The World of Learning conference is getting closer and the line-up looks especially strong in 2017.  As ever, there will be a mix of innovative technology and case studies of learning interventions which have made a difference for organisations.

This year in particular there is a focus on going beyond the formal input and seeking to change behaviour – with suggestions among others, about embracing campaign learning, designing new blends, supporting unlearning and curating stories from inside the organisation and beyond.  We know behaviour change is a real challenge. Time with programme participants is more limited than ever before, yet we are hoping to address shifting behaviour patterns which may be pretty ingrained. We are not only introducing new ideas and smarter ways of performing more effectively and efficiently, we are addressing habitual ways of doing things which may no longer be consistent with what is needed.

Inevitably, behaviour change requires some positive commitment to try new things in and amongst day to day activity.  Many would say this is the biggest problem with formal training programmes and online modules.  We not only tell people that formal interventions will help facilitate change, we create an expectation that somehow attending a course or completing that end of module knowledge check will be all the effort necessary to positively impact future behaviour.

When I was researching my book on Informal Learning I was desperate to come up with a pithy sentence which would encapsulate what informal learning means.  I thought if we could all agree on a standard definition we could all be clear that we were talking about the same thing.  I failed.

The best I could come up with from talking to people in a range of different organisations and examining how learning activities really make a difference to what people do and how well they do it, was to come up with a five step process.

As with any continuum, the start point could be anywhere on the cycle. But for ease of understanding, let’s start with an initial exposure to a new concept or idea:

  1. Observation – when a new idea or way of doing something is presented we observe what is happening. If we can see that this has potential benefits, we move on to…
  2. Imitate – while we get the hang of this new behaviour we will essentially copy it – however inexpertly. This is one of the reasons that role models are so important in organisations – they give us not just someone to model the behaviour but a template for emulation. Having imitated the behaviour, we amend it in the light of our own…
  3. Experience – this is where we may benefit from assistance. It is the point of the process where we are likely to be disheartened, where we may find our performance actually dips.  Conscious competence takes time and effort.  It is the point where someone providing external encouragement or a communications plan which helps us to focus on the eventual benefits of perseverance may help.  Eventually, we start to make the behaviours our own. At this stage we…
  4. Innovate – synthesising what we already now with what we have recently experienced. It is at this point that we discard those previous ways of doing things which are incompatible with the new ways of working. It is also the point at which we combine the things we have done beforehand or learned in the past with the new approaches we have seen and tried. This is where past experience meets new opportunities and we can build behaviours which are more than the sum of their parts.  The process comes to fruition when we…
  5. Articulate – explaining what we have learned to others – especially how we have innovated ad combined the new with the tried and trusted. This creates both a point at which we can gain other valuable input and also where we can share our stories with others. This last stage is often missed out, but all the people to whom I spoke were convinced that reflecting on what happened and explaining it to others was a key component for them to embed the skills and consistently do different things and do things differently.

Thus the cycle starts again – both for us and for those who have been inspired in their turn by our story of changing our behaviour.

When I spoke to people about this, they told me that each stage was essential to changing behaviour.  They also told me that while the observation or initial exposure to a new way of working could happen within a formal setting – it could also happen from serendipitous exposure to different ways of thinking, working and performing.

This process – or continuum – does give us some pointers regarding the very best way of addressing issues of change. It helps us to understand where unlearning happens, how inputs can be blended with real experience, how stories can be told and curated and how consistent communication can direct teams and individuals to make positive choices about how they will work in the future.

So throughout World of Learning in 2017, I shall be hoping to hear people articulate their own experiences, the ways of working which have had a positive impact on how they undertake their work.  I shall also be looking for explanations which give me a chance to emulate and imitate.  I shall look for support when I need to question past behaviour, unlearn old habits and take a chance on working in different ways.

And in 2018 ….

I hope to come back and tell you how I got on.