Session Recap:
“9 Critical Elements of Performance Improvement”
Devlearn 2015 Session 111: Jane Bozarth & Jeannette Campos
In January 2014 my husband, Kent, was diagnosed with a
brain tumor. The experience -- from
diagnosis to surgery to complications to recovery -- served as an excellent
reminder that learning does not happen in a vacuum, that “training” is rarely enough,
and that learners are actors in a system with many moving parts. This session
explored 9 key points of performance improvement in the context of Kent's story.
1. “A problem
well-stated is a problem half-solved.” ~Kettering
Kent presented with occasional blurry vision. He thought he needed glasses. Our family doctor sent him to an opthalmologist.
Discussion:
What evidence do
we look for to confirm our understanding of the performance problem? How often do we treat symptoms versus
performance problems?
2. Prepare your
learner and others.
We were provided with only the most general information about what to
expect from the surgery and during recovery.
Discussion:
How well do we prepare our learners for successful outcomes? How often are our training interventions
designed in response to specific and targeted performance problems? How do we design for “personalized” learning
experiences?
Do we even know who our learners are? What shortcuts do we
take around getting to know our learners?
3. The long tail of
performance improvement
We expected that Kent would return to work in about 6 weeks. It ended up being a year.
Discussion: The long tail of performance improvement. Training has ended
but the performance hasn’t yet begun.
How do we link/pair the training intervention with extended support for
performance improvement? Why is training
(as an intervention) almost never enough?
How do we resist (or help others resist) the idea that the
initial event – training – is the end when it is only the beginning?
4. All learning is about relationships.
Performance depended on a network of support staff, from medical personnel
to neighbors helping Kent take his first walks around the neighborhood.
Discussion:
When trainers/training aren’t enough (and they almost never
are) … how do we think about the relationships that best support performance after
learning? Well-designed performance improvement interventions involve many
people from different parts/areas of the learner’s natural environment that
exist well beyond the classroom.
How do we as workplace learning practitioners design
performance improvement strategies that extend beyond trainers and the
classroom?
How do we promote learner-to-learner relationships? Or, said
differently, how often do we involve a learner’s manager or co-workers in the
success of a performance support intervention?
5. Consider the five
moments of learning need.
Unexpected outcomes forced Kent to have to learn new things, like managing
with a walker and navigating a shower stall by palming the walls.
Discussion:
This speaks to the classic five moments of learning need: When learning for the first time, when trying to remember, when trying to
apply, when things change, and when things go wrong.
6. “You and the cause of all of your problems
are part of the same system.” ~Senge
Kent’s recovery depended on many moving parts, from
transportation arrangements to visits to additional facilities such as
outpatient PT office and the eye center.
Discussion:
What other parts of your system influence your ability to achieve optimal
performance outcomes? How do you
incorporate systems thinking into your
design of training and learning events?
7. Allow for the
graduation of a skill.
Time spent at inpatient rehabilitation involved hours of work toward
successfully (without falling) showering, dressing, and performing basic life
tasks. The facility had a working kitchen and things
like freestanding steps and a replica of
a car that allowed practicing getting in and out.
Discussion:
The degree to which the learning environment replicates the performing
environment. How often are we able to do
that in training? How often do we try to
do that in training? What is the benefit
of supported practice prior to application?
8. All people present
with 4 basic tendencies
Based on the work
by Chris Argyris, we know that all people present with four basic
tendencies; 1) maximize winning and minimize losing, 2) remain in unilateral
control, 3) appear rational, and 4) to suppress negative feelings.
Discussion:
How much do you know about basic human behavior? How often do you think
about predictable human behavior when you design, develop, and deliver training
or learning interventions?
9. What is measured
matters.
The initial goal of “surviving the surgery” was a noble one but, given the
outcomes, not enough. Given the complications many people in the system set
other goals for Kent’s recovery.
Discussion:
What is a successful outcome of training? What is the goal
of the intervention? How do we stay focused on the “true goal” of improved
performance for our end-user instead of the artificial goal of “learning at
training”.
I hope one thing people took away from this session is that "performance" is a concept far, far beyond someone completing an elearning course, passing a test, or even performing a discrete task correctly in the moment. There are 1,000 things between the learner and successful performance. The learner is an actor in a system and it's up to us to start seeing the nodes and connectors and other elements that will support performance improvement.
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