What’s the best way to show off your expertise and become an Agile Learning champion?
By teaching it to others, of course.
While we’ve written extensively about how to incorporate Agile Learning methodologies into individual learning projects, L&D should take every opportunity to establish their position as organizational leaders. So, it’s important to promote your use of Agile Learning.
Plus, it helps to set expectations with your business partners and any Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) who may need to participate in some of these processes when working with the training team.
If you’re just getting started with Agile Learning, don’t forget to check out this free beginner’s guide.
1. But first, create a culture of learning.
A culture of learning is achieved when there is an always-on commitment to continuous learning. In a culture of learning, each employee embraces the need to upskill, reskill, and learn something new. Additionally, managers encourage the process and allow employees to incorporate tiny bits of learning into each employee’s workday.
When employees make learning a part of every work day, even for 10 minutes, they are “learning in the flow of work,” according to consultant Josh Bersin.
“Rather than think of corporate learning as a destination, it’s now becoming something that comes to us,” he explains in Harvard Business Review. “Through good design thinking and cutting-edge technology, we can build solutions and experiences that make learning almost invisible in our jobs.”
What does this have to do with Agile Learning? When employees and managers understand the need to have learning become an important part of everyday work, they will constantly be thinking of new ways to learn.
This will create a steady pipeline of training requests, requiring talent developers like yourself to embrace Agile in order to develop and deliver this much-needed learning at scale.
2. Demonstrate the results of Agile.
As we’ve written previously, Agile Learning gets supercharged when employees experience the results and happily share them.
It’s imperative to measure the outcomes of your courses built using Agile Learning frameworks. Did the learners find it more engaging? Did they notice that the course was different from others they’ve experienced? Were they better able to apply the content to their daily work?
While these are important questions to have your team explore, internal feedback is just as important: Did your team feel that Agile Learning principles facilitated the project in ways that a traditional approach could not have achieved? Did it help them meet deadlines more effectively?
Even positive word-of-mouth—both internally and externally—can create the perfect “whisper” campaign you need to spread the good word about Agile.
3. Join forces with others that already use Agile.
Agile Learning methodologies may be a newer concept for L&D, but chances are, several other teams within your organization, such as engineering and product development, have been using the fundamental concepts of Agile for quite some time.
Project managers, of which there are probably several around the organization, also embrace Agile methodologies.
Our advice is to join forces with them. Such teams can be instrumental in helping you and your team not only get Agile up and running but also maximize its benefits.
Besides helping you better implement Agile, they can support you in building the culture of Agile that you seek, eventually getting you to the point where you are that Agile Learning champion.
Speaking of Agile Learning frameworks, make sure you choose the right one for you and your team. Here’s a full guide on Agile Learning frameworks and how to assess which one is the right fit.
4. Ah, at last: become an Agile Learning champion.
Obviously, no one is going to anoint you “Agile Learning Champion,” but there might be some events that tell you that you have achieved this special status:
- Your organization’s internal Web team has asked you to add pages to the Wiki on the topic of Agile Learning.
- Department or division managers from various parts of the firm track you down and ask you to teach them and their teams how to implement Agile.
- Senior management has discovered your work and has asked for a special report on the impact of Agile Learning.
You can give your internal employee profile a bit of a makeover, too. Add an #agile hashtag to your employee bio in your corporate intranet. Join any Agile channels or discussions in your internal Slack, Teams, or communications platforms.
Also, be sure to add Agile Learning as a skill to your LinkedIn bio as well. (Your co-workers might come across this as well one day as they’re browsing online.)
Another way to spread the good word about Agile Learning is to create case studies or success stories. Explain, with visuals and data, how you used Agile to build learning experiences that dozens or perhaps hundreds of employees have utilized and have benefited from.
Of course, you cannot do this alone. Empower those who have been involved in an Agile Learning project to help you build the Agile Learning culture throughout the organization.
It’s going to be a ground-up approach, and it certainly will not happen overnight. Your fellow team members, SMEs, learners, and Agile practitioners from other departments can all help you build a culture that values continuous learning, rapid development, skill acquisition, and accountability.
Want to learn more about what Agile can do for your learning organization? Check out this on-demand webinar recording: How Agile Learning Can Power Your Digital Transformation Strategy
