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Happy Reflection Year

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Happy New Year! We are thankful for 2021and hopeful for a relief. One thing people continue to talk about is the need for things to return to normalcy. The change has been exhausting; from working from home, home schooling, increasing use of digital solutions and concerns about health. That is a lot to deal with I must confess. The good part is that we have found ways to adapt, prioritize and be better people despite everything. We became more humane and thoughtful towards ourselves and others. As it is usual for the start of the year, everyone is quick to plan, make resolutions and jump into action. Good as  it may seem, it is way more important to reflect. Reflection on the past, the present and the future. You may ask,” what do I reflect on? How do I reflect? How does reflection help with ensuring a purposeful year? What do I reflect on? Successes, areas of improvement, priorities, values, commitments, goals, personal life, relationships, friendships, family and career How do I ref
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Shaping Talent Development at Such a Time Like This

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  I am certain you have a talent development strategy. One that captures all the essentials of how you intend to develop organizational talent. How is that going? The COVID pandemic has tested everyone and every organisation with its unprecedented impact on lives, how we do work and what work means in essence. We see organisations  embracing technology with speed for business continuity. We have seen the increasing use of virtual options. We have seen work shift from offices to home. Not leaving out the coordination of remote teams.  My advice: take a deep breath. There are many questions. How do we navigate talent development? Where do we start from? What is meaningful without driving people over the edge with an overload of virtual learnings? Talent development is not just training; that is the mistake many make. Talent development is a holistic approach targeted at  nurturing talent to meet organizational goals. Note the word nurturing; nurturing is a combination of modeling, motiva
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What are you curious about?

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Curiosity, they say, kills the cat. Well the world has evolved and so has the cat. The cat will learn more by being curious. There is a growing school of thought about curiosity and how important it is to organizational learning, leadership and innovation. Curiosity starts by asking the right questions. Questions are powerful; they challenge our thinking and get others thinking too.Questions challenge mental models which have been created over the years. What can we do better? How can we adapt this solution to other situations? What is new that can improve what we doing?  Innovation is not rocket science; it is an outlook on what can be done differently. It starts with curiosity. It starts with asking questions. It starts with taking the “ “quo“ from status. The status quo is no longer attractive; get a little curious.  What should you be curious about? 1. Be curious about yourself (self-awareness) 2. Be curious about others (people awareness) 3. Be curious about your environment and h
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The Power of Gratitude

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Gratitude is the act of being thankful; the ability to appreciate the simple things in life, people, environment and perspective. It seems easy on the surface but it takes a lot to be thankful. It is a general view of realizing that we have a reason, even if it is one, to be thankful. You will not always “feel” thankful. Life will throw curve balls. Things around may make you question why you need to be thankful. 2020 and its happenings may give you all the reasons. Stop to think and you will realize that getting out of bed each day is enough reason to be thankful. Gratitude has the power to change perspectives. A question for us all: what are you thankful for? It is so easy to see the negatives and lose sight of the positives. In this season of thanksgiving, here are things you should be grateful for: family, friends, finances, health, career and every little thing you have. It is easy to fall into the trap of complaining but make a choice to be thankful. Be filled with thanks. Learn
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The Art of Reflection - Take Away from Lockdowns and Physical Distancing

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2020 was the most anticipated and has been the most dramatic of all. Dealing with the pandemic has not been the easy on anyone but we stay positive.  It is a time we have to deal with both the pandemic and infodemic - the information overload. A lot to deal with I must say. If nothing, this year has forced us to slow down and reflect. Reflection is the glue that cements learning experiences;  however, we are always learning and doing without reflecting. What is reflection? It is the art of taking a pulse check and learning from our experiences. Reflection brings new perspectives; it creates a mental model of curiosity to the reason behind our actions. Reflection is a “man in the mirror” experience; you see yourself, sometimes your flaws but most importantly, everything that makes you special. Reflection gives back control when we think everything is out of control. Since reflection is about thinking, it drives innovation and new ways of doing what we do. Reflection helps you move on; i
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Flipped Classroom as a Tool for Quality Learner Engagement

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Adults learn based on their needs and effective learning focuses on engagement based on expressed needs. Learner engagement which is often a challenge in many learning scenarios. There has been a lot of discussions around flipped classroom which is inquiry-based. Flipped in its sense allows the learner to take the driver's seat and only utilises face-to-face engagement to question, clarify and discuss which enhances the total learning experience. Photo credit: YuJa The  flipped classroom  is a learning model where learners have a prior exposure to the content while the face-to-face interaction is centred on action learning activities in form of exercises, projects and discussions.  While many may prefer to maintain the traditional approach to face-to-face learning where there is an elevated role of the trainer or facilitators, the flipped classroom puts the trainer (who is more of a facilitator) and learner at the same level and portrays the trainer as a subject matter
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The Truth about Learning in a Fast-Paced Environment

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Written by Bayo Adekola Photo credit:  Hertzler Systems Inc Have you ever wondered why learning programs are not making as much impact as they should? Maybe there is a disconnect between the environment and learning. We cannot separate learning from the environment. Learning starts in the environment and it is a key part of every learning experience.  What do we mean by environment? The environment we refer to within the business world is the " space " in which business operates; this includes the business culture and approach .  The focus in this article will be on learning in fast paced environment i.e. one that is dynamic in which things change so quickly. Characteristics of a Fast-Paced Business Environment Time bound Multi-tasking Multiple stakeholders Strong influence of policy and market dynamics How do you drive learning in such environments? Prioritise your learning to always align with business goals and latest direction. Use regular int
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