Blogs & Articles

Coaching and guidance by the line manager is a fundamental learning activity and it’s worth noting that the CIPD’s Who Learns at Work? survey found that only 21% had received one-to-one coaching from their line manager in the previous year. Without support to apply or consolidate, 60% of learned knowledge and skill stops being applied on the job within 90 days from the end of the learning.

What is development? Development is improving your performance. It is different from learning. Learning is either knowing something new or acquiring a new skill. Development is behaving differently and better. You can learn without developing although you can't develop without learning. Learning is about improving your capacity whereas development is about improving your performance.

What is innovation? Innovation refers to the process of implementing new ideas, creating dynamic products, or improving existing services with the aim of enhancing the company's competitive edge and operational efficiency. It includes creating a creative environment for employees to openly share their creative ideas within the workplace.

Nomophobia – anxiety over being separated from your smartphone – it actually has been given a name and more and more people are admitting having the condition. Research has shown that on average, we touch our phones 2617 times a day, with the top 10% ‘power users’ racking up 5,427 touches (source: dscout.com).

How important is creativity in writing? Well I suppose that mostly depends on what you are writing and who it is intended for. With a love letter or an essay on the life and times of Shakespeare or even writing in a business context such as a sales proposal or management restructure document, it could be argued that a dollop of creativity in the writing of it would improve the reader experience somewhat. Conversely with a shopping list, witness statement or audit report, all we really need are the facts.

Surely managing people effectively is a necessity for all businesses? After all, it is employees who are responsible the day-to-day operation of the business and interaction with your customers. Managing people effectively is essential if a business is to work to optimum productivity levels and it is hard to disagree with the following statement ‘happy staff members tend to be more hard working and loyal to their organisation’.

I think most of us would like to think that we have what it takes to succeed; determination, grit, Mental Strength. But how do we know for sure? After all you can’t improve what you can’t measure. Until recently Mental Strength (toughness) was subjective. We would look at a business person, an athlete, or an artist achieve great success in the face of adversity and say, “WOW…they’re mentally strong!” We would determine a person’s Mental Strength by their success. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a way to measure this.

Something happens in our house on a nightly basis that I’m sure happens in most houses with kids of a school age. I ask my (soon to be) 5 year old son what he’s done in class that day and wait for the response. It’s usually like trying to get blood from a stone and the inevitable answer is usually what he’s had for lunch from the award-winning school cook or how he’s been chased around the playground with his friends at lunchtime by a boy they’ve christened ‘Broccoli’ due to his green coat.

No. Let’s be clear on that. Emphatically not – but it is being given disproportionate importance and academic coverage. So why even pose the question? Well, it’s just this bloggers way of highlighting that the analysis of individual and organisational learning requirements, the highest quality of design and piloting and the robust delivery of learning solutions are all just as important in getting the job done.

How many times have you heard a colleague refer to the accounts team as the bean counters? Or, maybe you have done it? Maybe that just reflects the fact that many of us (including me) don’t fully understand the work that they do or just how vital it is if a business is to function effectively…and profitably.

Companies often find themselves in a position where they believe they need a competency framework but are not entirely sure why or what the material benefit would be.

One common approach to developing the senior team or Board would be to seek to ensure that, firstly, the Board are working, not just as a team, but as an ‘effective’ team because after all, that is exactly what the Board should be.