Adult Development Resources

A 2001 describing what successfully adaptive leadership looks like. Still timely.

Skill stacking is an important concept - being the best in the world at being you, with all of your interests, abilities, experiences, and education (both formal and informal).

I'm sticking this into adult development because I feel that we don't have enough reflection time. Asynchronous communication allows for reflection before response. Reflection is an oft-neglected component of learning.

Includes a discussion of upskilling strategy. Left out is a discussion of helping adults "learn how to learn." Growth mindset, though important, is part of it - but there are other techniques and strategies we can use to help the process.

A discussion of what needs to be put into place for workforce transformation (of any sort) to stick.

Harold Jarche was the individual who crystallized for me the notion of Perpetual Beta. I'm also honored to call him a professional colleague and privileged to have him as an early supporter of my blogging career. His message, and his work on Personal Knowledge Mastery, has higher relevance than ever.

The main question posed - How do we better integrate "learning" into day-to-day experience?

Being able to identify and work with polarities is a significant mindset shift as you move between developmental levels.

When considering Adult Development, I also consider "what makes us human?" In my opinion, the answer to that question is what will drive skill development moving forward. Anything that can be programmed, systematized, and tracked will be automated.

Google's research on effective teams. Psychological safety is #1.

My thoughts on shifting the mindset regarding "learning" within organizations. I think it goes beyond "courses" or developing educational programs. We should consider all of the things people are "learning" when they are not consciously "learning."

American Association of Colleges and University's report on the relationship between a liberal arts education and the skills demanded in the future workplace.

This could be a "marketing problem." The development of communication, critical-thinking, information analysis, and project management skills have always been a part of a liberal arts education.

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We are so fixated on developing expertise in a highly-specialized subject within a tightly defined field (ie - becoming an expert in the cultural use of a plant in 17th Georgia within the field of History in my case), that we don't see the higher-level skills we develop in pursuit of this expertise. Instead of treating these skills as a side-note and something that "just happens" as a result of our work, what if we put this skill development front-and-center?

A key component for developing a learning culture is psychological safety. One way to do that is to encourage people to discuss systems and system failures vs. assigning blame. De-personalization can be a powerful tool.

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In this podcast and transcript, Amy Edmonson provides a powerful case study in culture change, the importance of words, and leveraging de-personalization to replace a culture of assign/blame/criticize.

"When adults practice what they have learned, retention and ownership of the content increases significantly. In a corporate environment, this is the holy grail of learning – encouraging people to own, retain and apply what they have learned." - So-Young Kang, Gnowbe

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The best way we can help others learn is to provide practical experiences, room to make mistakes, and time to reflect.

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To me, it's not about educational technologies (though they help). It's about providing the environment that allows application, practice, and reflection - both during AND after the "training event."

Adult development is often couched in the context of "workplace learning" or "talent development" or "organizational development."  Things have evolved over the past 20 years, but not as much as I had hoped. 

A personal reminder - it's not about "creating learning organizations" or "agile learning programs" or anything else.  We are always learning something.  The real question is - are you conscious of WHAT you are learning?  And are we creating environments where the people around us are learning helpful things to both you and them?

Carol Dweck introduced us to the notion of Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset. She also argues that we are trained in (and our systems are designed to encourage) fixed mindset. We are who we are - unchanging. I'm happy to see that there is more discussion about how adults evolve over time and experience.

How to build a culture that encourages adult development and embedded learning. An application of Kegan and Lahey's research