Learner-Driven-Experience White-Paper Nov2018
Learner-Driven-Experience White-Paper Nov2018
Learner-Driven-Experience White-Paper Nov2018
DRIVEN LEADER
DEVELOPMENT
MAXIMIZING INDIVIDUAL,
TEAM, AND ORGANIZATIONAL
PERFORMANCE
IT’S NO SURPRISE: Organizations that make leadership knowledge, and expertise essential for adapting to the
development a top priority outperform their competitors forces shaping today’s business environment—such as
on key financial metrics such as revenue. What’s more, they relentless technology advancement and ever-shifting
excel at other crucial forms of business performance— market conditions. Yet creating an environment that
such as attracting top talent and keeping it on board. As supports continuous learning isn’t easy. Why? Just as the
just one example, in a 2016 Gallup poll of millennials, 87% world has grown more complicated, so have the needs of
rated “professional or career growth and development today’s learners. Ask any employee or manager about her
opportunities” as important criteria in choosing a job. typical day, and she’ll likely acknowledge that it’s packed
with competing priorities, interruptions, and distractions.
To consistently develop top leadership talent,
Even for individuals eager to learn, carving out time for
organizations must foster a culture of ongoing learning.
it can seem like an impossible task.
In such a culture, individuals at all levels, in every
corner of the enterprise, continually build the skills,
The learning path should include chances for people to leadership-development programs should be informed
apply their new skills and knowledge. These kinds of more by learners’ needs than by initiatives originating
learning experiences become even more potent when in L&D.
they also feature opportunities for self-directed learning—
The upshot: Employees are already taking charge of
employees choosing what, when, and how they want to
their own learning. And L&D professionals can create
learn as well as which resources and information they
even more value for their organizations by ensuring
draw on.
that employees get the most from that learning. To do
Why does self-directed learning matter? Employees so, L&D must design learner-driven experiences that
today want to learn—and they expect their employers consistently encourage and engage learners.
to provide the tools and opportunities for them to do so.
They’re also comfortable with taking initiative for their KEY ELEMENTS OF A
own learning and using technology to find information. LEARNER-DRIVEN EXPERIENCE
Additionally, employees have unique development needs Make learning efficient and effective.
they’re trying to satisfy, unique on-the-job problems they
must solve, and unique ways of approaching the learning Keep employees engaged in the learning
process. These needs, problems, and approaches are process.
constantly changing—making it even more challenging
Keep learning top of mind for people.
for learning and development (L&D) practitioners to
know exactly what learners need, and when. Encourage individuals throughout the
organization to make learning a habit.
To surmount these challenges, L&D must design more
customer-centric development offerings. Findings from Enable people to retain what they’ve learned
Harvard Business Publishing’s forthcoming State of and keep applying it at work.
Leadership Development Report of L&D professionals
and business line managers bear this out. As many as
76% of our survey respondents said that they believe
LEARNERS win because they can swiftly find the said that L&D is critical to the success of their business
information they need to build the skills and knowledge reported stronger revenue performance over the past
essential for solving on-the-job problems and attaining three years. They also saw themselves as further ahead
their professional goals. of their market competitors. And they expressed more
optimism about their organization’s future growth
L&D PRACTITIONERS win because they provide the
potential than those who did not view L&D as important
setting and guidance that help learners tailor their own
to the business’s success.
experiences to their needs—rather than having to rely on a
one-size-fits-all experience. As a result, employees achieve Given the wealth of benefits that learner-driven
the deep, enduring learning essential for mastery—L&D’s experiences can deliver, it might be tempting to conclude
ultimate objective. that every organization is striving to design such
experiences in their leadership-development programs.
ORGANIZATIONS win because they build a phalanx of
But that’s not easy. Yes, people are willing to devote time
talent and gain other essential advantages that few rivals
to learning if it meets their individual needs. But several
can withstand. Indeed, in our survey, respondents who
hurdles remain, as shown below.
Not enough time How can employees find the time to take advantage of learning
experiences? Some people struggle to block out time to focus on their
professional development. Others spend some time outside of work on their
development because they feel it’s the only time they have available for
this effort. Neither of these approaches can guarantee the kind of ongoing
learning that the best leadership development programs foster.
Too many How should employees search for needed information in the bewildering
information array of sources available to them? And how can they be sure the
sources—not all information they dig up is credible? Though searching the Internet to find
of them trusted quick answers to questions is a common tactic, there’s no guarantee that
those answers will pass the credibility test.
Too much choice Will the information employees gather help them seize an opportunity
or solve a problem that’s relevant to not only their work but also their
organization? L&D has to ensure that learners access content that helps them
support their own and the organization’s success. Since L&D practitioners
can’t control how and when employees use technology to search for
information, how can they ensure that leaders are learning what they need to
learn to succeed in their role?
Not enough space How can learners practice the skills they’re seeking to develop? One
to practice participant in our study admitted to us, “I don’t really have a good way
to practice without embarrassing myself. I would want … a way to try out
[techniques I’m learning] without [experiencing] major repercussions.”
Vanguard’s Story
One organization that has shifted its leadership development approach to experiment with more
learner-driven experiences (LDE) is Vanguard. Distinct from formal, classroom programs, the learning
team leverages insights gleaned from learners to create content and put learners more in control of
what, when, and how they are learning. Vanguard partnered with Harvard Business Publishing to help
accelerate the shift to LDE by finding new ways to deliver world-class content.
The response to Vanguard’s LDE experiments has been encouraging. Adoption rates have been
high, the feedback positive, and the team is learning new ways to integrate learning experiences
into the workday.
“Learner-driven experiences currently comprise 50% of the learning that we offer,” says Jacob Pantoja,
programs manager, leadership development for Vanguard. “Using insights gleaned from our learners,
we have built and packaged solutions that most fit into their busy days, we have made it easily
accessible, we have nudged them along the way, and the learners have come. We’re confident that
Harvard ManageMentor® Spark will help us push this even further.”
Providing employees with access to world-class, needs. To illustrate, development professionals can
trustworthy, up-to-date content is essential. To deliver categorize content by the required time investment: “Do
the diversity of content and learning experiences that you want a learning ‘burst,’ a lesson, or an entire course?”
today’s employees desire, a robust, global technology They can also offer a variety of sortable media types to
platform is also a must for efficiently delivering learner- help learners explore prospective information and select
driven experiences to employees when and where they their preferred content—tapping into employees’ desire
need them—whether learning cohorts number in the for choice. But given that learners will do their own
tens, hundreds, or thousands. searching for information, L&D should also provide
guide rails for finding relevant, credible content—such
The right content, design, and technology choices can
as delivering content that’s tailored to a particular job
deliver crucial advantages as well. Offering a learning
or skill level.
dashboard accessible on mobile devices is a case in point.
A dashboard can help learners understand trends they’re Additionally, L&D should encourage people throughout
experiencing in their development (such as which skill the organization to make learning a discipline—
and knowledge areas they’re investing most of their time for instance, by helping them find the time to grab
in learning). It can also encourage learners to track their development opportunities, fit learning into gaps in their
progress and share it with peers. That can promote the workdays, and proactively schedule learning. Through
engagement and healthy competition that can catalyze such means, L&D can help employees learn how to learn,
ongoing leadership development across the organization. by teaching them effective learning habits and behaviors
Learning designs that take advantage of game mechanics such as consistently building more time into their day
can drive learning and engagement even further. For for learning, reflecting on their experiences in applying
instance, such designs can deploy notifications and other new skills and knowledge, cultivating a curious mind,
features that encourage effective learning behaviors like exploring ideas in greater depth, asking good questions,
getting out of one’s comfort zone or making learning a and prioritizing their learning needs.
habit through streaks.
Finally, L&D professionals can spell out the benefits of
L&D can also use content, learning design, and technology committing to ongoing learning. They should do this
to tightly tailor learner-driven experiences to employees’ for employees as individuals (such as better chances for
promotion and greater employability) as well as for the that challenge—and help their organizations pull ahead
organization overall (including greater ability to pull of competitors as a result. By designing leadership-
ahead of competitors and fulfill a mission). By making development programs that provide relevant content;
a compelling personal and business case for continuous that give employees the power to choose what, when, and
learning, L&D can further tap into employees’ motivation how they learn; and that tap into individuals’ motivation
to invest the time and effort needed to get the most from to learn, L&D can set the stage for a triple win that few
this essential activity. rivals can withstand.
JEFF DeSMET is senior manager, online learning, for Harvard Business Publishing
Corporate Learning. He serves as the group’s lead strategist for adult learning theory
and pedagogy for Harvard Business Publishing’s portfolio of leadership development
solutions, tracking the latest research and innovations emerging in the field. He has a
special interest in individual, self-directed learning. [email protected]
DORA GAO is a product owner on the product management team for Harvard Business
Publishing Corporate Learning. She is responsible for understanding the needs of
customers and ensuring that they are met by Harvard Business Publishing’s various
solutions. She brings experience in content development and design in the learning
industry. [email protected]
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