Week 3 Journal Entry

This week's concept proved to be challenging for most of the class. Systems thinking was introduced and we were asked to conduct an experiment for our first discussion. A ruler was placed on top of a dog biscuit to create a replica of a seesaw. Then, two volunteers were asked to try to place coins on the ruler without letting it touch the table. This was done for a total of five tries. Then, a barrier was placed in between the two volunteers and they were asked to complete the same process again. The results were compared and analyzed to determine what barriers existed and how the experiment is relative to the workplace. Communication was discussed as well as gaps, barriers, and objectives. In the workplace, talent management and development must be part of the culture in order to succeed. As we learned in the previous weeks, the more a business invests in its people, the more productivity increases and the more engaged the workforce becomes. As much as it has been proven that talent development assists with meeting organizational goals, it still seems to be a struggle to obtain leadership buy-in. Why does this disconnect still persist?

The next discussion asked the class to share some stories about good or bad training experiences we have had. It was shocking to hear all of the bad experiences. I learned the difference between push and pull training and how people learn better in a pull setting. There will always be a need for push training, for example in banking taking annual compliance courses are required. These are facilitated through an online learning management system called BAI. Progress and completion is tracked each quarter and reported to the compliance committee for auditing purposes. This will never go away. However, when it comes to talent development, understanding what drives intrinsic motivation to learn is imperative. I found a couple of great resources for my PLN that talk about microlearning and technology that can be utilized to help employees learn on their own volition. 

Our assignment this week asked us to identify a current problem in the workplace. I selected the lack of leadership development. We were tasked with using the Six Boxes method along with two other methods to determine the root cause of our identified problem. For the other two methods, I chose to use a Fishbone diagram and the 5 Why's method. This was truly an eye-opening experience. I learned that although there is a lack of training, it appears the deeper-rooted problem lies in unclear objectives and a lack of prioritization for talent development. Higher emphasis is placed on sales and productivity and time is not being spent developing our people for the next steps. This led to me realizing our succession plan is severely lacking and if any of our leadership team leaves, the business could suffer. I proposed several solutions including presenting my findings along with industry best practices to plant the seed that this is a true business need. Yes, training will also be utilized in leadership development for top performers, but that is not the main solution to the problem. Applying systems thinking has taught me to not take a problem at face value. It is imperative to take a step back and look at the big picture before implementing a solution.

See you next week!