Development 4 Managers.com

Multiplatform Development

Approach for Holistic Development.

A balanced view of learning requires us to recognize and understand that we do not learn in a way, we learn in many ways .

I recall a situation where a director of a marketing organization requested my assistance with a problem. Some of her employees kept running into problems with the clients due to seemingly unforeseen events. She wanted to know if there was some kind of training to resolve the problem.

This was not the first, nor last time I have heard the same request. Not only is there an assumption that the problem's solution is in training alone, without considering other factors. Many managers have in their mind that when facing a problem, the solution may be in some sort of training program . Mind you, the manager is not considering a long-term process here. They are looking for the silver bullet. The magic pill. The cure to the problem that will in fix it all in just one single instance or intervention.

Fortunately, learning does not work that way. I say fortunately, because if learning was this simple, we probably would have never developed critical thinking skills, nor would we be able to learn from our experiences. We need to face the fact that learning is a complex process composed of many complex sub-processes.

Let's assume our manager's problem was indeed one that could be solved with training. You have seen this before, what happens 30 days after the workshop? Studies reveal we will have forgotten most, if not all, of what was taught. That is unless we take some countermeasures to avoid this loss.

Learning requires a Multiplatform approach. If we are thinking of a workshop, immediately we need to also think of supporting the content so it is not forgotten. One vehicle could be ongoing reviews with the individual's supervisor. Or an informal monthly quiz. By using several platforms to support the same content over a period of time, we help the individual internalize this knowledge. Once this happens, the person will be able to use the new knowledge more efficiently.