The Manager As Learner

That said, however, it really is today’s business manager who is the linchpin to make successful change initiatives flourish.

There are significant risks and rewards associated with engaging managers and their leaders in the learning continuum, not only for those willing to invest their time and mindshare, but for the learning professionals who advocate new programs and whose reputations, as a result, are put squarely at stake.

Give a manager new insight he or she needs to succeed in a shifting business environment, and you’ll gain both improved business outcomes and an important ally when it comes to future learning investments. Force a manager through an ill-conceived development exercise that fails to expand his view and doesn’t support key business objectives, and you’ve not only wasted his valuable time, but you risk losing his sponsorship and impugning learning’s contribution to individual and enterprise performance.

The Challenge: Intensifying Pressure to Learn

“The holy grail for learning professionals and, I’m sure, for many business leaders is that their organization would be a learning organization — constantly learning, growing and investing in being creative and innovative to achieve great business results,” said Maria O’Donoghue, director of global learning and development at the Global Talent Management Centre of Expertise within Hertz Corp. “But if you have a management population that’s not learning, for whatever the reason, you’re never going to get to that.”