Exploring L&D opportunities 2023-24

Exploring L&D opportunities 2023-24 with Emma Weber and Laura Overton

Listen in on a fascinating conversation that the wonderful Laura Overton, from Learning Changemakers, and I shared late last year!
Laura has been deep in the field of learning research for over 20 years and shares how what she has seen in the past is directly relevant to what’s happening today.

The conversation covers critical insights for modern learning and development strategies, including:

Innovation and Adaptation in Learning: why we need to shift further towards innovative learning strategies that focus on driving business impact. How to adapt learning methodologies to meet changing organisational needs and leverage new technologies effectively.

Creating a Holistic Approach to Learning and Development: Emphasising a move away from traditional content-centric learning towards creating environments that foster behaviour and culture shifts. This approach advocates for a more comprehensive view that integrates various learning modalities to nurture a continuous learning culture within organisations.

Agility in Learning Culture: Highlighting the need for learning professionals to be agile, willing to experiment, and open to embracing new technologies and methodologies. This theme also touches on the importance of learning from newer generations entering the field, who bring fresh perspectives and a propensity for innovation.
I feel very grateful to have had the chance to explore with Laura and hope you enjoy the conversation too.

Show notes/references are:

  • Laura Overton: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraoverton/
  • Learning Changemakers: https://www.learningchangemakers.com/
  • Sharon Varney’s – Leadership in Complexity and Change. Available on Amazon worldwide and Dymocks in Australia (I have just ordered my copy!)
  • Liminal definition – 1. relating to, or situated at a sensory threshold : barely perceptible or capable of eliciting a response. liminal visual stimuli. 2. relating to, or being an intermediate state, phase, or condition : in-between, transitional.
  • Anthropological definition – the study of humankind

 

Before I close, I feel I need to air that I’m asking myself the question — “Am I an absolute idiot or just human?”(And not just because I needed to clarify what liminal meant and look up anthropological!) Laura and I had this conversation in September 2023…. And I just sat on it! I was so honoured to have Laura to chat with—and yet I was resisting sharing our conversation. Why? It wasn’t quite my normal conversation about transfer… we went broader, we went to the heart of it, and we both shared really openly… and it left me feeling a bit vulnerable. It’s not very structured or formal. Do I really want my community to know I’ve a fascination with toroidal fields? Will anyone watch the interview and even notice, haha. Realisation, of course – I was just being an idiot. Laura is sharing some VERY valuable thoughts, ideas and practical steps. Apologies for withholding it from the community for so long! And here’s to us all being human!

Emma Weber is a recognized authority on the transfer of learning. As CEO of Lever–Transfer of Learning, she has helped companies such as Telstra, Oracle and BMW deliver and measure tangible business results from learning. She has also been a guest speaker at learning effectiveness conferences worldwide and authored the hugely successful book Turning Learning into Action. Much more detail around the issues and solutions examined in this article are available in the book – please feel free to download a free chapter. Emma and her team also developed Coach M, a coaching chatbot that delivers fully scaleable learning transfer. She is also a co-author of the books Making Change Work, and Designing Virtual Learning for Application and Impact. Her work and approach is also featured in Data and Analytics for Instructional Designers by Megan Torrance (Author), Foundations of People Metrics and Analytics – by Renjini Joseph and an ATD 10-minute case study series – Chatbot Coaching for Learning Transfer.