Emma and Sacha getting out of the comfort zone at Climbfit, St Leonards. December 2009

Out of the comfort zone!

Sacha on her way to the top!

The problem (or opportunity!) with being a Turning Learning into Action (TLA) expert is you have to walk the talk and actually take action after attending training. Especially when it transpires that you really, really don’t want to.

I recently attended the “Get Real” seminar, hosted by Rowdy McLean. What I love about Rowdy’s work is that it’s a combination of personal and professional growth for those who wouldn’t usually find themselves in this arena. The program culminates in a goal setting process - 12 goals in 12 areas of your life.

I was breezing through the exercise (being an experienced goal setter) when, all of a sudden, I faltered. Big time. “Adventure?” What on earth would I want with a goal in adventure?

I scanned my internal resources, to no avail. No adventure goals in the past. No adventure desires. No successes to think back on, although one could argue coming to a country alone, where you only know 3 people, to set up a business, was adventure enough for one lifetime.

No, my life was devoid of adventure.

Rowdy believes you need goals in all 12 areas to have a balanced life. OK, I was there to play the game and learn, so I had to pick a goal in adventure. It would stretch me, but I could do it. And it was ‘easy’ enough to create momentum.

Those who follow my work will know one of my key strategies for change is accountability. Within 24 hours of returning from the event I had emailed my friends, aiming to get a group together who could hold me accountable.

One brave friend, Sacha, was in. Two others said they didn’t want to do it, but would join me if I were desperate. Based on responses from my list of 15 ‘probables’, it soon became clear I’m not the only one not keen on adventure. Sacha and I bravely set a date for 3 weeks’ time.

Apart from having the looming date in the diary, I thought little more about it. After all, it’s just following through. Easy. Or so I thought.

The day arrived. And the excuses came rolling into my self-talk. I looked out the window - beautiful weather. Perfect in fact, In fact, perhaps too good to waste. Perhaps I should just spend the day at the beach? Or since I’d slept badly and had a sore neck, maybe I should just rest up? Then there was the friend who wanted join the adventure at the last minute, but couldn’t make it that morning. Perhaps we should postpone? I argued with myself, justifying in my mind I was only going for a postponement, not a cancellation.

Then, just as I was texting Sacha to let her know I thought we should do it another day, came a blinding realisation! I really, really didn’t want to go. In fact, I would do anything to avoid it. I was making up excuses left, right and centre - why the time wasn’t ideal, why perhaps Sacha and I weren’t the right weight for the task, why I didn’t have to go. But when it came right down to it, I just didn’t want to do this ‘adventure thing’.

At this point I also realised I was scared. Scared of something completely out of my comfort zone, something I had never done before, something that, at least in my overactive mind, might end in death.

Our thoughts do become illogical when we’re trying to change. Our internal dialogue wants us to stay safe, keep ourselves within the limits of what we know and what we’re sure we can do. It doesn’t want us to look stupid, fail or be uncomfortable.

Sacha, true friend and trooper that she is, clocked the situation and held me accountable! No excuses, we would do it; anyway it would be fun. Her boyfriend had done it before and said we’d be fine!

Right up until arriving at the venue I was still trying everything I could to wriggle out of it, including this feeble last ditch attempt “shouldn’t we get an icecream before giving it a go?”. Excuses firmly rebuffed, finally I found myself standing with 25 teens, queuing to be fitted for a harness.

The girls were giggling and celebrating what seemed to be a 12th birthday. Me, at the grand old age of 37, I was petrified.

Sacha was probably a bit apprehensive too, made more so by my irrational behaviour. I had no reasonable excuse, such as a fear of heights. No, this was just fear of change or of getting out of my comfort zone. It was a hard but important lesson for me to learn, since are the very issues I challenge and support people to do day in day out.

These pictures tell the full story. I made it up the climbing wall 5 or 6 times and once came within 1 metre of the top. The feelings of relief and achievement were immense and well worth it. Sacha was a complete star, making it to the top every time and recommending great strategies for which holds we should should aim for with our hands and feet.

Was it fun? Well, kind of.

There was the fun of a real adrenalin rush afterwards. And seeing all the kids around me having a blast was inspiring in itself. At age 12 I would have been just as scared as now, but wouldn’t have known enough about change to push myself forward. And I wouldn’t have been mature enough to understand the need for and power of having someone else to hold you accountable.

(Cheers to you, Sacha, for not only being an outstanding business coach but an exceptional accountability buddy.)

As adults we rarely come across situations that are completely new to us and push our buttons.

I challenge you to get out of your comfort zone at least once this holiday season. If adventure isn’t your thing, try a singing lesson or karaoke. Or writing a poem and sharing it with a loved one would stretch your comfort horizon. And there’s always the the climbing wall at St Leonards!

Whatever your stretch, enjoy it as much as you can before and during. And really celebrate afterwards!

Out of the comfort zone!

Sacha at the top

“So this is the bit where I really should plug our services, but it’s Christmas and what I want to say is a huge thank you to all our clients and colleagues.

Your desire to get better results from your training programs this year has enabled me and the entire Vivat team to work with some amazing companies and individuals, together creating change for the better.

Knowing we are empowering and enabling others to create results from their learning is what drives our world. Chances are, if you’re reading this newsletter, it’s a key driver for you too.

I really wish you well in all your endeavours and plans, not only for the festive season, but for the whole of 2010.

May all your learning next year be blessed with outstanding results. Til next time, merry Christmas!”

I often say to clients that Turning Learning into Action is more about having a conversation with yourself to foster deep internal reflection than a discussion with your coach. But it’s not always easy to have the quality of conversation with yourself that promotes reflection without assistance and guidance. Here’s where the phone fits in perfectly with our work. Using the phone in a guided conversation with your coach is a convenient and effective alternative to self-talk.

But what if your coach is unavailable? What’s the next best way to achieve the benefits of internal reflection without that guided conversation? Personally, I write in my journal. For me, writing allows me to work through the changes I want to make and I find it really does help me reflect deeply on what I’ve learnt and what I want to achieve.

So I was delighted to see that CCL (Centre for Creative Leadership), whose work I really admire, featured the use of learning or reflective journals in a blog post recently.

CCL recommends using “learning journals or reflection journals as tools for gaining insights into your leadership journey. The process of writing and reflection builds self awareness, encourages learning and opens the door to adaptability.”

Mary Lynn Pulley and Michael Wakefield in Building Resilience How To Thrive in Times of Change outline the 3 keys parts to a journal entry:

Event or experience – describe what happened, be as objective as possible and stick to the facts.
Reaction – describe your reaction to the event, be as factual as possible. Consider what you wanted to do, what you actually did, what were your thoughts and what were your feelings?
Lessons – Think about the experience and your reaction to it. What did you learn from the event? Do you see a pattern in your reactions? What would you do differently next time? What can you do to support yourself in this?

A very valuable reflection tool that can offer great insights – and in the absence of any formal Turning Learning into Action it’s a great alternative.
I’m off to buy a new notebook – before I start talking out loud.

I’m getting into the flow of writing a regular newsletter (thanks to all for the great feedback from the last one). My ritual, ahead of writing, is to hop on Twitter to check out the people I like and find out what’s going on in their worlds.

In the last half hour I’ve:
√ read about the rise of entrepreneurship in the US

√ heard from a professional adventurer about his latest plan

√ read Ken Blanchard’s (of One Minute Manager fame) thoughts of how he lifts himself from a pity party into thanks.

I ask myself is this learning, or am I just bombarding myself with information to file somewhere in the complex machine we call the brain? (Incidentally fascinating article about neuroscience from Harvard Business Review here.)

The jury is still out but it’s definitely fun.

I do know though that incidental learning about podcasts and interviewing (from my First Step community membership with Gihan Perera) has led to some new product development for Vivat.

Staying true to our passion of helping people use what they learn, I’ve been creating some podcasts for my clients both reviewing and refreshing content as well as integrating reflection techniques and questions to support the transfer of learning with the content. For one of my clients I’m launching a series of interviews with their top performers, in which they talk about their learning strategies and their advice for best results. My client will use this in house to support all sales team members.

I’d be happy to help you create something similar for your teams.

If you feel like having a chat about what new ideas could support your learning initiatives give me a call – very happy to brainstorm…. and having read a fascinating article about effective brainstorming today I am sure we’ll have fun in the process!

Keep loving your learning

Drop everything right now and click onto www.thefuntheory.com. 3 minutes invested now might save you way more later.

“This site is dedicated to the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better. Be it for yourself, for the environment, or for something entirely different, the only thing that matters is that it’s change for the better.”

Doesn’t this idea make you sit up and pay attention?!

My personal favourite is the piano key stairs.

The concept starts with a simple hypothesis ripe for testing. “Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator and feel better” is something we intellectually know is the ‘right’ thing to do on a number of levels. However, few people actually follow that advice. Can we get more people to take the stairs over the escalator by making it fun to do? The theory was tested in a subway station at Odenplan, Stockholm with very compelling results.

66% more people than normal chose the stairs over the escalator.

So what’s the implication then for getting results from training?

Well, we all know the more fun people have at training the more they learn. And it’s the same with follow-up coaching. If the participant enjoys both the process and the behaviour change brought by the training and follow-up, so much better the results.

Highlighting consequences and creating pain can have some impact. But the real key is to connect into the positive. Punishing yourself into changing a behaviour makes very hard work of getting desired results and as a coach it can create reliance and a policing attitude.

Think about how you are approaching behavioural change both for yourself and your team. In what ways are you making it fun and how could you do more of this?

As many of my readers will know, a close second to my obsession with creating change from training programs is the thorny question of how to measure change created by training.

I had a very interesting conversation with Hamish Brown from Concordia Worldwide last month. His colleagues in the UK have developed a tool for creating a comprehensive picture of exactly what is helping or hindering employees in applying the learning from training programs back in the work place.

I was impressed to find they cover the basics of training design and relevance, the work environment, employee attitudes, people interactions and more. This all seems to add up to a tool that could help pinpoint where exactly along the process learning transfer goes off the rails. Plus, it allows space to approach things differently and could be used to prepare the business case for investing in transfer of learning.

The issue of measuring intangible outcomes remains and I’d be interested to hear of any new innovations in the area. Pleaes feel free to share your comments.

I’ll keep you posted from this end.

I was at a great half day seminar recently - inspiring information and great actions to take away.

The day started really well when I noticed on the agenda 30 minute small group discussions had been scheduled for recall, take out value and how to implement.

The speaker finished. The recall session began and we went around the table with each of us confirming what we had learnt (repeat ‘learnt’, not what we were going to do). And then the co-ordinater said “And you are going to take action aren’t you?”. To which we all dutifully nodded and mumbled agreement and then the session wrapped up early! The speaker finished. The recall session began and we went around the table with each of us confirming what we had learnt (repeat ‘learnt’, not what we were going to do). And then the co-ordinater said “And you are going to take action aren’t you?”. To which we all dutifully nodded and mumbled agreement and then the session wrapped up early!

So what happened…

The first step in emergency DIY learning transfer is don’t go back to your desk.

Stop and reflect on the learning before you do anything else.

How frustrating! All the elements were there - the intention, the time

for follow through and the great content - but the execution, the transfer of learning was simply not up to scratch. No Turning Learning into Action (TLA) at all.

I had really enjoyed the day. So rather than sulk about how disappointing the TLA section was, I decided to follow my own advice and put the emergency “WWW DIY TLA” plan into action.

Step 1: The first step in emergency DIY learning transfer is don’t go back to your desk. Instead, go to a coffee shop, the park, the boardroom (if you are already in the office), anywhere but your desk, your computer and your to-do list. Stop and reflect on the learning before you do anything else.

Step 2: Use the 3 Ws (what, where and when) to reflect on the learning. Make a clear decision about what you are going to do to implement the learning and then decide when and where you are going to do it.

Here are some examples of why this part of the process is so important. In their book The Power of Full Engagement, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz describe a study in which a group of women agreed to do a breast self-exam during a period of 30 days. 100% of those who said where and when they were going to do it completed the exam. Only 53% of the others did.

In another study, drug addicts in withdrawal (can you find a more stressed-out population?) agreed to write an essay before 5 p.m. on a certain day. 80% of those who said when and where they would write the essay completed it. None of the others did.

Give yourself the best chance of follow-through by deciding what, when and where you will implement the learning, before going back to your desk. The three Ws are the best DIY recipe there is.

According to a case study detailed in AIM’s publication “Management Today”, Luxottica discovered three years ago a significant disconnection between the way customers and employees viewed their organisation. They had a dominant market position and world class brands but a low level of staff engagement and an unacceptably high level of staff turnover. They set about changing this and within 18 months of a 3 year program they had made significant improvements.

Rhonda Brighton, the Group General Manager of Human Resources reported that the successful implementation of a staff engagement program led to an increase in both top and bottom line growth and an increased market share. A fourfold increase in learning and development spending also contributed significantly to an 8% drop in the annual staff attrition rate, a 15% improvement in engagement and a 30% reduction in recruitment costs. In the article by Mark Story, Brighton stresses that simplicity was at the heart of the process.

The September issue of Management Today is a great read. Other AIM (Australian Institute of Management) resources can be found at www.aim.com.au. Enjoy.

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the keys to successful transfer of learning, in the context of ‘what are the key elements of our approach that produce great results?’ and ‘how can others use our experience to benefit their work or business?’

Do you remember the Slinky? Wikipedia describes it as “a helix-shaped toy that can travel down stairs end-over-end as it stretches and re-forms itself with the aid of gravity and its own momentum.”

The Slinky is a good analogy for the essence of successful transfer of learning, since it’s a perfect expression of the balance between flexibility and structure. And just as the Slinky moves under its own power once it establishes momentum, we can also get to the stage where the learning, after some quick wins and adjustments, creates its own momentum and keeps moving forward unaided.

The higher the individual’s level of ownership of change, the higher the level of change achievable. Here’s where we need flexibility on the part of the manager, coach or learning specialist. They need to mould and flex with the individual’s ideas, beliefs and values so they can help foster his or her ownership of the process.

At the same time they also need to add structure to the process, clearly sign-posting what needs to be achieved, how the conversation will run and, most importantly, creating a framework in which the individual can be held accountable for creating the change. The structure establishes agreed actions and follow through by both parties so those actions can be reviewed and evaluated. Do you remember the Slinky?

I’ve met many coaches and managers who are very strong on structure. I’ve also met plenty for whom flexibility is their strong suit. But unless we can bring structure and flexibility together, we’re unlikely to achieve effective transfer of learning.

Remember the lesson we can learn from the humble Slinky – flexibility plus structure equals positive momentum.

All Vivat team members keep a Slinky on their desks to help us the remember the secret to effective transfer of learning.

PS – Some Slinky facts for the record. It was invented 60 years ago in Pennsylvania, US. 300 million units have been sold. In addition to being an award winning design, it’s also been used in wartime as a radio antenna and in physics experiments with NASA. But of course, we’d argue its most important quality is being a metaphor for transfer of learning!