It never ceases to amaze me when I see first-hand the incredible impact that effective learning and development can have on performance, retention, motivation, results and team cohesion (the list goes on!).
“When learning and development is tailored effectively to the individual, team and business, the outputs are incredible.”
10 years ago, when I started Arden Matheson, my vision was always centred around ‘bespoke development’ that made an impact to the individual, team and business. Without doubt, the more focused on the development area, the more impactful it will be. Whether you are reflecting on your own internal L&D offering or looking at the external offering, it is always worth ensuring that the learning aligns to the development focus areas needed.
Bespoke development has three key outputs:
- Higher return on investment of time and money: The development solution is laser focused to what is needed and the high impact value required for the individual, team or wider business. At Arden Matheson, we spend quality time on our learning discovery phase to make sure the content is relevant and metrics for success of the L&D are clear.
- Learner engagement: It engages the learners significantly more across the learning, in the sessions and in their learning actions that they take away. Learners are more likely to prepare more thoroughly, bring their full energy to sessions and engage fully across sessions.
- Transfer of Learning: Learners will significantly more likely apply their learning post the session and the ‘transfer of learning’ increases impacting changes to behaviours, actions and outputs in the workplace.
One of our team values is ‘being agile’ and it is not uncommon for us to adapt a development session during the session to get maximum impact for the group for what they need. Indeed, we often adapt our development programmes throughout delivery based on the changing needs of the business or challenges at team level that need support.
We have many learning and development tools and processes that enable us to unravel the root of development focus areas and to make sure the learning remains engaging and impactful. These start before the learning begins through to execution of learning and when we are evaluating at the end of the process.
Engage, Excite, Evolve
Our 3 E’s can help as a guide to check whether the learning is impactful and engaging to the individual:
Engage: Engaging the relevant core focus areas to enable the individual or team to grow and move forwards with the most impactful skills, knowledge or behaviours.
Some of the tools we use to drive this:
Learning needs analysis * Discovery calls with stakeholders and learners * Collaboration with design of sessions with the teams* Pre surveys or bespoke learning matrix frameworks to explore individuals learning gaps * Internal focus groups *360 development with our 360 learning tool.
Excite: Engaging and exciting the individual or team about the learning and their development outputs and the development experience.
Some of the tools we use to drive this:
L&D launch calls or launch meetings to excite individuals and teams * Pre work to support development * 1:1 calls to engage individuals and tailor their personal learning objectives
Evolve: Shaping structures and processes to enable the individual or team to evolve and embed their learning from the development and transfer the learning back to the workplace.
Starter Questions: Tailoring your L&D to your Individuals, Teams and Business
Whether you are already fully engaged in learning and development or starting out with building your internal learning and development pathways, we have outlined some starter questions that can support the reflection of development focus areas and current strengths.
You can explore just one of these questions or several of them, or if time allows all of them.
These are simple starter questions and if you would like to see a more complex Learning Needs Analysis structure and format, please do get in touch with us.
From these questions, you can start to build a picture of the impact that development can play for your teams, yourself or the wider business:
Leadership Reflection (aimed at current or future leaders): Consider your leadership team and the individual leaders in the business.
- Consider your business or team vision for the year ahead, what are the core leadership skills and behaviours that your leadership teams need to display to achieve this vision?
Some examples could be: Decisiveness, Resilience, Perception and Emotional Stability, Empathy, Receiving and Giving Feedback, Visibility and Inspiration, Positively Challenging Others to reach their potential, Driving the Vision, Open to Change and Adapting our Approach, Team Building, Delegation, Building Positivity Hope and Optimism, Change leadership, Clarity in Communication
(note: if you would like to discuss our full Arden Matheson Leadership Development Matrix, please get in touch with us)
- Where are the main 4-5 strengths and where are the main 3-4 gaps?
- Consider each leader and where their individual strengths and development gaps are? Where are the priority areas for them in the year ahead?
Team or Individual Future Performance Reflection: With each team or individual, consider these questions:
- What are the top 4-5 skills or behaviours that the team or individual will need to achieve their success over the next 1 to 2 years. (note: it is important that there is clarity on what success looks like here and how this ties to team or individual goals)
- From these skills or behaviours, where are the gaps and where are the current strengths? Rank these in order of priority to focus development plans.
People Management Reflection (aimed at current or future people managers): Consider your people managers or your emerging people managers:
- What are the current top 5 ideal outputs from their role?
Some examples could be: motivate their team, hold their team to account, nurture and develop their team, hold regular impactful structured 1:1s or team meetings, coach and develop their team, face difficult conversations positively and constructively, manage effectively through a period of change, live the business values in their approach and mindset.
From your top 5, where are the strengths and where are the gaps?
Prioritise these in importance to focus the development plan. (note: having clarity on what performance / role success for these teams or individuals in 1-2 years is important for this question.)
Wider business Reflection: Grade all or some of the themes below out of 10 across the different teams or individuals in your business.
10 being exceptional and 0 being either not yet seen or low.
Are there any clear strengths or gaps emerging? Which of these themes are going to be most critical for success in the year ahead?
Are there any development themes that align to the most important themes needed for success?
- Communication is clear and transparent
- Trust within the teams
- Trust in the leadership of the business
- Innovation and Growth Mindset
- Influencing and persuasion skills needed for internal or external communication
- Accountability and ownership of their roles
- Commercial awareness of the market and sector and how their roles and teams impact this
- Engagement and alignment to the business vision
- Emotional intelligence
- Having an open and honest feedback culture
- Living and breathing each of your business values or principles
- Motivation and inner drive in their roles
- Positive morale across the business
- Adaptability to change and emerging markets
- Delivering against performance expectations
Please do get in touch with us at Arden Matheson if you would like to talk through any of these questions with us or indeed go through our wider reflective development consultancy questions with us. One of our L&D Consultants would be delighted to have a conversation and discuss this with you.
Keep an eye out for our next blog on different tools and techniques to drive performance when delivering the learning solution.
Get in touch: hello@ardenmatheson.co.uk
