Webinars
Carving Yin From Yang: The Curious Split Between Change and Innovation
Aug 19, 2010
Breakfast Club
San Francisco: The Next Frontier for Learning and Development
Sep 23, 2010 07:30 am
The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco
San Francisco, California
CLO Symposiums
Unleashing Learning: From Strategy to Execution
Sep 27, 2010 - Sep 29, 2010
The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel
Dana Point, California
In Practice
Blending the Formal and Informal With Enterprise Mentoring
Randy Emelo
In the learning debate today, formal and informal learning are often pitted against each other. Proponents of informal learning often criticize the lack of relational interaction and individual control associated with formal programs. But skeptics often criticize informal learning for wasting organizational resources, arguing that formal learning structures are the only way to assure measurable compliance with organizational learning needs.
The truth is that both approaches have strengths that can be combined to produce learning solutions that achieve both organizational objectives and individual development at the same time. One way to achieve this is through various types of mentoring relationships in an enterprise mentoring system.
Self-Directed Mentoring
Many organizations invest heavily in formal high-potential programs to develop their next generation of senior leaders. Most try to integrate elements of informal learning into the process through mentoring or peer learning in cohorts. To give high potentials more freedom and flexibility in choosing who their mentors are — and how many they have — some organizations are moving away from traditional, assigned, one-to-one mentoring relationships.
For example, mentees might have several concurrent mentors to meet different developmental objectives, or they could have a few sequential mentors over the course of a year to help them reach various milestones. With this informal, self-directed approach, more cross-silo relationships form and facilitate the creative melding of disparate knowledge while broadening relational networks. Some organizations also encourage high potentials to be mentors themselves so they can develop the essential leadership competency. This approach to mentoring also enhances personal initiative and personal investment in the process.
Group Mentoring
Organizations still invest most of their learning dollars in classroom training and e-learning solutions. Yet a growing number are expending more resources on group mentoring experiences because they combine some of the intentional learning qualities of training with the collaborative learning experiences of mentoring.
Organizations are using group mentoring as a substitute for or an enhancement to such traditional training subjects as project management and change management for leaders. For example, organizations could use group mentoring to help new managers learn a valuable skill: how to have difficult conversations with direct reports. Instead of adding a few slides to the new manager orientation or developing an e-learning module, they could hold group mentoring events — both distance and face to face — led by experienced managers. Formal content would be taught and discussed, but participants would plan and practice the real discussions they need to have with their direct reports. These experiences would then be debriefed in the group as part of the collaborative learning experience, providing participants with practical and actionable feedback.
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Executive Search
Senior Manager, Global Learning & Talent Development
11/19/2009
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (DTT) is an organization of member firms devoted to excellence in providing professional services and advice. We are focused on client service through a global strategy executed locally in nearly 150 countries.
Director, Leadership & Organizational Development Parkland Health & Hospital System
10/26/2009
Parkland Health & Hospital System (www.parklandhospital.com) located in Dallas, Texas has been voted one of "America's Best Hospitals" by U.S. News & World Report for 16 consecutive years and recently named one of the "Top 100 Hospitals to Work For" by Nursing Professionals Magazine.
The World Bank Knowledge and Learning Coordinator Washington, DC
12/22/2008
The Latin America & Caribbean Region (LCR) of the World Bank serves over 30 countries, mostly middle-income which, despite having middle-income economies, still struggle with pockets of poverty and high level of inequalities.
August 2010
The Road Ahead
Tamar Elkeles is vice president of Qualcomm’s Learning Center and the author of The Chief Learning Officer: Driving Value Within a Changing Organization Through Learning and Development. She can be reached at editor@clomedia.com.
August 2010
The Case for Communities of Practice
Jay Cross is CEO of Internet Time Group and a thought leader in informal learning and organizational performance. He can be reached at editor@clomedia.com.
August 2010
An Informal Debate
Michael E. Echols is the vice president of strategic initiatives at Bellevue University. He is the author of ROI on Human Capital Investment. He can be reached at editor@clomedia.com.
Profile
August 2010
Learning Gets Credit
At MasterCard Worldwide, Ron Garrow is integrating learning into the company’s talent management to raise engagement and drive innovation.
Case Study
August 2010
Accounting for Learning
By re-engineering content delivery, Grant Thornton saved significant time and money. That should make any accountant smile.
Business Intelligence
August 2010
Building Experts
Deep performance analysis can uncover hidden expertise and provide a laser-like focus for developing and deploying talent.
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