How has your organization kept pace with the disruption, changes, and uncertainty since March 2020? So much has changed – from the way we work to how we deliver products and services. Internally, the degree of impact on organizational functions differs. Overall, people-related functions have been affected the most, particularly Learning & Development.
For many learning functions, the past year has pushed teams’ limits, requiring them to quickly adapt and translate solutions to online environments. And while it may not be time to close the book on these trying times, most organizations have achieved a level of stabilization. Yet with survival and stabilization, many have resorted to using a “just get it done” approach to learning solutions.
It’s now time to move beyond surviving and stabilizing to identify how we can best transform to meet the needs of our new reality. There has never been a better time for learning teams to determine exactly where they are now and where they want (or need) to go. Then, establish a path to get there. This can be accomplished by gaining True Clarity™ about the culture, strategy, and capability your learning function needs to lead your organization into the future.
So, how exactly do we do that? How do we transform now, especially when we are faced with so many competing demands and priorities? The survivalist mentality can make it difficult for employees to see what’s Really Most Important™ – not only for now but for the long term. To gain true clarity for your learning organization– which is about the results we want not the initiatives we plan – we must start with the end in mind. This begins with defining what is Really Most Important.
A Lot of Things are Important. Which are Most Important?
Your business cannot achieve its mission without fully understanding what that mission is. And the mission is not “sell more product” or “gain more customers.” True Clarity™ requires moving beyond understanding of what is important to is Really Most Important™. Ask yourself what is most important to:
The customers you serve
Your learning function and what it needs to achieve moving forward
The departments you support and the people you work with
Once you have clarity on what is really most important, you can create a strategic focus and integrate that into the fabric of your company, making it an integral part of the organization’s DNA. This will, in turn, unlock the critical capabilities that drive sustainable and replicable results.
“If we fail to achieve what is really most important, everything else we do is meaningless.”
Every Stable Structure Requires Cornerstones
To transition from where you are now to this level of true clarity, we need to build on four necessary cornerstones that will allow you to execute purposefully. There are multiple definitions of cornerstone, but consider how several of them apply here:
A stone representing the nominal starting place in the construction of a monumental building
Something that is essential, indispensable, or basic
The chief foundation on which something is constructed or developed
In other words, without cornerstones, what you’re building isn’t designed for stability and longevity. The Four Cornerstones needed to gain true clarity for your business are not about rapidly deployed solutions to satisfy market demands or financial needs. Instead, they’re about a commitment to uncover the full potential of your organization and to achieve results of the bigger vision, regardless of what adversity we encounter.
If you’d like to learn more about these Four Cornerstones and how to define what’s Really Most Important™ for your organization, join the Total Solutions Group for a free, 30-minute on December 15, 11:30 am to 12:00 pm EST: Click here to register.
Additional Tools & Support
There are several other webinars available to provide initial tools and guidance for your L&D transformation: Click here to view the webinars.
If you are ready to begin your L&D transformation, explore the TAP™ L&D Transformation Experience to help you to rethink, reimagine, and reengineer your learning organization, and achieve real transformation. #LearningCulture, #LearningStrategy, #Learninganddevelopment
