Leveraging Self-Directed Learning

Making a Performance Impact

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MAKING A PERFORMANCE IMPACT 1

Contents

Preface ................................................................................................. 2

I. Introduction and Overview .......................................................................... 3

II. Using Science to Advance Learning ..................................................... 7

III. Charting a Journey for Self-Directed Learning ...............................9

IV. Orienting Your Self-Directed Learning Experience ..................... 12

V. Wayfinding: Developing Your Roadmap ............................................. 14

VI. Journeying: Putting Your Plan Into Action ......................................17

VII. Summary, Takeaways, and Reflecting for Action ........................23

Bios —Author and Forum ................................................................. 26

Operational Definitions ................................................................... 27

References ......................................................................................... 28

About the Forum .............................................................................. 29

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During the last five years the world of work has transformed exponential-ly, demanding that talent-building capabilities also evolve. Some of the tangible evidence of changes in the learning space include an emphasis on the learner experience, increased personalization of content, more op-tions for on-demand delivery methods, and encouragement for all to be self-directed learners. And now, due to the pandemic and remote work, many employees lean solely on digital platforms to communicate. They rely on recommendations from colleagues or their own internet searches to find learning opportunities to boost their performance and efficiency while away from the office.

This e-book is the result of an ATD Forum hackathon that included perspectives from thought leaders on how to build a personal learning system and the resources, tools, and processes they use. One goal of the publication is to integrate the ideas into a process for moving from knowing about self-directed learning (SDL) to being a champion at en-gaging in the learning journey effectively. The other goal is to provide an opportunity for L&D professionals to experience SDL and from that per-spective, get better at creating an environment where SDL thrives and makes a visible impact on business objectives and employees’ well-being and performance.

The thought leaders for this content include Paul Zak, Morgean Hirt, David Langford, and Catherine Lombardozzi. The Forum is grateful for their expertise and their many contributions on this project.

Preface

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I. Introduction and Overview: Building a Future-Ready Personal Learning System A constantly changing world that consistently challenges standard paradigms from which organizations operate is affecting most businesses. Research from the BCG Henderson Institute suggests that companies need to upskill or reskill approximately 60 percent of their workforce during the next two to five years. PricewaterhouseCoopers’s Talent Trends 2020 report showed that 74 percent of CEOs were concerned about the availability of key skills. These reports and the frequent changes happening in the workplace are clear indica-tors that if employee performance is to remain the competitive edge, a steady cadence of upskilling and reskilling is the new norm.

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2020 report recently identified active learning and learning strategies as two key skills employees need. Individuals and organiza-tions alike struggle to identify what and how they need to approach learning, especially at a pace that keeps their skills current.

Employees committed to improving or obtaining new skills are finding themselves reliant on what they read, conversations they have, or training they find beyond organizational boundaries. Upskilling and reskilling are often done in the margins of an employee’s day or in the few-and-far between formal training sessions. Unfortunately, many employees cite that work from home has left them “living at work” because there is little to no transition from work to home life.

To be relevant, learning must be part of a strategic approach to keep employees’ perform-ing at a level that meets the business objectives and improves the bottom-line results. This happens with proactive support of time for learning and mechanisms to reinforce the effort. It also requires identifying the skills needed to support organizational results, embedding organizational (or environmental) structures to catalyze learning, and providing various skill development options and learning solutions. This approach makes learning the internal en-gine of organizational change and optimal performance now and in the future.

Employees who are champions at self-directed learning (SDL) are a boon to driving a learn-ing culture. Self-directed learning was a term coined by Malcolm Knowles, a central figure in andragogy (the study of adult education) and advocate for the use of learner constructed contracts or plans to guide learning experiences. These learner-constructed contracts came

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to be known as self-directed learning or the process “in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating those learning outcomes.” L&D professionals can capitalize on SDL to build performance capability faster and more efficiently. While this definition is useful, developing your own definition can be helpful for most organizations. One tool that is useful for this is the Frayer Model. An example of using this tool for clarity around the operational definition of SDL is provided.

While the current approach for many organizations is to personalize learning using curation and emerging technologies to provide more and more assets through a range of systems, surveys are indicating that the resources are not being used to the extent expected. Are we essentially “stocking the pond” without teaching employees how to “fish” or learn effec-tively? How might we reshape our thinking and approach to learning to focus on helping employees become more effective and efficient independent learners? Breakthroughs in social sciences, neuroscience, and psychology are providing insights for reshaping learning. We know that people learn best when the training is personalized and relevant (especially to the needs of organization and the work employees are doing), is packaged in bite-size formats, is incorporated into the daily routine, promotes reflection for assessment and feedback, incorporates evaluation, and is extended over time. These techniques can, when well-crafted and supported, cultivate a natural rhythm and routine for employees to think about how they think and learn. They can enable habits at the individual, group, and organi-zational level to support deliberate and daily learning. This habituation moves learning from a sometimes endeavor to a natural part of the work—and life.

Habituation, however, is only one part of the solution. We need to be intentional about how we think about and engage in the learning process. According to McKinsey research, for intentional learning to occur, one needs to act with a beginner’s mindset, approaching new and familiar topics with curiosity and breaking orthodoxies about what we are capable of achieving. This growth mindset fosters a belief by individuals that they can continuously learn and grow. Curiosity promotes a questioning practice and fosters being open to and scanning for new ideas. While critical, curiosity and a growth mindset will only get us so far. We also can teach ourselves and others how to engage in practices known to enable impactful learning such as setting goals, seeking feedback, practicing, and reflecting. This enables us to become more skilled as self-directed learners.

I. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

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FRAMEWORK: CREATED BY FRAYER, FREDERICK, AND KLAUSMEIER (1969).

I. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

Definition—What Is It?

Self-directed learning (SDL) is learning in which the learner determines the content, the pace and timing, and the outcome. While SDL might be informal and impromptu, when you have learning needs that are deep and complex, SDL involves having a planned process that can include formal and informal learning opportu-nities using a variety of media, experiences, practices, and strategies.

What Are Some Characteristics?

In a structured SDL process the following are evident:• A clear objective, vision, or destination• High quality learning materials and assets • A variety of waypoint targets with dates and

progress goals • Reflection and consolidation activities • Dynamic interpersonal connections

Why Is SDL Important For Learning Leaders?

The continuous need for upskilling and new skilling to keep abreast of the needs of the organization in the digital age.

The role of science is revealing more about how learning, retention, and recall occurs.

The need to be role models for the organization so that we do not fall into the Cobbler’s Children Syndrome.

What Questions Do You Have About It?

How do I determine when an SDL plan is needed or if an internet search or quick response from a colleague is sufficient?

How might I assess my current level in the areas of focus?

How do I know if I am really learning to the point that I am retaining and can easily retrieve and use the knowledge or skill?

Self-Directed Learning

(SDL)

FRAYER MODEL FOR OPERATIONAL DEFINITION

RESOURCES

Download the Frayer model template and job aid:

• Frayer model template

• Frayer model job aid

The Frayer model is a visual organizer used to facilitate learning new ideas, concepts, or terms. It can have sections for the definition, charac-teristics, facts, examples, visuals, so on. The model prompts groups to en-gage in discussions and conversations around a topic, drawing on pri-or knowledge to gain a deeper understanding. The form then serves to enforce a common understanding.

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REFLECTION

Throughout the e-book you will have a series of reflection questions. These serve several purposes: to prime your brain for learning, to identify how the con-tent is relevant to you and your role, and to help you intention-ally think about the SDL process and how you can build the SDL capacity in your organization.

• What is your personal definition of SDL?

• What does your current personal SDL framework or process look like?

• How is SDL taught, encour-aged, and supported in your organization?

Building a SDL plan to support learning at all levels, which includes both grab-and-go infor-mation and deep learning needed for expertise, requires that individuals have various skills to help shape an action plan and also initiate strategies to overcome the pitfalls of time and mo-tivation. Unfortunately, L&D professionals are no better than those we are trying to support. Typically, L&D professionals often let the urgent and “other” stuff prevail over continuously taking time to upskill and reskill to build readiness for future challenges.

This e-book provides a framework along with some evidenced-based ideas, tools, techniques, and references for building your own SDL journey. As you learn by implementing the ideas, you also can gain a deeper understanding for ways to design services and solutions to enable your employees to become SDL champions. Throughout the e-book you will find suggestions from thought leaders representing different perspectives and disciplines. The goal of this e-book is not only to provide resources for talent leaders, but to become a cat-alyst for designing SDL learning structures for themselves and for employees, all leading to improved organizational impact.

I. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

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II. Using Science to Advance Learning Central to any self-directed learning plan is knowing how we learn and how to make our learning process more effective and efficient. For years, the medical profession has used “See it. Do it. Teach it.” as the mantra for learning, which two decades of research confirms is critical to the learning process. What that model does not speak to are the processes and structures that underpin this mantra. While learning can occur through the See, Do, Teach model, the effective-ness can be bolstered by a number of factors—how the content is structured and presented, what varied opportunities individuals have to engage, and the readiness of the learner to learn. We can look at these factors as a three-legged stool. If any one of these three factors are missing, the learning experience is hampered.

Each of these three legs provide insights into how our brains learn through scientific advancements in the areas of neuroscience, cog-nitive psychology, behavioral psychology, and the learning scienc-es. While we have a lot to learn about the complex workings of our brains, it has become apparent that understanding metacognition (how we think about how we think) and immersion (how the expe-rience is being adsorbed internally) are critical.

Metacognition enables us to plan, monitor, and assess understand-ing and performance. When we leverage metacognition, we em-brace strategies to make learning relevant, provide opportunities for review and reflection, and create a rhythm and routine for how we learn (habituation). Metacognition keeps us from falling into the trap of feeling that we know more than we do because we are familiar with the topic rather than having a deep understanding of the topic (known as the knowing fallacy). Metacognition also helps us become more resilient in the learning process as we can use our knowledge about how we think to plan more effectively and adopt strategies that help us better retain information and turn that infor-mation into knowledge.

STRUCTURE AND PRESENTATION Creating a logical flow of the content and interactions to build and apply knowledge

EXPERIENCES AND CONNECTIONS Making ties to previously learned information and creating engaging experiences

LEARNER READINESS Ability of the learner to efficiently and effectively engage in metacognition and employ learning strategies

Stru

ctur

e an

d Pr

esen

tati

on

Exp

erie

nces

and

Co

nnec

tio

ns

Learner Readiness

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II. USING SCIENCE TO ADVANCE LEARNING

Immersion, a phenomenon researched by Paul Zak, is a measure of how effectively an ex-perience is being absorbed by the brain and the predictability for information recall. Im-mersion is an unconscious and emotional response to learning. The process measures if the brain “cares about” or “values” the experience, meaning the attention to and the emotional response to the topic. Put another way, immersion = attention + emotional resonance (how much you care about the experience). Insights into immersion are the result of 20 years of research into brain activity networks and what actions are triggered as a result. Paul Zak explains how immersion improves the learning process:

“Those studies show that an experience provokes action when two networks activate in the brain. The first network causes people to pay attention to the experience. Pay is the oper-ative word; attention is metabolically costly, and the brain is stingy with its resources, so attention must be earned. The second brain network necessary to establish value generates emotional resonance with the experience and is associated with the release of oxytocin. The latter network tags the experience as important and causes the brain to store the informa-tion in a way that makes it easily accessible. Emotionally resonant experiences lead to both a higher likelihood of immediate actions and easier recall weeks or months later.”

Paul and his team have developed an app that connects with an individual’s smartwatch to measure their neural responses during learning experiences. The neural data provides insights to diagnose how and why a session was effective. Measuring and compiling brain activity provides an objective method to improve content delivery and ensure every learner understands and can use new information. As companies use this objective data, they can improve the three-legged stool of learning and reinforce the See, Do, Teach model.

REFLECTION

Advances during the past 20 years have given us insights into how we can improve learning, yet many organizations con-tinue to hold on to outdated beliefs and mindsets. Ask these questions to help yourself and others leverage science-based approaches:

• How can your organization become better at adopting science-based approaches to learning?

• What mindsets or orthodox-ies does your organization have that might be holding you back?

• When thinking of learning as a three-legged stool, how would you assess each leg at your organization?

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III. Charting a Journey for Self-Directed Learning Catherine Lombardozzi is an expert on self-directed learning. She has developed a Charting Your Course model with details and examples for each component. Lombardozzi’s model is designed for topics that require deep learning versus items that are “search and learn” or grab-and-go activities. Search and learn activities are often point-of-need activities, limited in scope, and do not require us to think deeply or have extensive knowledge of the topic. We need information, and these may be activities such as performing a specific software task or finding tips on how to do something. Deep learning is needed when we must ad-dress new challenges, confront current problems in new ways, or become more proficient in an area. In terms of the Five Moments of Need, it is when we have to learn something for the first time or we have to learn more deeply about a topic. These situations require deeper cognitive engagement.

One way to determine the difference between grab-and-go learning and deep learning that needs a formal plan and structure is to use this Learning Spectrum, which combines an idea from Lombardozzi and the metacognition idea (think Bloom’s Taxonomy) from David Lang-

The Learning Spectrum

INFORMATION/ INPUT

Also known as “grab and go” or “search and learn”; focused on awareness and

point of need learning.

KNOWLEDGE/ ACTION

Focused on obtaining, recalling, and acting on information at a

basic level.

KNOW-HOW/ FEEDBACK

Ability to comprehend and apply the

knowledge to analyze information. WISDOM/

INTEGRATION

Also known as “deep learning,” this level includes judgment,

discernment, synthesis,

creation, and evaluation.

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RESOURCE

Download the Charting Your Course infographic from Learning 4 Learning Professionals.

ford’s Capacity Matrix (see page 21 for more). Think of the spectrum as a continuum. If you only need information or quick input, a basic internet search or asking a colleague is suffi-cient. However, as you move from information to knowledge then to know how and integra-tion, deeper learning is required. One consideration is to ask yourself, “What will I do with this information?” If you only need to basically fill in the blank, it is grab-and-go. However, if you need to use the skills to develop strategy, analyze a situation, or teach others, deeper knowledge is needed.

Once you have identified deep learning opportunities, using the Charting Your Course model (below) will help you understand what you need to learn, what resources you have available to you, and what approach you will take to get there. By using the processes involved, you will gain a strong understanding of the time and effort that will be required to be successful in the learning process and uncover areas that you might not have been aware of previously that are key to your endeavor.

III. CHARTING A JOURNEY FOR SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING

1. ORIENTING: IDENTIFYING YOUR DESTINATION—This includes being clear about what you want to be able to do and why it is important for you and your organization. Once that is established, you determine the knowl-edge base and skills needed. For most talent leaders, the goal is increasing the capacity to effectively and effi-ciently build organizational capability. Currently this might be focused on data analytics or ways to incorporate emerging technologies. However, the added benefit for gaining this capability is future-proofing your career.

2. WAYFINDING: PLANNING THE ITINERARY—Wayfinding includes casting a wide net to become more aware of the many options available, but it also bounds the process with timelines and structures for actions. In this part of the journey, you research learning resources and formal activities, make connections with thought leaders and others such as practitioners who are using the skill, investigate opportunities for practice and appli-cation, and determine ways to solidify continual performance through habituation.

3. JOURNEYING: TAKING THE LEARNING JOURNEY—A plan is only as good as the execution. The steps are not necessarily sequential nor may not go exactly as planned. Additionally, it is also beneficial to acknowledge opportunities for interesting new connections and discoveries. Sometimes unplanned learning creates a huge aha moment that can help connect many dots. However, you must keep the focus on the ultimate destination, stay on schedule and within budget, and monitor progress along the way. Remember, the goal is to enhance the solutions and services to building capability within an organization.

USED WITH PERMISSION FROM CATHERINE LOMBARDOZZI, L4LP.COM

CHARTING YOUR COURSE MODEL

1

2

3

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Research indicates that six key capabilities, what Lombardozzi collectively calls “wherewithal,” can boost engagement and aid in better preparing for your SDL experience.

REFLECTION

Charting a journey for deeper learning is all about the art of the possible and thinking about what you want to learn and how you might get there.

• How might you use the Learning Spectrum to ascer-tain topics that are “search and learn” or grab-and-go versus those that need a more formal plan?

• How is the learning infra-structure in your organiza-tion designed to support these different types of learning?

• How might you assess your wherewithal? Where are your strengths and where do you need to improve?

III. CHARTING A JOURNEY FOR SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING

MOTIVATION TO LEARN: Your curiosity and intrinsic desire to pursue learning projects and persistence in engaging in experiences and discus-sions that support your learning goals.

RESOURCEFULNESS: Your ability to engage in network-ing, critical thinking, and tech-nologies to drive forward your learning experiences.

LEARNING SKILLS: Your ability to think about how you think (metacognition) and engage in learning approaches and strate-gies that foster better and more efficient learning.

SELF-ASSESSMENT: Your ability to discern your strengths, assess your learning needs, and identify opportunities that you encounter.

PLANNING SKILLS: Your ability to sketch out and imple-ment a strategy.

SELF-EFFICACY: Your belief in your ability to learn and grow through adopting a growth mindset and owning your personal responsibility in the learning effort.

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IV. Orienting Your Self-Directed Learning Experience

Orientation is the first step on your SDL journey. Orienting is sometimes over-whelming because we often don’t know what we need to learn. Using the Charting

Your Course model, we can make this process easier for ourselves and for employees.

Orienting consists of:

Experiencing a trigger that

reveals the learning need

Self-assessing the current

state of knowledge

and skill

Envisioning the future state and

desired level of proficiency

Defining or revising

learning and performance

goals

Evaluating outcomes

Comparing progress

against the ideal

1 2 3 4 5 6

It is important to recognize that learning is a lifelong process and, as a result, you will go through these milestones multiple times as you adjust to the changing dynamics of work. When you first experience a trigger or identify a learning need, you will engage in steps one through four. After you’ve gone through the wayfinding and journey milestones for the learning need, you will engage in steps five and six to evaluate the outcomes you’ve achieved and compare your progress against the ideal level of proficiency.

A trigger indicating the need for deep learning often comes in the form of what David Langford refers to as “probletunities”—or problems that present opportunities for us to improve skills. Early in the pandemic, we all faced the challenge of moving our training pro-grams to a virtual format. This required us to improve our skills in assessing virtual technol-ogies, translating content, and designing in virtual formats, teaching individuals to teach in these environments, and teaching employees how to access and engage in virtual learning. This probletunity required quick skill acquisition and combining of skills to achieve the business outcomes. And while we might not have developed a formal plan, in retrospect, we probably used many of the ideas from the framework.

As L&D professionals, you can orient your learning journey using the ATD Talent Development Capability Model. The model is divided into three domains of practice: organizational, pro-fessional, and personal. The Impacting Organizational Capability domain focuses on per-

To use the ATD Capability Model:

1. Take the ATD Capability Model self-assessment.

2. Review the gaps identified where you need to im-prove skills.

3. Read one or more of these publications:

• TD at Work “Meeting Tomorrow’s Skill De-mands Today”

• Talent Development Executive Confidence Index report

• ATD Talent Management Handbook

4. Use the “Select My Learn-ing Path” tool to begin orienting your plan.

Access the ATD Capability Model.

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formance improvement and your future readiness. The Developing Professional Capability domain emphasizes capabilities that build your career and your development as a leader. The Building Personal Capability domain highlights how to establish lifelong learning habits. The model has 23 capabilities. These capabilities are further broken down into 188 knowledge, skill, and ability (KSA) statements around what you need to know and do to excel regardless of your background. The model is not just a baseline framework. It was built to help talent leaders at every functional and skill level build capability that is both deeper and wider than their current level. Because of the model’s flexibility, you can adjust it to the changing needs of the workplace, especially the role as business learning advisor working to affect the organization.

The model enables you to self-assess yourself against each of the domains, capabilities, and KSAs. This will give you your top capabilities as well as alert you to the areas where you have gaps. The results of your self-assessments are aggregated to inform ATD of areas where information and re-sources are most needed. To date, more than 6,100 individuals have completed the self-assessment.

From the self-assessment results, you now can envision the future state and desired level of profi-ciency. This will be different depending on your organizational priorities, industry, and other factors.

A good way to assess your future readiness is to:

Gain awareness of internal and external factors impacting your function, organization, and industry (possibly using a SWOT analysis).

Conduct environmental scanning and look for developing trends within your industry.

Assess how other professionals are leveraging tools for creativity and innovation.

Monitor emerging technologies and how they are being used by other organizations or individuals.

IV. ORIENTING YOUR SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING EXPERIENCE

REFLECTION

Orientation sets the priority and focus for the SDL experience. As such, it is critical to look at not only what you need as an L&D professional, but what the orga-nization needs as well.

• Based on your organization’s strategic objectives, what new skills are required for employees in general and for the talent professionals specifically?

• The Boston Consulting Group article suggests five prominent roles for learn-ing in the future: learning architects, content curators, learning technologists, digi-tal designers, and data scien-tists. How could these guide your orienting process?

• Based on a personal as-sessment using the Talent Development Capability Model, what is your current talent professional up-skilling focus and why is it important for the future of your organization?

1

2

3

4

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V. Wayfinding: Developing Your Self-Directed Learning Roadmap

Now that you have oriented yourself to your specific learning needs, it is time to engage in wayfinding.

Wayfinding consists of:

The ATD Capability Model can help you in the wayfinding phase. After taking the self-assessments, you can select your learning path to help you curate the learning materials and guide you to an overall strategy. Your strategy could be to move toward a particular ATD certification or a particular type of role.

For each of these tasks in Wayfinding, there are numerous options or subtasks. You will need to explore, conduct research, assess ideas, and select what works best for you. Because of the expansive nature of this process, one tool that might be useful is David Langford’s version of the Lotus Diagram. The example shows how a breakdown for wayfaring tasks might look.

1 Curating learning materials and resources including informal and formal learning

2 Seeking out helpful people who can advise and serve as guides

3 Determining your overall strategy

4 Planning for the activities, pace, and timeline

5 Obtaining the needed resources to support the learning

6 Mitigating or maneuvering around barriers

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V. WAYFINDING: DEVELOPING YOUR SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING ROADMAP

RESOURCES

Download the Lotus Diagram template and job aid:

• Lotus Diagram template

• Lotus Diagram job aid

The Langford Lotus Diagram

This version of the Lotus Diagram is from Langford’s book Tool Time. The diagram can be used for quickly gen-erating and organizing ideas tailored to your needs and the goals of your organization. The diagram can help or-ganize concepts or parts into a broader picture, which can then be prioritized for additional investigation and study. While often compared to mind map-ping, it has a clearer organizational structure to uncover areas where infor-mation may be missing.

To use the Lotus Diagram:

1. Put the capability or challenge you are trying to address in the center square.

2. In each of the numbered circles, place the knowledge or skill state-ment related to that capability in the form of a keyword.

3. Using the numbers from the cen-tered square, transfer the top to the corresponding square as shown.

4. Drill down on that topic and insert into the surrounding squares.

LANGFORD LOTUS DIAGRAM

Wayfinding Paths

SupportMechanisms

Orientating

First steps

First steps

Currentstate

Outcomes

Assessprogress

Curateassets

Identifypeople

Developstrategy

Developa plan

Other skillsneeded

Barriers

Formalcourses

Reading& books

Buddycoaching

Certifications

SMEs

Projects

Personalconnections

Managersupport

Access toresourcesTime

Motivation

Curateassets

Identifypeople

Developstrategy

Developa plan

Needtrigger

Curiosity

Barriers

Otherskillsneeded

SupportMechanisms

Videos

Blogs

Internalleaders

LinkedIn

Goal

Internal groupsCoPs

Where

withal

Curiosity

Habits

Lack of personal discipline

Exploreoptions

Personalexperiences

Listsubskills

Resilience

Grit

Document Timelines

Feedback

Practice

MOOCs

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REFLECTION

Wayfinding is about ensuring you have the resources to be successful as you engage in the learning journey. Ask these questions to help you in your wayfinding:

• What learning resources to support SDL do you have available at your organization?

• From your internal colleagues and external network, who can assist you with the skills you are building?

• What successes have you encountered in the past when trying to learn some-thing new? How might you leverage them with future learning?

• What barriers are making it difficult to drive self- directed learning in your organization? How might you and your team mitigate or remove?

As L&D professionals, we can create an environment for ourselves, our teams, and our organizations to engage more effectively in these learning opportunities. By engaging in the SDL process, we can uncover barriers and opportunities to improve how individuals find, engage, and collaborate in the learning experience themselves.

For skills not covered in the ATD Capability Model or for organizations that are looking for resources to help their people build capabilities not currently covered through de-fined learning plans, there are several tools available—including the Lotus Diagram—that can be used.

Read the article “The New Learning Plans Are Here!”

Read “Develop Your Team to Develop Their Team” in Leading the Learning Function: Tools and Techniques for Organizational Change.

V. WAYFINDING: DEVELOPING YOUR SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING ROADMAP

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VI. Journeying: Putting Your Plan Into Action

Journeying is the third milestone in the self-directed learning journey and is where you implement your learning plan, engage with others, obtain feedback, and leverage

science-based strategies to make the learning stick. As you begin your learning journey, it is important that you embrace intentional learning.

According to McKinsey, intentional learning consists of five key skills:

1. Setting a clear and

concise goal

2. Removing

distractions

3. Seeking

actionable feedback

4. Engaging in deliberate

practice and interleaving

5. Practicing

regular reflection

By engaging in the orienting and wayfinding milestones, you’ll have a clear and concise performance goal that outlines where you are and what level of proficiency and outcomes you want to achieve. You’ll also have identified how you can mitigate and maneuver around barriers that you encounter to gain the skills and knowledge needed.

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VI. JOURNEYING: PUTTING YOUR PLAN INTO ACTION

The reality is that even the best-laid plans will encounter unexpected barriers and distrac-tions. Removing these barriers and distractions is an ongoing battle for employees, leaders, and L&D professionals. When surveyed, L&D professionals are no better than those we try to assist. While we employ strategies to help employees understand the importance of read-ing through prework and creating an action plan for how we will take what we learn into the work we do, we often fail to drive forward our own learning journeys. How might we over-come some of these stumbling blocks?

Overcoming Common Distractions and Barriers

Reading More Quickly and Effectively

There are always new books summarizing the latest insights that need to be applied right now. If you are like most, these “must-reads” end up in the to-be-read pile collecting dust. If you do get a chance to read them but have forgotten what you read, there are a few tools and strategies to help:

• Create a book club where your team reads a book together then discusses it.

• Investigate tools and techniques for quickly scanning an article or book.

• Check for summaries of books and or articles.

Picking Up Where You Left Off

Whether your plan calls for two hours a week or some other time increment, learning is a journey over time. Just like taking a certification or university course, it is interspersed with your day-to-day obligations. This can make it difficult to remember where you left off and takes extra time to get immersed back into the experience. To help you pick up where you left off and jump right in, try these techniques:

• At the end of every learning session, write down the key things you learned and the key questions you have.

• Take notes for each part you read and review those prior to reading further.

Book RecommendationsCheck out these books on how to improve learning retention and application:

• Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III and Mark A. McDaniel

• Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning by Pooja K. Ararwal, PhD and Patrice M. Bain, Ed.S.

• Cracking the Learning Code by J.W. Wilson

MAKING A PERFORMANCE IMPACT 19

Overcoming Time Barriers

We are all pressed for time, yet we constantly see individuals who are busier than ourselves make time to learn. Strategies for overcoming time and priority barriers include:

• Setting aside time on your calendar and treating the time like you would any other meeting.

• Identifying times when you are unlikely to be distracted. For many, this is early in the morning or late at night.

• Seeking out an accountability partner and including frequent check-ins, especially with targeted questions related to progress. Turning this into a walking meeting could be a double success.

Taking Effective Notes

Notetaking can be a valuable tool in the learning process if done in a way that pushes you to translate what you are learning into your own words (generative), identify insights, and note gaps that you need to close in your thinking.

Tools that can help you include:

• OUTLINE METHOD: Succinct statements of the key points framed within an outline.

• CORNELL METHOD: Divides a page into four sections with one row at the top and bot-tom of the page and two columns in the middle. The title is written in the top row, key-words and questions in the left column, main notes in the right column, and a summary at the bottom of the page.

• BOXING METHOD: Assigns a box to each point with the supporting information within that box.

• AHA TO-DO METHOD: Focuses on linking ideas to clear actions and strategies.

• SKETCHNOTING: Adding visuals to the key ideas.

VI. JOURNEYING: PUTTING YOUR PLAN INTO ACTION

MAKING A PERFORMANCE IMPACT 20

Feedback

Learning without constructive feedback limits an individual’s ability to assess and improve performance. Feedback that is constructive is focused, immediate, and aligned to the overall performance goals. A tool that can be used by organizations, departments, project teams, and individuals to help assess needs and provide feedback is the Capacity Matrix. The matrix was developed by David Langford as a formative assessment tool for individuals and groups to assess the skills and tasks needed for a role or project. In short, the Capacity Matrix answers the question, “Where do I need to start my next learning experience?”

Using the tool, individuals and organizations can identify and assess the levels of skill proficien-cy and knowledge, provide examples of skill application, and assess how they are progressing on their SDL journey.

As a graphically organized framework, it can be used to display the breakdown of any ca-pability into sub-knowledge, sub-skills, and sub-behaviors. One concept behind the frame-work is to give the individual responsibility for evaluating their current knowledge state and developing future learning goals. In the matrix, the Aim/Outcome column details the overar-ching capability that is being worked on. The Capacity column identifies a more specific skill or capability, and the Capacity Breakdown column identifies more detailed subskills needed within the capacity. While this version uses two levels, it can be adapted for three tiers. The example provided is based on the KSAs in the ATD Talent Development Capability Model.

VI. JOURNEYING: PUTTING YOUR PLAN INTO ACTION

MAKING A PERFORMANCE IMPACT 21

Langford’s Capacity Matrix

Aim/ Outcome Capacity Capacity

Breakdown

Metacognition Evidence to Support Assessment Using

Documentation, Demonstration, or Defense

3D Portfolio

Info

rmat

ion/

In

put

Know

ledg

e/

Actio

n

Know

-How

/ Fe

edba

ck

Wis

dom

/ In

tegr

atio

n

Impacting Organizational

Capability

Future Readiness

Intellectual curiosity Scan environment for trends

X X X Use various websites and thought leaders to monitor L&D trends. Write a quarterly blog post on the summary of findings and post on LinkedIn. See example here: abc.com

Continuous professional development Effective use of inquiry Foster innovative practices Catalyze creativity Awareness of trends for talent field

X X X

See “scan environment for trends” above; seen as an expert in my organization and called on to brief the governance board quarterly. See the attached evidence documented in my latest Performance Coaching Report from our senior director.

Use a systems perspective

Data and Analytics

Principles and applications of analytics Identifying stakeholders’ needs, goals, and requirements Gathering and organizing data form multiple sources Analyzing and interpreting results of data analyses Data visualization techniques X X X Visually present data weekly to stakeholders. See example

here: xyz.com Statistical theories and methods X X Have taken graduate-level statistics from state university;

official records attached

RESOURCES

Download the Capacity Matrix template and job aid:

• Capacity Matrix template

• Capacity Matrix job aid

To use the matrix:

• If you checked the Information/Input box, then think about wheth-er you could explain the concept either verbally or in writing. If you answered “yes,” then fill in the next column.

• If you have Knowledge/Action, this means you can explain the term or have used this knowledge to solve problems.

• Next consider if you also have Know-How/ Feedback. Have you applied this tool in a project? Have you received feedback from colleagues or mentors? Could you teach this tool?

• Wisdom/Integration is for an ex-pert level of understanding. Could you lead a group using this tool? Do you have a nuanced under-standing of when to use this tool, and when this tool would not be appropriate? Have you integrat-ed this knowledge into multiple applications? Checking this box means that you have applied this concept in many ways and can demonstrate this knowledge.

VI. JOURNEYING: PUTTING YOUR PLAN INTO ACTION

LANGFORD’S CAPACITY MATRIX

MAKING A PERFORMANCE IMPACT 22

Deliberate Practice and Interleaving

In the journeying phase, it is critical to engage in deliberate practice to maximize our ability to learn effectively. Deliberate practice involves a clear understanding of what your target level of perfor-mance is for the skill (as identified in the orienting phase) and giving focused attention on the components of that skill through purposeful and systematic practice. In deliberate practice you are moving away from congratulating yourself for showing up to learn and focusing instead on the im-provements you need to make in how you are learning. Through deliberate practice you are break-ing down the skill into its parts, identifying areas of weakness, developing approaches to overcome those weaknesses, and reassembling the parts to assess overall performance.

Interleaving is another powerful tool to use. Interleaving is the process of mixing multiple relat-ed subjects or topics to improve learning. The key is that the topics that you are interleaving are related because it provides your brain with additional connections to the information aiding the recall process. For example, instead of focusing only on the content of a speech you are giving, you would instead mix this with focusing on body language, projection, and related components of public speaking. Research also found that people skilled in interleaving were also more effective in handling new situations versus individuals who focused on one topic only.

Engaging in Reflection

Reflection is a powerful tool in the learning process that involves retrieval, mental rehearsal, con-structive assessment of progress, and making connections in your own words. Rather than moving through the steps of learning, you are taking time to ask yourself questions to understand how well you remembered what you learned previously, how it connects to your new experiences, and what adjustments that you need to make to improve upon next time. Learning without reflection will make the learning less sticky and easier to forget rather than knowledge that you can reflexively call upon when it is needed.

REFLECTION

Journeying is where the bulk of your learning will occur. Take time to ask yourself the follow-ing questions as you engage in the process:

• How might the Charting the Journey model from Lombardozzi help you become a more intentional learner?

• Given your journey experi-ence, how might you sup-port the journey for your team or employees?

• What feedback have you received as you practice what you are learning?

• What learning strategies are working well for you? Which ones are not?

VI. JOURNEYING: PUTTING YOUR PLAN INTO ACTION

MAKING A PERFORMANCE IMPACT 23

VII. Opportunities for Making an Organizational ImpactWhile the emphasis in this e-book has been on using these ideas, tools, techniques, and frameworks for building a personal learning system, the goal is that by becoming masters at SDL, L&D professionals will have more skill and empathy for creating the environment that promotes and sustains SDL in all employees. Think about the power of having all employees being champions at intentional learning to create a competitive edge for the organization. Think about the positive energy and innovation that this would generate.

With personal experience charting the course and going through orienting, wayfinding, and the journey itself, you are in the perfect position to implement a SDL process in your organi-zation. Some opportunities to make an impact include:

SERVING AS A ROLE MODEL OF THE L&D LEADER WHO IS A CONTINUAL LEARNER. L&D professionals often epitomize the cobbler whose children have no shoes. We are highly focused on how we can drive learning for our orga-nizations but not as intentional in promoting and showcasing our own learn-ing. Doing so will help build new skills so that we can be future ready but also shows that we live what we teach.

PERSONALLY EMBRACING SDL UNCOVERS FRICTION POINTS IN LEARNING. When you engage in your own SDL experience, you begin to identify areas where the learning process is hampered by unclear skill expectations, process-es, or easy access to learning resources.

CAPITALIZING ON SDL THROUGHOUT THE ORGANIZATION BUILDS COMPETITIVE EDGE. Most L&D leaders are supporting employees with various content, connections, and experiences to learn. We can multiply the impact of this by teaching employees how to be champions at self-directed learning and ensuring environmental support conditions are in place and doing this within the same structure. This includes positioning “learning how to learn” practices within current courses and supporting projecting teams with tools and techniques.

MAKING A PERFORMANCE IMPACT 24

CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE THE EMPLOYEES ARE INSPIRED TO EMPOWER THEMSELVES TO CONSTANTLY IMPROVE THEIR LEARNING. Insights gained from research can be framed as strategies to help employ-ees to become more effective in their roles and to achieve their career goals. These strategies including reflection practices such as after-action reviews or team retrospectives that can become standard ways of operating all meetings, project teams, and learning courses, thus building a continuous improvement mentality throughout the organization.

PUBLICLY PROMOTING LEARNING AS THE IMPERATIVE FOR ENHANCED PERFORMANCE. While we talk about this endlessly, we continue to have pro-grams that do little more than share throughput numbers and level one evalua-tion results. As one ATD Forum member shared, “Most senior executives do not value the learning; they value the results in changed performance and business results.” Failure to tie learning to business enhanced performance will keep learning from being valued.

VII. OPPORTUNITIES FOR MAKING AN ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT

MAKING A PERFORMANCE IMPACT 25

Summary

There are many slogans about learning that resonate with talent professionals responsible for building performance capability within an organization, such as lifelong learning, learning at the point of need or in the moment, and pull learning. As outlined in this e-book, SDL has many names, forms, and strategies.

However, those that want to be champions at SDL have certain characteristics. First, they think about how they think and learn, a la metacognition. They recognize different levels of learning based on the need—for example, what they are going to do as a result of the learning. They use various science-based techniques to set actionable goals and reflect on aha moments. Reading, asking for feedback, and purposeful reflection are part of their daily routine.

But champion self-directed learners also have periods of focused and intentional deep learning to develop specific expertise. For example, current talent leaders realize the need to be skilled in how advanced technologies and data analytics can be used to leverage learning as we fast track into the digital age. They realize the need to be more strategic and manage talent to build competitive advantage. This does not happen overnight but does involve research, study, assessment, practice, reflection, feedback, and more.

This e-book provides you with tools, resources, and frameworks for crafting your SDL jour-ney. Each of these tools helps you orient, wayfind, and embark on your SDL journey while continuously monitoring your progress and course-correcting as necessary. Additionally the tools represent different thought leaders and their perspective on SDL.

As SDL champions, talent leaders are uniquely positioned to teach employees to fish—using the approaches covered in this e-book—and to identify when and where new ponds need to be built and stocked as new skills emerge. With employees skilled at all aspects of SDL, it is easier to drive a culture of learning that promotes creative problem solving and innovative process management for the organizational system.

VII. OPPORTUNITIES FOR MAKING AN ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT

REFLECTION

• How might you use the ideas, tools, and techniques in this e-book to become a champion at SDL?

• How can you adapt them to leverage SDL within your organization?

• How can you use the tools provided in other ways?

MAKING A PERFORMANCE IMPACT 26

Bios – Author and Forum Author: Michelle M. Webb, MEd

Michelle Webb is an innovative talent development leader and trusted advisor to organizations and is known for her deep expertise in uncovering insights, identifying strategic solutions, and driving organizational trans-formation programs at organizations seeking to maximize the capabilities of their talent. Michelle serves as a judge for the Brandon Hall Human Capital Management and Technology Awards and serves as a director in L&D Cares, an organization focused on supporting L&D professionals in positioning themselves for success by providing resources to help them reframe or reinvent their careers. She is a contributing author to Leading the Learning Function: Tools and Techniques for Organizational Impact and an active member of the ATD Forum.

Contributor: MJ Hall, PhD, MBA, MEd

A strategist, performance coach, and business learning advisor, MJ Hall serves as the senior content manager with the ATD Forum. She served as a co-editor for Leading the Learning Function: Tools and Techniques for Organizational Impact. Her expertise includes designing, developing, and facilitating innovative collaborative experiences for senior learning leaders. Prior to working at ATD, she served as a Level IV professor, director of leadership development, and special assistant to the commandant at Defense Acquisition University, Ft. Belvoir, Virgina.

Contributor: Laleh Patel, MPsy

Laleh Patel is the senior manager for the ATD Forum, steering the engagement and direction of the senior leader, talent development consortium. In this role she oversees and manages the overall business strategy and the day-to-day operations of the community, and she engages with executives to develop research and products to meet their most pressing talent development challenges to drive engagement and content strategy for the ATD Forum. Laleh also served as a co-editor for Leading the Learning Function: Tools and Techniques for Organizational Impact.

MAKING A PERFORMANCE IMPACT 27

Operational Definitions DELIBERATE PRACTICE: Deliberate practice is purposeful and systematic practice that knows where it is going and how to get there. For more details check out PEAK: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise (2016) by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool.

HABITUATION: Habituation is the act of engaging in an experience consistently over time so that the feeling of effort decreases and no longer feels like a distraction.

JOURNEYING: Journeying is part three of the SDL journey from Catherine Lombardozzi’ s model. It focuses on executing the plan, monitoring the process, and staying on schedule and within budget while still being open to aha moments. https://l4lp.com/

METACOGNITION: Metacognition is the process of thinking about how we think. This awareness of how we think enables us to plan, monitor, and assess one’s understanding of a thing or concept.

ORIENTING: Orienting is part one of the SDL journey from Catherine Lombardozzi’ s model. It focuses on identifying your desti-nation based on what you want to be able to do and why it is important for you. https://l4lp.com/

SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING: Self-directed learning is the process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, choosing, and implementing appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating those learning outcomes. https://l4lp.com/

SELF-EFFICACY: Self-efficacy is based on the theoretical constructs of Albert Bandura and “. . . is an individual’s belief in their capacity to execute behaviors necessary to produce specific performance attainment. Self-efficacy reflects confidence in the ability to exert control over one’s own motivation, behavior, and social environment. https://www.apa.org/pi/aids/resources/ education/self-efficacy

WAYFINDING: Wayfinding is part two of the SDL journey from Catherine Lombardozzi’ s model. It focuses on identifying the learning resources and formal activities, making connections with thought leaders and others such as practitioners who are using the skill, investigating opportunities for practice and application, and determining ways to solidify continual performance through habituation. https://l4lp.com/

MAKING A PERFORMANCE IMPACT 28

References GeneralChristensen, L., J. Gittleson, M. Smith. 2020. “The Most Fundamental

Skill: Intentional Learning and the Career Advantage.” McKinsey Quarterly, August 7. mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/the-most-fundamental-skill-intentional-learning-and-the-career-advantage.

Dyer, A., S. Dyrchs, A. Bailey, H.-P. Bürkner, J. Puckett. 2020. “Why It’s Time to Bring Learning to the C-Suite.” BCG Blog, July 14. bcg.com/en-us/publications/2020/why-it-is-time-to-bring-learning-to-the-c-suite.

Hall, MJ. 2020. “Are You Teaching Others to Fish or Just Stocking the Pond?” ATD Insights, September 24. td.org/insights/are-you-teaching-others-to-fish-or-just-stocking-the-pond.

Lombardozzi, C. 2020. Self-Directed Learning: Essential Strategy for a Rapidly Changing World. Learning Guild, June 10. learningguild.com/insights/251/self-directed-learning-essential-strategy-for-a-rapidly-changing-world.

Pan, S.C. 2015. “The Interleaving Effect: Mixing It Up Boosts Learning.” Scientific American, August 4. scientificamerican.com/article/the-interleaving-effect-mixing-it-up-boosts-learning.

Pavlou, C. 2020. “Employee Upskilling and Reskilling Training: Benefits, Challenges, and a Pandemic.” Training Magazine, October 2. trainingmag.com/employee-upskilling-and-reskilling-training-benefits-challenges-and-pandemic.

Stubbings, C., and B. Sethi. 2020. Upskilling: Building Confidence in an Uncertain World. PWC, Talent Trends 2020. pwc.com/gx/en/ceo-agenda/ceosurvey/2020/trends/talent.html.

ImmersionEllis, R.K. 2014. “Why Learning Loves a Good Story.” ATD Insights,

October 30. td.org/insights/why-learning-loves-a-good-story.Gerard, B. n.d. “Immersion, learning and the Importance of Trust.”

Accenture Future Workforce Case Study. accenture.com/us-en/case-studies/future-workforce/case-study-immersion-learning

Zak, P.J. 2020. “At Attention.” TD, September. td.org/magazines/td-magazine/at-attention.

ATD Talent Development Capability ModelATD. n.d. “Talent Development Capability Model.” td.org/capability-

model/access.Coné, J. 2020. “A Very Different Model.” TD, February. td.org/

magazines/td-magazine/a-very-different-model.Hirt, M. 2020. “Competency Out, Capability In.” TD, February. td.org/

magazines/td-magazine/competency-out-capability-in.

Langford Capacity ModelFraser, W. 2015. “Teacher Capacity Matrix and Digital

Learning Portfolio.” QLA, August 25. youtube.com/watch?v=isgfViUkQdc&feature=emb_imp_woyt.

Langford, D.P. n.d. Tool Time for Business: Choosing and Implementing Quality Improvement Tools. Molt, MT: Langford Learning.

Langford Learning. n.d. “Learn More About Langford Learning.” LangfordLearning.com.

QLA. n.d. “Welcome to Quality Learning Australasia.” qla.com.au.

Self-Directed LearningLombardozzi, C. n.d. “Charting a Journey.” Learning 4 Learning

Professionals. l4lp.com/Charting-A-Journey.Lombardozzi, C. n.d. “Charting Your Course.” Learning 4 Learning

Professionals. l4lp.com/charting-your-course.Lombardozzi, C. n.d. “Your Self-Directed Learning Journey.”

Infographic, Learning 4 Learning Professionals. l4lp.com/wp-content/uploads/Self-Directed-Learning-Infographic.pdf.

Lombardozzi, C. 2015. Learning Environments by Design. Alexandria, VA: ATD Press.

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