Five Considerations for L&D Professionals Working internally It’s not too uncommon for the “Training Department” to be perceived as an order-taker: “I need X training, so our sales increase;” “Just create training on how do x.” Your internal customers want what they want and aren’t shy about asking for it directly. How do you handle […]
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Keys to Effective Leadership
Addressing the Leader Mindset Does your leadership development program move the needle on the leader behaviors that make a difference? With organizations increasing their leadership training spend between 25-30 percent, it makes sense to focus keenly on what kinds of leaders we want in our organization. There’s a lot to being a great leader, and […]
Read MoreCuriosity and the Learning Professional
A Reflection on my Career in Learning It was 1980-something when I graduated college with a business degree, prepared for a career in marketing. After several attempts to get a job in a tough employment market, I landed a position doing something I could’ve never imagined — writing proposals for a custom training consultancy in […]
Read MoreThe New Watercooler Chat
Six Best Practices to Stay Connected in a Virtual World It’s been a year since many employees started working remotely. While the main push from clients has been to convert in-person instructor-led courses to virtual to accommodate a remote workforce, interestingly, I’ve also been working with a few clients to create wellness and mindful work […]
Read MoreThe Best Laid Plans
How to Handle Last-Minute Changes What do you do when things don’t go as planned? Seems to be the theme of 2020, doesn’t it? The week before Father’s Day, I found out my husband was going to have the holiday off from his job as a retail manager. We were excited because some of the […]
Read MoreDon’t Forget the Silverware
Avoid getting tripped up with the “familiar” As an Innovative Learning Group project manager, it’s my job to plan and monitor each step of a project. I’m clearly familiar with how to look ahead and anticipate bumps in the road, so when it came to planning a simple night out with my husband I wondered […]
Read MoreNetworking In A Virtual World
Tips for Feeling Connected In an Isolating Time Whether you’re looking to grow professionally, change jobs, or stay relevant in a virtual world, here are a few practical tips I’ve discovered to help make the most of networking and professional association events and feel connected during this potentially isolating time. Prior to the Event Reach […]
Read More“No” Is Not the Answer
When Client Expectations and Best Practices Don’t Align How often have you encountered a situation in which you were asked to do something, and you knew the request wasn’t the best approach? For example, what if your client asks for a custom learning project to turn a half-day workshop into a 30-minute e-learning without removing […]
Read MoreStop Future Tripping!
Tips for Managing Your Custom Learning Projects in the Now Hi, my name is Mel, and I’m a chronic future-tripper. What’s that, you ask? In a nutshell, it means I worry about things in the future that haven’t even happened yet — or may not even happen at all — rather than focusing on the […]
Read MoreThe Learning Leader Job Is NOT Easy!
Five Things Great Learning Leaders Do Holy smokes! When I started my career, you were considered a great learning leader if you could put on a darn good three-day workshop that had solid instructional design, conducted a pilot and train-the-trainer, provided great donuts, and ended with a little evaluation. This isn’t so any more. I […]
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