Change the wayyour organisation

views learning

build champions andinspire a passion for learning

25 ways to

Copyright © Connecting the Dots Ltd 2014

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form orby any means without the permission in writing from theauthors except by a reviewer who may quote passagesfor the purpose of their review.

The Home of the Learning EntrepreneurMaghull Business Centre1 Liverpool Rd NorthLiverpoolL31 2HBT: 07976 628705E: caroline@connectingdots.co.ukJoin our vibrant community of Learning Entrepreneurswww.connectingdots.co.ukfacebooktwitter@connectweetspinterest

Contents01: Make a decision02: Teach everyone the numbers03: Live the values04: Give seeds05: Ask and give opportunities06: Get an advocate07: Get out there08: Visit09: Team teach10: Start a wiki11: Youtube it12: Have lunch with someone new13: Learning on the loo14: Spot the difference15: Email it16: Share17: Attend less meetings18: Give to charity19: Say thank you20: Do something every day21: Become a doctor22: Shave 10%23: Go online24: Make the most of role models25: Enjoy a coffee

IntroductionYou can do more than you think with the littletime you have available. In our LearningEntrepreneur™ model one of our fourdimensions is DELIVER. This is the ability todeliver learning solutions that create a buzz andexcitement that can’t be ignored.

Be a superhero, today

Make adecision

Decide first that you want tomake a difference.

Write it down, tattoo it on your mind. If you don’tyou will find yourself reeling from one thing tothe next. This moment of decision shapes yourfuture. It helps you prioritise, organise and shapethe offering you will provide. It ensures that youthink first about your customer and theiroutcome and then about the best way to do it.

To remind you about the 7 habits of highlyeffective people take a look at this great succinctvideo by Calibrain

In any moment of decision,

the best thing you can do is the

right thing, the next best thing

is the wrong thing, and the worst

thing you can do is nothing.

Theodore Roosevelt

01

Make it your mission to get everyoneto learn the figures.

Staff who understand the numbers are moreengaged and committed to financial success.Arm them with this information and they arebetter equipped to make decisions that supportprofitability.

Use as a simple, effectiveand fun way to get staff talking about relevantstatistics that they can influence.

02Teach everyonethe numbers

02

03Live the values

Values are no good as a plaqueon the wall.

You need to be a role model and livethem every day in all that you do. Takethe values and discuss with your teamhow you need to act and makedecisions based on these. Challengeothers about whether they are living upto them. In every piece of learning makesure that you breathe life into theseabstract words to help them come tolife.For more ideas try 12 activities to driveteam engagement

Your beliefs become your thoughts,

Your thoughts become your words,

Your words become your actions,

Your actions become your habits,

Your habits become your values,

Your values become your destiny.

Ghandi

03

Give seeds

04

Seeds are the starter, often ofsomething quite remarkable.

So often we spoon feed and try to giveeveryone everything they will need butthat builds an unrealistic dependency,that we simple cannot maintain intoday’s busy, information rich world.

See yourself as a gardener providing thenourishment to help them grow forthemselves.

Take a look here for our guidingprinciples for learning.

04

Get people’scompetitive juicesflowing

Set up a competition wiki/ email address/noticeboard/ twitter # … anything that willwork in your organisation and get staff tosubmit the most important thing to knowabout…..anything.This not only gets people to contribute butalso encourages collaboration andlearning, fast! For more ideas go here

Ask and giveopportunities

05

06Get an advocate

Make the most charismaticleader a noisy advocate forlearningFind out who is currently an advocatefor learning and get them shouting onyour behalf. Encourage them to sharetheir learning loves with people aroundthe organisation. In doing so get yoursupporters motivated!

Don’t worry,find someone who could be that personand ask them what you can do to givethem the confidence and desire to standup and support you. Start negotiating!For more on engaging stakeholders gohere. 06

Get out there

07

Don’t hide your light under a bushel,get out there and shout about theimmense difference learning makes.

Too many of us sit back and wait for people tocome. That is no longer an option in L&D. If youwant willing, interested partners in learning getout there and start shouting. Share successstories, stats, photos, twitter feeds… anythingthat sends a positive message about learning.Use every media available to get a message outthere that learning rocks! For more on corporatecommunications for L&D check this out

This is my Wonder

Woman: Sonia -

she is simply an

amazing role

model for all who

know her .. Love

ya honey!

07

08Visit

Spend time with someone in adifferent department.

You can learn so much just by observing.Not only do you uncover their secrets ofsuccess by chatting but also seeing howother people tackle day to day work cangive great insight too. In addition you arealso guaranteed to walk away havinglearnt more about the importance of theirdepartment in the organisation achievingits success. Take a look here for 10 mustask questions when job shadowing.

All visitors anddrivers mustreport to

08

09Team teach

Challenge all teams to create a 15 min session of learning for their

colleagues.

You could use this to encourage peer support inlarge departments, even giving out a challenge hatwith ideas/ topics in it for them to create a sessionon or you could use it to cross-share ideas bygetting different departments to share what theycan do for you and what support they need fromyou.Go here for more ideas for building engagementand developing business acumen.

09

Start a wiki

10

Start directory of useful thingsyou wished you’d known whenyou started in the organisation.

Open this up to the whole organisation toadd their ideas and hints for new startersand build a community of support.Take a look here for guidance on successfulonboarding

10

11Youtube it

Encourage YouTube style ‘how to’video’s or guest speaker tele-conferences to be created & sharedby staff to help their colleagues.

Find a place on the intranet, a standalone PC inthe training department on a private cloudplatform so that together you can all learn.Just type in free video hosting and see the arrayof options available to you. Or take a look herefor how to make teleconferences sing.

11

12Have lunch withsomeone new

Find out from HR who’s newand book to have lunch withthem for a friendly lunch chat.

You never know where this might lead,you don’t know how influential they andyou will learn loads about what’s goingon their world which will help you sharehow you can support them (and others)going forward. Take a look here for moreideas about supporting new starters.

Lunch with Margaret

12

13Learning on theloo

Use Loo’s, Stairs and Lifts topublish cheat sheets, did youknow’s & time saving tips – Inviteentries from everyone.

People love seeing their ideas up there forothers. It gives them a sense of pride andencourages contribution. Each month ask fortips on different subjects that can cross overall departments.You can always start with an inspirationalquote and a question to get people started.Maybe even a different one for every door!Take a look here for more ideas aboutdeveloping a learning culture.

13

14Spot thedifference

Encourage staff to spot the differencein something relevant.

Help them identify what’s poor/ ok and greatabout a particular way of doing things and askthem how they can translate this into their world.e.g. for customer service staff ask them to visitsome shops or other offices – what do they spotas a difference in standards – it could be a salesperson, a receptionist or a security guard.. whatdid they love that they can translate into theirjob? What did they realise they should ditch? Formore ideas go here

14

15Email it

Put learning hints on your emailsignatures.

Change these weekly to encourage people toread them. You can use quotes/ tips/ businessmessages to get people thinking.For more ideas check this out.

15

Be generous of time, resources and your connections.

Spot opportunities to help and support others through this generosity. Make it apoint of doing something positive like this at least 3 times a week for others. Yourreputation will grow; you will increase your resources and contacts through thisspirit of kindness and get to know more about what is going on in the business. Tohelp you recognise others, we have a set of 3 cards you can use to show yourappreciation - want a set? Just email us with your address and we’ll post to you.

16Share

16

How much time do you waste inmeetings?

Look at these statistics and then consider areyou really managing your time well?If you think this is a problem in your organisationwhy not get our Quick wins session onsuccessfully managing meetings so you canhelp educate the organisation and get more outof every minute people spend in meetings.

17Attend lessmeetings

9 out of 10 people daydream in meetings.

60% of meeting attendees take notes to ap-pear as if they are listening.

63% of the time, typical meetings do nothave prepared agendas.

It takes less than eight seconds for an idea,suggestion, or proposal to be criticized.

Executives average 23 hours per week inmeetings where 7.8 hours of the 23 are un-

necessary and poorly run, which is 2.3months per year wasted.

49% of participants considered unfocusedmeetings & projects as the biggest work-

place time waster and the primary reasonfor unproductive workdays.

17

Hold a charity competition onLearning.

Do for charity in which you train afew people and they pass on the learning. Getpeople to sponsor you and publicise the results.Or why not run our Quick wins session onManaging Change and get sponsorship for alocal charity on everyone that goes through it.You could even invite charity organisations in tolearn with you so you are sharing not only yourmoney but your knowledge too.

18Give to charity

18

Thank everyone for their enquiry.Remember you are a service to theorganisation so lead by example.

Every contact you have with someone shouldhave a thank you in there somewhere to showyour appreciation that they have taken time tocome to you. Take a look here for a reminder ofother ways to be a great role model.

19Say thank you

19

… to make someone think, stretch,challenge, grow, connect, smile…..the list can go on and on.

Make it your personal mission to get at leastone person a day to develop and feel greatthrough something that you do. It could be assmall as a note of recognition though to a full oncoaching conversation.

Have a look here for ideas to open up thinkingout of the comfort zone.

20Do somethingeveryday to…

20

Hold a Learning clinic

Set out a clinic stall at lunchtime,put fliers on the tables andencourage people to come andtalk to you about their learning.

Discuss their strengths anddevelopment needs, get them toprioritise one thing and discusssymptoms.

For more ideas contact us andwe’ll be happy to chat it throughwith you.

21Be a doctor

21

Seek out ways of cutting trainingtime by 10%.

Seek out efficiencies in everything you do. 10%on a day course is 45 minutes – that meansthat learners have time to go back to their desk,set up a meeting, chat to their manager aboutwhat they have learnt, clear their messages sothey can get stuck on the following morningraring to go rather than worrying about what isleft over.10% on a hour is just over 5 minutes. 5 minutesis enough time to take an action, makesomeone smile, ask a question, plan.And whilst we are on the subject, what couldyou achieve if you had 10% more time?Challenge yourself and see what you canachieve. More ideas can be found in here

22Shave 10%

22

Post stuff regularly online.

Increase your reputation by having a voice,prepared to comment. Build your authority byposing relevant questions and challenges andopenly sharing ideas. Do this both within andoutside of the organisation. For more ideas lookhere.It really is child’s play.

23Go online

23

Find a great role model in eachdepartment.

Spend time with them to find out what makesthem tick. Use this to inform you conversationsand provision of learning so that others canbenefit from the great stuff and great peoplealready in the organisation.

Use these simple guidelines to help you get themost out of these conversations.

24Find rolemodels

I’d ratherbe a rolemodel thana super model

24

Grabbing a coffee only can bea missed opportunity.

I know you’re busy but taking that timeto say ‘hello’ and ask what people areup to is a great way to developrelationships. Remember everyone inthe organisation is a stakeholder andpotential champion for learning so chataway and explore how you can help.

25Make the mostof the coffeemachine

G dmorning

25

Thank youFor so many things….● Thank you for taking the time to read this and maybe doing

some more digging on the links to our site and elsewhere● Thank you for being open to our ides● Thank you for daring to make the difference● And most of all thank you for being you.

Go out there and be an L&D superhero - enjoy the ride!Hugs

Caroline & Una

And remember if you like any

of our stuff please share it

with other L&D stars.

The Home of the Learning Entrepreneurwww.connectingdots.co.uk

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