mLearning: Bite-sized appeal…in two bites!

communication and promotion strategy with social media

Look at how information is communicated these days: quick, concise and to the point. Readers are constantly craving the fastest way to gain information, in the quickest time possible.

Ever see CP24’s TV channel? You can find out the latest news, weather, sports scores and business market information within seconds of your eyes glancing at the screen. How about social media? Twitter limits what you see within 140 characters. So there is no need to read excessive information that is just too lengthy with text.

This is a great benefit to the reader, or in our case within the training industry, the learner. Content is cut down to the specific relevant material and communicated in a clear, concise manner.

Why spray it when you can just say it?

This is why mLearning needs to be compact and engaging for your learners:

Bite #1
Consider the size of most smartphones and mobile devices. If readers are going to scroll through endless content, they will probably wonder why their thumbs are exerting so much energy and stop the second they feel a general waste to their valuable time. Therefore, edit, revise, rescript – do whatever you can to limit the information you show the learner.

Bite #2
Content cut down for the sake of being small in size doesn’t cut it. You wouldn’t take out ingredients when baking a smaller cake – you would just measure less. The same goes for keeping your learners engaged – don’t remove the important stuff, just use less of it in a more concise manner.

In order for information to be retained, content needs to be visually delicious and appealing to the reader. Learners want engaging material which is read and absorbed quickly, keeping them craving for more. Otherwise, what’s the point of taking a bite if you aren’t hungry?

mLearning: Bite-sized appeal…in two bites!

When Managing Change, It’s People First

Change management is an organizational term used by many and executed by few.

By way of a definition, change management is the process of recognizing and supporting the human capital impact of change on a project, initiative or undertaking. However, more often than not, change management is wildly underrepresented on any given project plan. Truth be told, it usually amounts to a line item or two on a Gantt chart.

Project Milestone 1 – Send email informing employees of change
Project Milestone 2 – Launch ‘mandatory’ webinar for employees regarding change

Not surprisingly, this approach typically results in pushback, opposition and fear. The most vocal opponents to change are often labelled ‘squeaky wheels’ and dismissed as ‘always resisting change’. Perhaps those individuals are in need of some grease, but it would be naïve to assume their complaints or concerns are just noise, not worthy of consideration. Sadly, this is exactly what happens in most organizations.

change-management2Why?

It could be a resource issue, financial, human or both – or maybe it’s a belief that eventually everyone will have to change, so why bother making more work. I mean after all, if you’re changing office locations, employees have to move, right? If you’re putting in a new IT system employees have to use it, right?

Wrong.

Ignoring the need for change management will spell disaster, short, medium, or long term for your project. Moreover, failure to consider those ‘squeaky wheels’ is a recipe for employee resistance every step of the way.

Do you really want that?

Most projects fail, because process trumps people. The realities of organizational dynamics prove quite the opposite. People rather than processes should be the central focus of any successful project plan. Why?

People get in the way.

People that do not understand why become obstacles. People that are unaware of exactly what is changing (and why) make stuff up! It’s in our nature. In the absence of real information, we create fiction. I’ve heard many examples – but one – above all others – always comes up… Will I lose my job? What could be more human than that?

So what do you do now?

An effective methodology should be aimed at supporting those who will be most affected by the change, while maintaining planning alignment with those driving change. At the core of any effective methodology should be empowerment and transformation. Anchoring to this philosophy will help support the differing needs of individuals and create conditions and opportunities that enable impacted stakeholders to ‘buy-in’.

By using two-way communication and a people-centric learning approach, your plan will engender broad levels of participation and engagement with the change being sought after. Take the time to explain the ‘why’ and you’ll likely be surprised by what people will do to help you change.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z5kGvYRYKE

When Managing Change, It’s People First

Leadership is Fear

Leadership is Fear

Take a moment to reflect back.

Reflect on those moments in time where you were most uncomfortable, most afraid of unknown situations in your life. What did you do? How did you handle them? Were you paralyzed with fear, unable to move past insecurities and doubt? Or were you able to fight through the situation and learn from the experience?

We all have had feelings of uncertainty at times. Moments where we hold ourselves back from speaking up at work for something we believe in or trusting our gut instincts to make the right choices within our personal lives.

We all feel fear.

That is why it is so important to face fear. Look at it straight in the eye and overcome any obstacles it may present. If you want to be that leader, you must take those opportunities others are fearful of.

There are a few things to consider…

Understand who you are.

When it comes to tasks, take some time to think about which competencies are your strengths and where you would like to improve. Are you a “results-only” driven individual who could not care about soft skills? Or are you a “people-person” striving to build growth in your professional environment? Are you action-oriented or extremely lazy? Do you tend to be the first one to discuss change or prefer that someone else take on the responsibility? Or do you have a mix of everything? Recognizing your abilities will help you understand what you are fearful of and provide a clearer picture on the type of leader you want to become.

Understand why you are this way.

You’ve acknowledged that you’re a pretty easygoing individual, who doesn’t know what to do in life but does want to make a million bucks eventually by getting that amazing job without actually attaining the skills needed to qualify.  Maybe you think the complete opposite.

Our past experiences and learning have a huge impact on the way we perceive ourselves. Which of those experiences have shaped your thought process and guided you over the years? What has prevented you from overcoming obstacles? Feeling afraid before starting a task is ok and sometimes necessary. Use that feeling as motivation and constantly remind yourself of the positive development you are about to achieve. The ability to self-reflect is critical to your learning when overcoming any fears.

Understand Leadership is a journey.

The continued practice of self-reflection – understanding yourself – will help focus your thoughts in an analytical manner, giving you the ability to personally and professionally develop. Remember, we all feel fear, so it’s important not to ignore its impact. However, don’t give fear so much value! Great leaders acknowledge fear. They understand its importance in their continued journey for success. Most importantly, leaders live fear and are not terrified of tackling opportunities they are most afraid of.

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – Nelson Mandela.

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Shakeel Malik has over 9 years of experience as a training leader within customer service, client experience, sales, technology and support initiatives. Within his role at Pathways, he manages client relationships, leads training projects and provides strategic leadership direction.  Shakeel’s past projects have included fostering leadership development, building strategic competencies, improving employee morale and developing evaluation tools within Adult Education.  He is also a volunteer Commissioner of a Basketball League, where he leads and facilitates all league operations including marketing, finance, sponsorship, digital technology and training sessions.

He holds certificates in Adult Education from Brock University and Dispute Resolution from York University, and is currently a candidate for a Bachelor of Education in Adult Education.

Leadership is Fear

High School & Organizational Politics…

High School probably seems like an odd place to begin writing about leadership; truthfully, it is. It’s also an honest place, because social politics and its unwritten rules thwarted many from sitting at the “cool” table during those formative teenage years.

I attest, the impact of those rules move well beyond high school and right into the workplace.

This is a difficult thing to rationalize, because we tend to think that we leave childish social dogma behind us when we “progress” through life.

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The rules of social success – or more specifically the politics of success – exist in country clubs, neighbourhoods, the PTA, sports teams and even in our own families.

As they say, politics is perception.

To be clear, the players from your high school memories might have changed, but the positions within that hierarchy are firmly entrenched. So the quarterback of the football team, or the beautiful head cheerleader may no longer occupy their roles atop the social pyramid, but that informally engineered roadmap to success remains.

Consider for a moment that handsome professional in your office, well spoken, well dressed and by (most everyone’s assessment) an average performer. So why does the leadership team seem to believe this person is a star? Why? Because he looks and behaves like they do, or at least like they think they do. He fits.

Don’t get me wrong, sometimes stars – really are stars, but like all things political, too often it is based on criteria that cannot be measured through work product – just perception.

Perhaps the reason your colleague is perceived to be a greater star than his work might otherwise indicate, is a reflection of his adherence to some unwritten rules.

  1. Well-groomed
  2. Well-spoken
  3. Engaging

Oh yeah… and being handsome doesn’t hurt either.

Perhaps you are thinking, “if this is how you get ahead, or fit with the leaders in a company, I don’t want any part of it…”

02Just to be fair, these rules also apply to organizations that take great pride in being diverse and non-judgemental. The kind of place where people are supposed to rise because of their contributions to the greater good, not because of who they golf with, or (heaven-forbid), how they look.

Like I said before, the players might not be typical (no quarterback or cheerleader) but the game remains. Every organization has unwritten rules to follow, norms to adhere to and value judgements placed upon those inside. The only difference (perhaps) is that in your organization the former high school ‘nerd’ now makes the rules, instead of the ‘jock’. But anyway you slice it, it’s still a high school cafeteria.

So, is there such a thing as “good politics”? Yes. But that’s for another time.

Bad politics is the type most of us think about, the sort of interactions that are defined by deception, rumour, gossip, innuendo etc. Now consider your participation within your high school – ahem – I mean workplace…

Have you ever engaged in an ‘off-the-record’ chat with a colleague about another? Perhaps, remained in a gossip circle around the lunchroom, or boardroom table while speaking ill of a co-worker or two? When the mean stuff started, did you bring it abruptly to an end, or get up and leave? Perhaps you are thinking, yeah – but it’s okay, I only talk about the ditzy administrator on the second floor that dresses like a @!$@$…

Starting to sound familiar – starting to sound like high school? Maybe that “ditzy” gal is your organization’s cheerleader… but then I suppose she’s had it coming for a while, right?

See you soon…

High School & Organizational Politics…

This is where the real ‘bloggin’ begins…

I waited for 20 years before finally deciding write about leadership – leadership in the real world that is – not the fictional world too often written about in management textbooks and spoken about over PowerPoint presentations.

01

I suppose I needed to muster the courage to openly expel my opinions on a soapbox larger than my typical training workshop room, or conference centre hall – and with slightly more character space than my typical Tweets.

So here I am, writing about management and leadership after spending countless hours, days and years living under its rule and espousing its virtues as a manager of people and facilitator of courseware.

Leadership after all, requires conviction in ones values and beliefs, along with the strength of character to live up to them. Most importantly though, leadership (at least in the real world) requires presence; the sort of presence that inspires loyalty, commitment and action, the sort of presence that cannot be taught – but can be learned.

The blogs that I will post moving forward are the manifestation of my feelings, opinions, observations and anecdotal insights into the real world of management; the one that keeps people up at night angry, or if they are lucky, puts them to bed with a smile on their face.

See you soon!

This is where the real ‘bloggin’ begins…