L&D professional Dan Gallagher joins Blake Proberts on the Strategic L&D Podcast to talk about how mindset is key to aligning performance and strategy within L&D, how accountability helps improve learning impact by up to 70%, and why being called a ‘performance team’ better shows what you do. Listen to the full episode above or watch below.
Key takeaways
“We’re not training people. We’re driving performance… so our analysis of problems needs to come from a performance perspective.”
1. Learning and performance can’t be separate.
Aim to drive performance by understanding what the business needs and supporting people in doing what’s necessary to achieve those goals.
“If you rely on [a training session on its own], there’s a 15% chance of learning being implemented and seeing any change. You need accountability measures.”
2. Metrics = accountability.
The traditional L&D mindset is about offering training. Think in terms of performance outcomes and you’ll be able to show impact.
“People don’t necessarily want to learn… they want to know what do I need to do a good job?”
3. Reinvent the wheel.
Prioritise job-relevant learning experiences and engage in meaningful conversations with leadership teams to really get context right.
“When you provide targets, you create a de-facto purpose of meet the target. And it doesn’t always drive the right behaviours and the right actions.”
4. You have to lead the horse to water.
Don’t create targets in isolation. Always think about the behaviours that need to be changed. (Tip: that’ll also get you solid data.)
“Speak to the people doing the job. What’s the frontline pinch points? Sometimes, improving performance is not necessarily about building a solution, but removing barriers.”
5. Quality over quantity.
Invest in tools that are user-friendly and help you address performance needs.
See more from our host: Blake Proberts
Learn about our guest: Dan Gallagher
Hear more of the Strategic L&D Podcast on Spotify and Apple. You’ll also find us in video form on YouTube.
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