Internet Culture

Article by Jay Cross, Chief Learning Officer Magazine

The Internet is so pervasive that Internet values are blowing back into real life.

For example, I have no qualms about walking out of a boring presentation, even if I’ve been sitting in the front row. The Web trained me to click past unrewarding pages and spend my time where it will do me the most good.

I expect attitudes like Internet values to underpin exemplary corporate learning in the future. Here are nine more to ponder.

Peer power: Networks subvert hierarchy. When information abounds, peers take over. In a knowledge era, workers are the means of production. To prosper in this world, forget command and control. Encourage bottom-up peer production. Knowledge workers do their best when challenged to figure things out for themselves. Management needs to set the direction and then get out of the way. Think of learning as a partnership with learners, not “delivery.”

Authenticity: Simpler is better. The spirit of the Net is to tell is like it is, to peel away the facade. “Be who you are!” wrote Nietzsche. It’s easier than faking it. In learning, being authentic means admitting we don’t have all the answers. It’s recognition that we’re all in this together. It’s hooking people up so they may learn from and with one another.

Transparency: Seeing the inside of an organization enables us to collaborate with it to make things better. People who hoard information shoot themselves in the foot: Nobody will know who they are. You’ve got to know an organization or person to form a relationship. You cannot make friends with someone hidden behind a garden wall.

Perpetual beta: Nothing is ever finished. Hence, it’s better to put an unfinished offering out there before the concrete sets. He who hesitates for typos is lost. Do it, try it, fix it. Drive changes with feedback from learners themselves. More frequent reviews translate into less time invested in going down the wrong path. If someone says a project is finished, it is.

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Companies are using Coaching more often to gain an edge

Regardless of the recession and poor business climate, companies are more often providing coaching to management and high-potential employees as a way to gain an edge over their competitors, according to ClearRock, an outplacement and executive coaching firm headquartered in Boston.

Even in a difficult economic environment, companies more frequently are giving coaching to executives and high-potential employees to sharpen their skills and ensure the proper development of future leaders.

“Many companies have released numerous employees, including management layers, and they want to be sure that those remaining have the right capabilities for today’s and tomorrow’s business needs,” said Geralyn Burke Gray, senior vice president with ClearRock.

“Businesses are also using coaching to ensure that employees who have been newly promoted to replace those no longer there have the required skills,” added Burke Gray.

“Due to cutbacks, companies may be lacking staff or expertise needed to coach newly promoted employees in proper management and interpersonal abilities. They also may want to bring in consultants who have more experience in developing new leaders and high potentials.”

Companies are more frequently using coaching as a means of gaining an edge over their competitors even in a difficult business environment by:

Ensuring today’s leaders have the right skills to match the current business environment: “Managing during a recession requires different capabilities than managing in better times. Leaders must be knowledgeable about various ways to keep employees motivated, and there are fewer monetary methods such as raises and bonuses to help them do this,” said Burke Gray.

Aiding newly promoted employees become successful in their positions: “In a good economy, about one-third of newly promoted employees fail within the first 18 months in their new jobs by being released, resigning or receiving a poor evaluation. This number tends to rise during a tough business environment,” said Burke Gray. “Also, coaching is assisting the next generation of new leaders, who are replacing retiring baby boomers, to be successful in their new positions.”

Helping develop the skills of high-potential employees: “Organizations are more frequently providing coaching to high-potential employees to assure that they acquire, at an earlier stage in their careers, qualities and abilities most commonly associated with upper-level managers. These management traits include strategic thinking, vision, creativity, innovation, decisiveness and motivating others,” said Burke Gray.

Sharpening employees’ management styles and capabilities: “Businesses are using coaching to hone employees’ interpersonal skills, management techniques, and leadership skills and abilities,” said Burke Gray.

Correcting substandard management behaviors of employees whose roles are critical to the organization: “Coaching helps companies correct the ineffective management behaviors of employees whose roles are essential, such as technical experts who may not be as proficient in management skills. These ineffective management behaviors include poor communication skills, or the inability to manage or develop direct reports, and can be especially counterproductive in a down economy,” said Burke Gray.

Sourced from Chief Learning Officer Newsletter

The Story Whisperer

Dan Heath writes for Chief Learning Office Magazine

It was an off-site training program for the new hires of a major software firm. The young employees were in their seats early — they were excited to hear from the opening speaker, an executive who held a position of astonishing power. But that wasn’t why the audience was excited. They were excited because he was young — mid-30s, not too much older than them.

Everyone knew the man’s career trajectory, which was characterized by short stints and cross-organizational zigzags, as if he’d taken a Southwest flight to the corner office. Needless to say, they all wanted to live that flight plan.

But the excitement in the room quickly fizzled. The young exec spoke as if he were being paid by the cliche. He urged the employees to “work hard” and to “pursue their passion.” (Presumably this was intended for employees who were chasing work that didn’t interest them — and doing so lazily.) It was frankly a miracle that he didn’t challenge the crowd to “give 110 percent.”

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Candidates willing to take contract work

Professionals in the Australia are showing an increased interest in taking on contract work, according to a Robert Walters survey.

Professional candidates from around the globe were asked their views on taking up a contracting rather than a permanent position; 4,288 respondents from 17 different countries took part in the web poll.

Fifty-nine per cent of Australian respondents said they would be happy to take on a contract role, above the worldwide average of 55%. Those more flexible workforces included the UK with almost two thirds stating they would be happy to take on a contract role (68%) closely followed by New Zealand (63%) and the United States (61%).

Professionals in continental Europe seem to prefer the stability that permanent roles have to offer; nearly half (40%) of respondents in Spain said that they would not consider contract work, followed by the French (30%) and Belgium (23%).

A high proportion of respondents in Malaysia (51%) and Singapore (50%) said they would only consider contracting if there were no permanent roles available.

On average, more than half (55%) of all respondents said they would be happy to take on a contracting role. One third (33%) said they would only take up contracting if there were no permanent roles, and only 12% of respondents worldwide would not consider it.

“It’s well known that employers can turn to temporary recruitment in tougher economic conditions as a means of controlling headcount costs and maintaining productivity. What is interesting is that candidates are also increasingly focusing on the flexibility that contract work can offer; from hours worked through to having the opportunity to experience different work environments and roles,” said James Nicholson, managing director of Robert Walters Australia.

Whilst contracting may not offer the stability of a permanent role, this is offset by higher pro-rata rates of pay and professionals can get back into the workplace much more quickly. Candidates are also attracted by the opportunity to broaden their experience by working in different functions across a business, Nicholson added.

Sourced from Human Capital Magazine (April 2009)

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