Leadership development has emerged as a key way of coping with a constantly changing business environment. With great development programs, organizations empower their employees to pursue their personal interests while gaining skills that will help the company remain competitive in the market. Many organizations still feel like they have significant leadership gaps, so the push for expanding development opportunities is unlikely to slow anytime soon.
However, there is a growing concern about how to apply the knowledge learned in development programs to the job. The hectic, stressful environment of the worksite can cause people to forget their training, which makes some critics question the value of these programs. Luckily, technology can be leveraged to create learning environments that help reinforce lessons and encourage everyday application.
Flipping the Classroom to Promote Hands-On Learning
With a growing number of online learning options, from videos to interactive chapters, many training programs are implementing a flipped classroom. This means that participants do the bulk of material learning at home on their own. In practice, this saves time that would otherwise be devoted to lectures or other forms of passive learning. Thus, the time together can be devoted to active learning or the direct application of relevant topics to case studies and things of that nature. This means engaging with the topics on a much deeper level, and hopefully, having more than just a surface understanding. With role-playing and case studies, the hope is that events at work trigger people to think back to what they learned in the training and approach the situation differently.
The learning materials can be made available online for people to refer to as needed. However, how often do people really look back at these notes? The more valuable part of a training session is the application of the skills—after all, this is what people will use daily. A flipped structure allows more time for hands-on learning and ideally promotes greater retention of the material. Of course, this approach relies on participants to take the time to complete the homework. If the coaches end up reviewing all the material in detail because no one did the homework, then the flipped classroom is a failure. However, if participants take the material seriously, it can be very beneficial.
Providing a Medium for Practicing Skills Learned in a Workshop
Technology can also be used to maintain the skills gained during a development session. This can be accomplished through immersive experiences that mimic real-world work environments and present ways to keep applying new skills. When leaders find themselves facing real-world issues, they will be able to quickly recall the skills they gained during the workshop. As technology develops, these experiences could become truly immersive. However, even working through online scenarios in a point-and-click manner can be helpful in jogging memory.
Of course, not all leaders have time to devote to these extended review scenarios each day. Technology can also be leveraged to provide simple but meaningful reminders of past learning. For example, push notifications can offer simple points that leaders should remember. People who want to dive deeper into the lesson can follow the push notification, while busier individuals can benefit from the simple reminder. These simple notifications could also be configured as emails or any other easy form of communication. The point is that people get briefly pulled back into the content of the course and have the chance to re-engage on a deeper level as desired.
Building a Stronger Professional Network of Learners
Another way that technology can be leveraged to improve leadership development is through the creation of stronger networks. Ideally, people who have had the same development experiences can connect and then use that shared learning to bounce ideas off each other. This can be especially powerful for people who need advice or for people who found a particular tool especially helpful and want to share their story. Both scenarios help people re-engage with the content and go deeper into the applications. This could mean creating online forums, setting up group chats, or simply having accountability buddies. With technological assistance, people can be matched based on role even if they are geographically far apart.
Online learning itself increases the accessibility of leadership development training, so that employees of all levels can engage. Leadership development for all employees helps ensure that someone is always able to step up and meet a need when it arises. A professional learning network can help people apply leadership skills in certain types of positions or match people based on aspirations in the hope that natural mentorship relationships emerge.