accomplished easily in either classroom, virtual classroom or self-paced elearning. But it’s in the follow-up and reinforcement where the learning modality can make a difference – and using technology is clearly superior. Just look at the effectiveness of blogs, EPSS, discussion forums and communities of practice. A comment about this question: While it's true that relevant content engages the learner, organizational commitment is even more critical. This commitment reveals itself in the importance that the organization puts on learning, the rewards that come from improved performance, and endorsements and follow-up from the executive team down to the manager. Management teams must be engaged. They must help coach and reinforce the behaviors before, during, and after the learning, regardless of the modality. If learner engagement is relevant to your business, watch this video in which Todd and I continue this debate on AchieveGlobal Island in Second Life.