In July 2017, Adobe made the announcement that they will discontinue support for Flash in 2020. Subsequent to that announcement, major web browser producers Microsoft and Google announced that they will disable the Flash plugin by default in 2019. So, the inevitable question from learning organizations is, “What will happen to our training courses that use Flash?”

We have anticipated this question and developed tools and methodologies to convert course inventories that contain Flash courses and HTML courses that contain Flash content. I want to take this opportunity to answer this question, and a few others I’ve frequently heard in recent conversations, so that you and your teams can prepare for this major industry shift.

Q: What can I do in advance to prepare for the transition from Flash to HTML5?

A: The first things that you will need to do is arm yourself with information about your infrastructure roadmap and the makeup of your current course inventory. Then, answer some questions about whether or not this is an opportunity to reengineer some of your course content for a more modern, mobile, and/or micro-learning-based approach. From an infrastructure perspective, you are going to need to work with your LMS and IT teams to understand which browsers and devices will be supported in the 2019/20 timeframe. This will allow you to set a baseline for your development and will aid you in developing a methodology for your course testing and new course framework (if you plan to move to a unified HTML5 course framework). The next thing that you need to do is to conduct a systematic inventory of your course catalog so that you can create priorities and a systematic workflow for transformation and testing. I’ll cover this more in the next section. And finally, you may want to use this opportunity to consider whether some of your legacy courses can be reimagined to meet your modern learning audience. Below we’ve outlined a four-step process to help support your conversion planning.

Q: What types of things will I need to know about my course inventory when planning a conversion from Flash?

A: You will want to create a spreadsheet that collects information about your courses such as follows:

• Course ID
• Course Name
• Complexity (L1, L2, etc.)
• Seat time
• Authoring tool – What was it created with or which common framework, are the source files are available, etc.?

Another important aspect of this inventory will be metrics from your LMS and the Businesses on the criticality of each course to set a Priority. As an example, Compliance courses may fall under Priority 1, while courses that are rarely used or used by a narrow audience may fall under Priority 4. This information will be used to establish a workflow, identify commonalities, build conversion automation (where possible), and determine phases.

Q: Besides converting from Flash to HTML5, what other things might I want to consider when planning to convert my courses?

A: In the first section I talked a bit about “modernizing” learning. This might be in the form of shorter learning bites, performance support training, and mobile architectures.  Once you have created an inventory of your courses and reviewed your LMS usage/completion reports, you will be able get a clearer picture of which training has been effective and which training may be due for an update. And now that you’ve established a roadmap with your IT and LMS teams, you might be able to consider developing a unified HTML5 mobile framework that is suited for both desktop and mobile learning modules.

Q: What makes for a good HTML5 framework?

A: A good HTML5 framework is built from a “mobile first” point of view. That means that the user interface (UI) is built from the perspective that it will be designed in a responsive (collapsible) manner that considers the display on a smartphone, desktop or tablet. The primary reason for designing this fashion is that UI interactions on a smartphone require considerations such as display size, touch-based navigation, and user interaction types that desktop and tablets are more forgiving about. So, by thinking from a smartphone perspective first, you are less likely to run into problems with trying to retrofit content and activities.

Your HTML5 framework should also be built to be scalable from a development standpoint. This means that the more complex programming aspects of the framework are abstracted away from the content development portions of the framework. Therefore, instructional designers and content editors can build content into the framework without having to know programming languages. That way, programmers can focus on building reusable interactive components, while IDs can focus on the learning.

Q: Is any of my Flash content salvageable and how can I know?

A: This picture will become clearer as you go through your content inventory. During that process, you will be determining how each course was built and whether the course “source” files are available. Course “source” files are the files that were used to build the course and then export it to a finished SCORM format. As an example, your original course may have been built (programmed and assembled) in Adobe Captivate, but at the end of that process the developer exported the final version as a SCORM package that was given to your LMS team as a zipped version.

That zip version does not contain the original source files, and unless you have a central repository for storing source files, they are probably with the original developer. This is not the end of the world, but it does narrow your options for transforming the course. The salvageability of your course files will fall into one of three buckets:

• Courses built in commercial tools
• Courses built in Flash
• Courses built in custom frameworks

In all three cases, you will want to find the source files if you can. If you cannot, sometimes the SCORM or compiled versions of the course leaves you with options to pick out the relevant text and media, which may facilitate automation.

In the end, a successful transition to a Flash-less world does not have to be a scary prospect. Please feel free to reach out to GP Strategies if you have any questions or if you need support.

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About the Authors

Tom Pizer

Director of Learning Technologies for GP Strategies Learning Solutions Group, has over 20 years of experience in the technical digital media field. He has an extensive background in a variety of creative and technical media, including digital media specification, production, testing, and implementation. During his career, Tom has created, specified, directed, and/or managed hundreds of hours of educational, instructional, and entertainment-based media and has served clients in a wide variety of markets including the federal government, trade associations, commercial organizations, and educational institutions. A key aspect of Tom’s responsibilities includes staying abreast of emerging technologies and in-tune with the latest development methodologies, standards, and practices. To this end, he takes part in monthly advisory meetings for several of GP Strategies clients to ensure that their courseware is of the highest caliber and meets rigorous development requirements. Tom is also the technical lead for several proprietary GP Strategies technologies that are designed to reduce overall development time while increasing the creativity and diversity of GP Strategies body of work.

Most learning and development (L&D) professionals are acquainted with how to measure formal learning, but what about evaluating informal learning? This distinction is crucial as both types of learning play significant roles in employee development and organizational growth. 

What is Informal Learning?

Formal learning is often sequential and linear training delivered in-person, in a synchronous virtual classroom, or asynchronously via eLearning. Organizations typically use an LMS to schedule and track completions, ensuring that employees meet organizational standards and compliance requirements. 

Informal learning, on the other hand, encompasses a broader range of activities. This includes microlearning, performance support, social learning, peer-to-peer learning, and mobile learning. These methods are more flexible and can occur spontaneously, making them harder to measure but equally important for continuous development.  

Then there are blended approaches that combine elements of both formal and informal learning. For instance, is a massive open online course (MOOC) formal or informal learning? Is gamification formal or informal learning? Sometimes the lines of structured and unstructured learning get blurred.  

Steps to Measure Informal Learning 

Whether you are using a blended or informal approach, here are a few guidelines to follow when measuring learning.  

1. Categorize Learning Types 

Start by identifying and categorizing the different types of learning occurring within your organization. This includes formal, informal, and blended learning methods. Understanding these categories will help you tailor your measurement approach. 

2. Define Key Questions

To gauge the impact of your learning, try concentrating on small, bite-size questions that target your content’s impact, usage, and application. Some effective questions include:  

• Who is using the learning? 
• What is being shared? 
• What is the learning contributing? 
• How is the learning applied on the job? 
• What are the performance, promotion, and retention goals? 

3. Select a Learning Experience to Evaluate 

Select a specific informal learning initiative or program within your organization that you wish to evaluate. This could be a peer-to-peer learning program, a social learning platform, or any other informal learning activity. 

4. Decide What Tools You Need to Collect Data 

Your measurement strategy could include surveys, interviews, observation, analytics from learning platforms, or feedback forms. Choose tools that align with your key questions and that can capture the necessary data. 

5. Plan for Setbacks 

Anticipate potential challenges such as having to choose another program to evaluate if the initial one does not provide sufficient data. Be prepared to adapt your approach and have contingency plans in place to ensure you can still gather meaningful insights. 

6. Review the Data 

Once you have collected the data, analyze it and map the insights back to your initial questions. What can you learn from this new information? This step is crucial for understanding the effectiveness of your informal learning initiatives and identifying areas for improvement. 

7. Refine Your Learning Programs 

Use the intelligence you gathered to improve your informal learning programs. This could involve refining existing strategies, introducing new methods, or addressing any identified gaps. Continuous improvement will help ensure your learning initiatives remain effective and relevant. 

Improving Informal Learning with Data Insights 

Understanding and evaluating informal types of learning can help organizations create more effective and comprehensive L&D strategies that cater to the diverse needs of their workforce. 

Want to unlock the full value of your data? Our measurement and analytics experts can help you optimize your learning efforts.

About the Authors

Scott Weersing

What is learning analytics and why am I passionate about it? Way back when I was a newspaper photographer, I really wanted to know the who, what, when, where, and why about the story I was assigned to. I loved to find out more information so I could be in the right place at the right time in order to get the best photograph. The more information I had, along with personal experience, prepared me to take an impactful photograph. My journey to learning analytics follows the same path of asking questions and finding the right tools. When I started working in Learning and Development as an instructional designer, I always was curious about what the learners were going to do with the training on the job. Oftentimes, I would get a response from the SME that the new knowledge would just change behavior on the job. I guess I am a little cynical about the magic of training. Just wave the magic wand, attend the training, view the WBT, and your problems will be solved. I did not know the questions to ask to ensure that the training would be applied on the job, but my leaders noticed that I was curious and liked to ask questions. They asked me whether I would you like to be a performance consultant. After telling me what a performance consultant does, I said that it sounded great. Who wouldn’t want to solve business and performance problems with a series of interventions? It was my time as a performance consultant that I learned about the right questions to ask to get to outcomes and, in turn, I became fascinated with metrics. My favorite questions are still as follows: Can you tell me more about the problem? What have you have already tried to solve the problem? What would it look like after this problem is solved? What metrics or data do you have that show there is a problem? I became data driven to find the causes of problems and then track the solutions to see if we were moving the needle. The tools to find the root cause of a problem are the same tools to see whether the training is being applied on the job. I use interviews, focus groups, observations, checklists, and surveys to find out what is causing a problem, and then I use the same tools to find out what is happening after training and, in turn, making an impact on business outcomes. I would say that learning analytics and photography are similar in that you need to plan with the end in mind to collect the right information in order to tell a story and make an impact.

What digital resolutions are you hoping to accomplish in 2018? We recently asked learning leaders what was at the top of their list and followed up on each one with a blog post offering actionable advice on how to achieve each of them in the New Year.

Below is the full list of resolutions and links to insights on how to accomplish them:

Create more robust training videos.
Blog | Using Interactive Video to Enhance the Employee Experience

Have a better understanding of my learner’s needs.
Blog | Reach Your Learners through Data to Better Understand Their Needs

Offer learning content on mobile devices.
Blog | Optimize Your Training for Mobile Devices and Increase Productivity

Connect more with my workforce.
Blog | People Before (and Behind) Data: Forge meaningful connections with the people behind the data

Have better work life balance in a digital world.
Blog | Finding Work-Life Balance in a Digitally Connected World

Foster new immersive experiences for our learners.
Blog | “Back to Basics” as a Guide to the Right Immersive Experiences

Develop an Innovation Center within my organization.
Blog | Harness the Power of Disruption with Innovation Centers

Identify and communicate goals more effectively.
Blog | Time to Get Clear on Your Goals

Support the needs of my multi-generational workforce.
Blog | What’s Your Secret Weapon for Supporting Multi-generational Needs in a Digital World?

Don’t see your resolutions listed above? Let us know what your goals are for 2018 and we will address them in future blog posts!

About the Authors

Kayla Ratz

Kayla Ratz is the Digital Marketing Manager for GP Strategies and the editor of the GP Strategies Blog. Her focus is on sharing thought leadership and insights across digital mediums, and through collaboration efforts, to support performance improvement and enable knowledge sharing in the Learning Industry.

By Mark Smith , Author, Distinctions: 52 Lessons in Leadership

When I work with leaders and their teams, I hear a frequent and common frustration, “There is just not enough time in the day. The number of tasks is overwhelming, everything is critical, and everyone is ridiculously busy.”

This morning, for example, the CEO of an insurance company based in the UK told me, “We just don’t have the time to build the relationships that will allow us to operate effectively—there is not time for collaboration and it seems like we are just treading water.”

The problem is never about time. Time is finite and you can’t manufacture more of it. We all have the same number of hours in a day. Adding more hours to the workday is not the answer because that would likely only take away from family and “recharge” time, which reduces our contribution at work. The issue is not time, just as time is not the solution. The solution is prioritization and focus. 

I work with a gentleman by the name of Tony Carter, who is a venture capitalist and former vice president of Europe for CACI International. Tony is relentless in his encouragement of focus. As he works with emerging entrepreneurs, he has them recite this mantra: “If everything is important, then nothing is important.” It is only through focus that companies, teams, and individuals become highly effective.

We all have priorities – those things we typically think of as our “to do list.” Whether you keep your list on a notepad, phone, tablet, or computer, you likely have a list. We routinely add and delete tasks to these lists. It happens daily or throughout the day. Some of the items stay on the list for a long time and others are ready to be crossed out as soon as they are written. These lists reveal a lot about who we are and how we think.

We can ascertain something about leaders’ time management behaviors by looking at a manager’s list, and we can shift leadership behaviors by changing the structure of our lists. I coached CEO Greg Turley for several years. Greg is the founder of the successful internet company CarTrawler, which he built from a simple idea into a powerhouse in the travel industry. Greg was feeling the pinch of the “overwhelmed organization” and saw that people were multitasking in meetings, failing to meet commitments, and working longer hours to accomplish less.

When we recognize that these are the “symptoms” that something is wrong with prioritization and focus, we have taken the first core step to reprioritize our organization. Recognizing this, Greg developed “pre-printed” pads with core questions about the tasks on the list. Employees were encouraged to place a checkmark next to those tasks that contributed to the core mission of the organization. Imagine what items on your list would receive those checks? If you took this approach, how would that change what your list looks like? This approach changed the culture of the organization by challenging individuals to think about tasks and determining whether the tasks create value for the organization.

As you think about your own organization and your own leadership, I offer seven time management tips for leaders that will increase your effectiveness and reduce the overwhelmed feeling:

• Relentlessly do what the company pays you to do—Create opportunities for others and inspire followers toward a common goal. Leaders aren’t paid to accomplish specific tasks by specific deadlines; that is an artificial measure of success. If you look at your calendar and at your to-do list, how many of the items are contributing to your role as talent developer?
• Focus, focus, focus—Leaders understand that organizations succeed because they do less, not because they do more. Focused goals create focused decisions.
• Build intelligent lists—Strong leaders recognize that lists are an effective strategy for ensuring the organization is aligned and working on the right things. Try categorizing your list by the most important things to you as a leader. Categories can include the following: “Those things that I promised to others,” “Those things that will create opportunities for the members of my team,” and “Those things that will create long-term value for the organization.”
• Say “no” as much as “yes”—Our task lists grow when we say “yes” without thinking about the consequences. Appropriately challenge your peers and your boss about the value of tasks before adding them to the list.
• Never break a promise—If you commit to something, follow through. Remember, never commit to something you cannot deliver as a promise.
• Fix your calendar—Every week I challenge leaders to prove what they claim to be priorities by showing me their calendar. The schedules are littered with update meetings, status reviews, standing meetings, and other blocks of time with limited value. If you value developing others, demonstrate it with your calendar. If you value strategic positioning over tactical, show it in your calendar.
• Respect others—Leaders that are late or multitask in meetings send the message, “I value me more than you.” Create a culture of respect and start by valuing people’s time.

Time-task tensions will always exist. As a leader, you can move your organization to a place or progress by shifting the way you spend time. By setting the example and following these time management tips for leaders, you’ll decrease your own feelings of being overwhelmed and create a new level of energy that’s sure to spread.

About the Authors

GP Strategies Corporation

GP Strategies is a global performance improvement solutions provider of sales and technical training, e-Learning solutions, management consulting and engineering services. GP Strategies' solutions improve the effectiveness of organizations by delivering innovative and superior training, consulting and business improvement services, customized to meet the specific needs of its clients. Clients include Fortune 500 companies, manufacturing, process and energy industries, and other commercial and government customers.

It’s no surprise to anyone that digital transformation is likely to continue creating an increasingly profound impact on how organizations conduct business. This disruption is massive, requiring new rules for operating in a digital world as well as changing how employees and customers want to interact with organizations. As a result, businesses need to shift to a new way of working.

As organizations evolve and try to figure out how to shift to a digital business leadership model—from recruiting and sales to customer service and internal communications—what are the implications for the leaders of these organizations? How does leadership change in a digital age? And what skills will become most critical to lead successfully?

For years, GP Strategies’ point of view has been that strong leadership comes down to two things—competence and connection. And, despite the pace of change that defines a digital world, the foundation of competence and connection is still necessary for all leaders to be successful. At the same time, how competence and connection take shape for each individual digital leader will look different, which begs the question, ‘Does the digital age change how leaders engage, connect, and lead employees?’

Competence in Digital Business Leadership

Competent leaders understand what is expected of them, know themselves, and understand the business. Individuals who lead with competence focus on organizational success and business results. How does this understanding shift in an age of digital leadership?

Acknowledge that massive change is underway, spurred by digital transformation.

Step one is simple awareness. Leaders can’t lead as they did five or ten years ago, assuming digital is the responsibility of the IT department. The widespread use of digital tools and the massive growth of artificial intelligence means we are in a new age with new rules. A competent leader is one that demonstrates they are attuned to these changes even if they haven’t figured out exactly how to respond to them. Imagine a leader today who fails to understand the importance of social media in relationships. How competent would that leader be perceived to be by the socially charged employees they lead? Consider a leader who hasn’t at least dabbled in the use of artificial intelligence. How much confidence would their team have that they are ready to lead into the future. While a master’s degree in digital leadership isn’t a requirement, a willingness to embrace digital is.

Listen at scale. A competent leader listens. A digital leader listens at scale. Listening at scale is an acknowledgment that, in today’s digital age, a leader can hear from hundreds—if not thousands—of people at once without ever being in front of them. Digital business leaders can hear directly from individuals without the feedback being subject to someone else’s interpretation. Without waiting for the information to be shared in a dashboard or report, leaders can turn quickly to social media and get a pulse on how their employees feel about the culture, salary ranges, leadership or professional development of their organization. And they don’t need a formal report or a survey to do so.

Filter appropriately. A competent leader can take in data quickly, from a variety of sources, and use it to make decisions. At the same time, it’s important to filter the massive amount of information coming their way to assess what is useful and what is just noise. In a digital age, this ability to filter information is even more important. Looking at not only what is said, but also what information gets shared, is a critical part of this process. Filtering means looking at data, including data gathered through artificial intelligence, with a critical eye—not accepting it at face value but putting it through the leader’s lens of experience.

Manage your reputation and the message. A competent leader is strategic in managing their own messages. Digital business leaders don’t simply use and view information in a voyeuristic way. They jump in and communicate about themselves and their company’s brand. Today’s technology platforms allow them to do that in a very personal way. Without the formality of a sanitized press release, digital leaders can share who they are and how they feel. A competent leader understands that they need to manage the message with consistency and congruency, but how they do it has everything to do with their connection skills.

Connection in the Age of Digital Leadership

Connection in the age of digital business leadership doesn’t refer to how many people are in your LinkedIn network. Connection for a digital leader—and all leaders—is about building trust, establishing relationships, and showing up authentically. But how do you connect and ‘lead with your heart’ when that heart beats with a digital pulse?

Read the environment. We say good leaders can read their environment by situation sensing. They can collect and interpret the information around them, even if information is attained through intuition. Leaders who have these skills are able to uncover less obvious signals and sense what is going on. Digital leadership will require the same intuitive abilities to read what’s happening in a social or online environment to understand what employees are feeling, the impact of their comments on recruiting talent, the choices they are making, and the reputation of their company and brand.

Share authentically. Digital social leaders understand the power of sharing—both personally and on behalf of their company. When any leader shares more about themselves, they forge stronger relationships with the people they lead. Leadership authors Goffee and Jones talk about authentic leadership as “knowing and showing yourself—more—with skill.” With public and private personas colliding online, mastering the art of sharing appropriately takes new meaning.

Social leaders understand that a brand’s social media presence is more than the responsibility of the marketing department. It means you, as a leader and as an individual, leverage online platforms to share about yourself personally. In this way you connect with others, understand more about them and, appropriately, reveal more about yourself. This process builds trust and trust is the most important foundational building block in strong leaders.

Establish relationships. Digital business leaders leverage social platforms to establish one-to-one relationships in ways previously not available in a scalable way. No longer confined to visiting a showroom floor or store, digital leaders can now interact with customers in a socially enabled way. Consider the leader who scans online customer reviews and responds personally with a commitment to higher-quality products or a better experience. While the goal is not to turn leaders into a deluxe customer service center, when done selectively, establishing more direct relationships with customers can help connect leaders to their end consumer. Likewise, the digital leader that participates in socially geared sharing on Facebook, Instagram, or Yammer becomes instantly more accessible to their employees.

Communicate in a way that inspires. Digital leaders will find ways to share their vision and connect people to that vision. Through both words and imagery, a digital leader has the opportunity to paint a picture of where they want to take their company and they will be forced to simplify that vision and be more transparent in their communication. A social and digital business leader is not the sanitized image you see in an annual report—they are real and present every day in creating compelling communications that help others envision the future. Digital and social leaders understand the importance of using multiple channels to reach employees and reinforce their messages. The elimination of physical and geographic boundaries allows a social-digital CEO to reach individuals across different departments or time zones with ease.

Strong Digital Leaders Do What All Strong Leaders Have Done for Years

Digital leaders understand the power of the information they are getting and the messages they are sharing. But digital business leadership isn’t about hiding behind data or social media. It’s about understanding if the information you are receiving is telling you about what your employees (or customers) are thinking, what drives them, and what’s important to them. It’s also about sharing in a more unfiltered and authentic way.

We look forward to exploring digital leadership and its links to talent recruitment, authentic leadership, communication, innovation and many other topics. As a start, we think it’s important to remind ourselves that the need for competence and connection does not disappear with the rise of digital leadership. In fact, it becomes even more critical. Great digital leaders will do what great leaders have done for years—connect with the mind and lead with the heart.

About the Authors

Leah Clark

Leah Clark is the Leadership Practice Lead at GP Strategies, as well as an author and the founder of LeaderConnect. With over 28 years of experience in her field, Leah brings a unique perspective on the mindsets and skillset that are critical to leadership success to her coaching and consulting. Her clients benefit from her collaborative approach to crafting a well-connected and thoughtful leadership development strategy. Leah holds a Master of Arts; Organizational Psychology, Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts; English and Sociology, Boston College.

By Leah Clark , Director, Strategy & Development

Nobel-Prize-winning physicist Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. While he was certainly not talking about performance management conversations, our recent research suggests that his observation applies all too well to this organizational practice.

For years, in theory, managers and employees have connected in a series of three annual events looking something like this: Goal setting to kick off the first quarter, mid-year check-ins, and fourth-quarter reviews. Year after year with the same formulaic approach, managers have achieved the same result: An administrative duty checked off as done.

These milestone performance management conversation meetings fail to engage employees or fuel higher performance, as our recent research reveals:

• Only 43% of employees feel their organization’s performance management approach accurately measures performance.
• Just 37% feel their organization’s approach increases or sustains engagement.
• A mere 30% of individual contributors view their year-end review in a positive light, while 46% of individual contributors who receive regular coaching view the appraisal positively.

You can also check out tips for effective performance reviews, career discussions, and engagement conversations in “3 Conversations You Need to Have With Your Team.”

Helping Performance SOAR

The finding described in the last bullet above underscores the impact that regular coaching can have on performance management. Performance management approaches are only as effective as the dialogue that takes place in and around them. And yet, only 56% of respondents receive regular feedback or performance coaching throughout the year.

With this in mind, here are four best practices for employee-manager conversations about performance year-round that will actually make a difference and set up year-end conversations for success. As a manager, this will put your team members amongst the 70% who say the performance management conversation process “gives me insights for improving my performance” – versus the 33% who say it does not.

Shared Ownership

Managers should not be the only ones responsible for triggering performance management conversations. The more you equip employees to take responsibility for their success and growth on the job, the less you’ll have to badger managers to find time to coach their teams. This is especially important if your organization is experiencing fast growth and all the ambiguity it involves.

Ongoing Dialogue With Skillful Feedback

Feedback is a gift. Our engagement research suggests most people crave it. It’s information that they can use to achieve better results and a more effective work environment. Who doesn’t want that? Yet many managers are terrible at it – or avoid it for fear of de-motivating team members (e.g., “I’ll wait until this project is over so I don’t rock the boat”).

Instead, managers need to talk about the what, why, and how of tasks while the work is happening. Seizing coachable moments when they present themselves is more effective than saving up performance information for a formal prescribed meeting.

Managers also need to remember that feedback includes praise, not just constructive criticism. Praise doesn’t just make people feel good; it helps them understand which activities to continue to be successful.

Accountable Culture

In our work, we’ve seen a lot of feedback-averse cultures (often described with the euphemism “nice”). So it’s not enough to embrace the point above about ensuring your managers are skillful at feedback. There needs to be accountability at all levels to provide feedback and receive it.

Managers can create a feedback-friendly culture by encouraging team members to resolve issues among themselves (e.g., “Thank you for telling me about this. You need to talk to Cooper yourself. Do you want to go over what you might say? Then let me know how it goes.” Or “Have you explained to Delia what kind of impact it has when she’s late?”).

Regular Realignment

Given how quickly business demands and organizational priorities shift, regular performance management conversations between employees and managers is critical. The last thing your organization needs is performance aligned to out-of-date strategic imperatives. You need to make sure the markers that guide and measure performance are still relevant.

The most effective managers have regular check-ins with their teams to revisit priorities and ask, “Of the 20 tasks on the to-do list, which are most important now?” “What can wait?” “What can be delegated?” “Is anything irrelevant?” Without regular reassessment of goals, employees may choose what’s easiest to accomplish or what they most like to do, which won’t necessarily result in the performance you need.

Remember the Prize

Einstein also said, “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” So when it comes to increased performance, don’t merely check off the boxes of your performance management approach. When managers and employees talk often about the what, why, and how of the work, they’ll drive the organization’s strategy forward. They’ll achieve peak performance. That’s value.

About the Authors

GP Strategies Corporation

GP Strategies is a global performance improvement solutions provider of sales and technical training, e-Learning solutions, management consulting and engineering services. GP Strategies' solutions improve the effectiveness of organizations by delivering innovative and superior training, consulting and business improvement services, customized to meet the specific needs of its clients. Clients include Fortune 500 companies, manufacturing, process and energy industries, and other commercial and government customers.

By Colleen Casey , Research Analyst and Survey Specialist

BlessingWhite’s recently released report, Forget About Engagement; Let’s Talk About More Great Days at Work, explores how highly engaged organizations differ from those with average and lower levels of engagement. Using exclusive data gathered by BlessingWhite, the report examines the drivers of each individual’s satisfaction, contribution, and professional growth, and explores how to increase employee engagement through leadership practices and behaviors.

We find that individuals in highly engaged organizations are more likely to agree that:

• Senior leaders create a high performing work environment
• They have the training and resources they need to do their job effectively
• They have opportunities for professional growth
• They get regular feedback from their manager
• The survey will result in organizational change

But what is employee engagement and who is responsible for it?

The BlessingWhite X-model of employee engagement speaks to an organizational environment that allows employees to achieve maximum satisfaction, while at the same time making a significant contribution to their team and organization. Creating an engaged environment requires the efforts of each member of the organization , from executive to manager to individual contributors.

Regardless of where you are in the organization, engagement starts with you!  And full engagement doesn’t just happen without you doing something about it. But before you can take control of your own engagement, you need to assess where you are today.

Assessing Your Own Level of Engagement

In order to do that, it’s helpful to reflect on both your satisfaction and your level of contribution. Start by asking yourself questions like:

Satisfaction

• How did you feel about coming to work today?
• How well are your top personal values being satisfied by what you do?
• Do you have the chance to do what you do best each day?
• Are you making progress toward personal goals?

Contribution

• Do you clearly understand the organization’s priorities?
• Are you focused on what matters most to the organization?
• Are you giving discretionary effort (“110%”) and achieving results?
• Are there obstacles (e.g., lack of resources) standing in the way of maximum contribution?

By asking yourself these questions you can start to determine if your work “works” for you? Does your work “work” for the organization? Once you know where you stand, you can start to plan how to increase your employee engagement, and take action, to enhance both your satisfaction, contribution, and professional growth.

Surveys don’t change organizational culture, people taking action do. Consider what you can do to enhance your satisfaction and contribution to the organization.  When you do, you’ll not only be increasing your own engagement, you’ll be setting yourself up for more GREAT days at work!

About the Authors

Mary Ann Masarech

Mary Ann Masarech spent the first third of her career writing, designing, and marketing skills training for top-notch consulting firms. She acquired a broad Mary Ann is the Lead Consultant for GP Strategies’ Engagement Practice. In this role, she leverages her extensive experience with instructional design and client experience to create practical tools and strategies that clients apply worldwide to create successful businesses and thriving workplaces. She is also co-author of The Engagement Equation: Leadership Strategies for an Inspired Workforce (Wiley, Oct 2012), and a founding member of the Norma Pfriem Urban Outreach Initiatives, a not-for-profit that addresses food insecurity and education for underserved adults and children. Mary Ann is a graduate of Wesleyan University. 

By Kate Bradley , Leadership Development Consultant

Athletes and artists often talk about being in “the zone.”  The zone is that place of high productivity – when everything else around you falls away and you are extremely focused on the task at hand.  From a work perspective, we think about that zone as a place of high engagement and we believe that when you are there, you are not only highly productive but also highly satisfied personally.

Last month we talked about the importance of doing work that is consistent with your values, but that’s only half of the equation. To find a career that is truly satisfying – one that puts you in “the zone” more often than not, it’s also critical to identify and use your strengths.

Thinking about your strengths at work is about asking yourself two simple questions – What can I do or what do I know? And how do I get my work done?

What can I do or what do I know?

Job specific skills and expertise answer the questions “What can I do?” and “What do I know?”  These are often associated with your particular professions or organization/role.  To develop job-specific skills, consider the following career development tips:

• Attend industry events
• Network with individuals or groups with similar interests
• Subscribe to receive articles pertinent to your industry and read 1-2 each day to consistently build your knowledge of the space
• Watch TED Talks and other videos about your industry and trends occurring within it
• Write an article on the topic or industry at hand for your organization’s newsletter or an industry publication
• Pursue an advanced degree, nanodegree or certification

How do I get my work done?

Common work skills and competencies answer the question, “How do I get my work done?” To develop common competencies and strengths at work:

• Discuss techniques with someone who excels at the skill; ask him or her to coach you
• Review past events; ask yourself and those around you what you should do differently going forward to achieve a better result
• Apply newly acquired skills or knowledge as soon as possible, and consider trying them out in a “safe” or low risk environment first, perhaps outside of work with family or friends
• Volunteer for projects or take on stretch goals that will challenge you to master the skill
• Elevate your skills by coaching or mentoring others in that area

Careers built on strengths are not only successful, but they are satisfying as well  – satisfying for your employer who benefits from your contributions and satisfying for you as you use capabilities you enjoy using and come somewhat easily to you.  Doing work that helps you lean in to your strengths, allows you to:

• Build upon your strengths even more
• Receive recognition for your accomplishments (often leading to career progression)
• ENJOY your work

When your values are being satisfied and you are playing to your strengths, you are more likely to enjoy your work, more likely to be engaged, and more likely to have more zone-like moments. Maximizing your time in “the zone” is the simplest way to love what you do.

About the Authors

GP Strategies Corporation

GP Strategies is a global performance improvement solutions provider of sales and technical training, e-Learning solutions, management consulting and engineering services. GP Strategies' solutions improve the effectiveness of organizations by delivering innovative and superior training, consulting and business improvement services, customized to meet the specific needs of its clients. Clients include Fortune 500 companies, manufacturing, process and energy industries, and other commercial and government customers.

By Leah Clark , Director, Strategy & Development

Have you ever wondered why so many individuals are unhappy at work? Not the “My office mate doesn’t clean the refrigerator” kind of unhappy, but profoundly unhappy at their job and, more broadly, with their career?

With unemployment in the United States at the lowest it’s been since August of 2007, one might think lots of employed individuals means lots of happy employees. The truth is that employment doesn’t equal happiness when that job fails to align with what’s important to you as an individual. When work isn’t working out, it’s time to take a step back and consider the relationship that values and job satisfaction has in our lives.

Knowing who you are and what you want begins with reflecting on your values . Very often when individuals are unhappy with their life or their job it is because they are living in a way that is inconsistent with deeply held values. Each of us has several values, and when one or more of them are not being satisfied, we are (sometimes unknowingly) unhappy. What improving job satisfaction boils down to is this: In the context of feeling fulfilled in our careers, are we working for spare change or are we making a true investment in our lives?

Rather than race through your career or move robotically through the paces of life, check-in with yourself. Improving job satisfaction is about more than just naming your values, or owning your values. This is about thinking through whether or not those values truly reflect the core of who you are or who you want to be, and then examining if you are living those values in your daily life. It may sound touchy-feely, but the benefits are real. When we act in accordance to our values, we are engaged, excited, and willing to extend discretionary effort to our work  and our lives. When the opposite is true, we are just punching the clock until the day is over.

Sometimes, an introspective look is necessary to learn how to improve your job satisfaction. Determining whether those values are truly yours, rather than actually belong to society or someone else in your life, is a vital piece to this. It is easy to get caught up in what we should do, rather than what is inherent to who we are.

Some things to look for in determining how to improve job satisfaction includes:

• Absolute or “Should”? Ask, “How did this value become important to me?” No matter where values come from, you must be clear on whether a value is internally driven – an absolute value – or externally driven – a “should” value which is driven by society, family, or friends. Don’t shape your career around “should” values. You’ll only wind up unhappy and resenting others for this choice.

• Means Ends: Ask, “Why is this value important to me?” If the value is important as an end in itself, you will answer, “because it’s who I am,” with no other logical explanation. But if the value is a means to an end, your answer will be another value. For example, “I value money because it allows me the freedom to be with my family.” Spending time with family is the absolute value here, not money.

• Words Actions: Ask, “Do I really live my life in a manner consistent with this value?” Review the values you say are important to you. Are your everyday decisions and behaviors consistent with them? Are you walking the walk?

• Pleasant Memories: Ask, “When was I happiest, proudest, or most excited?” Think back to two or three of these situations and ask, “Which values were satisfied by this occasion?” Chances are these values were – and may still be – very important to you.

• Past Regrets: Think back to situations, or times in your life when you were unhappy, frustrated, or deflated. Ask yourself, “What would I do differently if I could live that part of my life over?” Odds are that during this regretful time of your life, some of your core values were not being satisfied.

There is value in checking in with yourself using these questions on a periodic basis. Improving employee satisfaction can begin with a brief daily “values inventory” performed at the end of each workday  to see where you experienced discomfort and why. Then, once you feel like you’ve gotten to the crux of your core value issues, continue to check in periodically.  Alignment, or misalignment with values, often reveals itself in layers.  Once you identify your core values and align with them, other values may be triggered and you can address them the same way.

While values are paramount to who we are and why we do the things we do, values alone are not enough to improve job satisfaction. Competency, advocacy, resilience, and networking also play a major role in determining career fit. Once you know your values, and you know what you want (not what you “should” pursue), ensuring a good career fit will require the advocacy to find the opportunity and to express your values, the competency to succeed in that role, the resilience to bounce back from any setbacks, and the network to open doors and unleash opportunities. However, values are where we start. Without them, you’ll be charting a course toward a career that may result in disappointment.

For years, BlessingWhite has focused on values as a core aspect of understanding who we are as leaders, and as individuals. Values are a foundational component to the work that we do in the areas of career, leadership and engagement.

About the Authors

GP Strategies Corporation

GP Strategies is a global performance improvement solutions provider of sales and technical training, e-Learning solutions, management consulting and engineering services. GP Strategies' solutions improve the effectiveness of organizations by delivering innovative and superior training, consulting and business improvement services, customized to meet the specific needs of its clients. Clients include Fortune 500 companies, manufacturing, process and energy industries, and other commercial and government customers.

By Christin Rice , Senior Consultant

A zip through any subway system across the globe brings the same caution: mind the gap. It’s a warning to riders designed to ensure they arrive safely at their destination by calling attention to a potentially dangerous oversight—the open space between the train and the platform. Organizational strategy should adopt the same warning.

Regardless of how carefully crafted a strategy may be, everything can be lost in translation. As the message flows down throughout the organization, it becomes particularly incumbent on the leader-of-leader population to bring this strategy to life; to bridge the gap from theory to practice. 92.7% of executives agree or strongly agree that empowering leaders of leaders is critical for effective implementation of organizational change.* The gap here that warrants careful attention is at the critical leader-of-leader level. Leaders of leaders (also known as functional and business unit leaders) are responsible for translating strategy from the C-suite to front-line leaders. And in doing so, they are either the catalyst to realize strategy or the barrier to achieving it.

How do they do this? Allow me to oversimplify in order to clarify:

In its simplest terms (though we know nothing is simple in business), leaders of leaders hold the key to driving the organization forward, backward, or sideways when it comes to translating strategy into desired results through their management communication skills. They do this by translating the message into actionable information that propels those they lead to succeed. Or they don’t and, no matter how much work went into crafting that strategy at the top, execution is hindered.

Proceed with Caution

Strategic clarity can become as clear as mud in the process of communicating it throughout the organization. This happens when the message wasn’t clear to start with, or the messenger lacks the skill or will to pass it on with clarity.

Leaders of leaders are responsible for translating strategy between executives and front line leaders, while simultaneously not necessarily influencing the strategies themselves.

And here is the critical point – if leaders of leaders are not effective in bridging this gap, they risk falling into the chasm and taking those they lead with them. In our interviews with leaders of leaders, when asked what they wish they knew in their first year in their role, “criticality of communications and goal-setting” and “how to be strategic in setting goals,” emerged repeatedly. It’s not always a lack of awareness that creates risk; it can also be related to a skill deficit that could be addressed through formal business communication skills for managers training, 1:1 coaching or mentoring, or other avenues.

Yield the Right of Way

If the strategy is understood, and communicated with skill, the potential for success grows exponentially.

These leaders are the face of the org to front-line leaders and individual contributors, even more than the C-suite. They are significantly more likely to be known by a wider part of the organization than those above them. Which means they have tremendous influence. Our engagement research highlights the connection between engagement and trust in your manager, and how that’s often quite distinct from the level of trust in executives. This population bridges that gap by being more known, and therefore influential in strategy implementation. If your leaders of leaders lack essential management communication skills, your organization’s strategies won’t be translated effectively.

Practically speaking, how does effective business communication occur? Through competence and connection. BlessingWhite’s research shows that leaders across all levels need two critical elements to succeed: competence and connection.

Competence:

The ability to communicate clearly across audiences and mediums (email, in-person, live virtually) is critical in clarifying the strategy and making it meaningful. Effective communication skills for managers involves refining the message so it is clear to the audience, checking for understanding, and doing it repeatedly. A message sent once is not sufficient, nor is simply repeating the exact same message. 89.3% of senior managers agree or strongly agree that leaders of leaders are the “linchpin” to effectively communicate the needs of senior management to their teams.*

Competence is also required for effective goal-cascading. Simple rules apply here; keep the goals specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. Connect the goals to the overarching goals of the organization and ensure individuals know how their day-to-day goals relate to the strategic vision. Support the goals by recognizing individual, team, and business line performance. Provide support and redirection when needed.

Other elements of competence required in strategy-execution include leveraging business acumen and organizational savvy.

Connection:

If competence is about engaging the mind of those you lead, connection is about engaging the heart. There are multiple ways to demonstrate connection skills.

Leveraging clear business communication skills cannot be underestimated. Just as critical, if not more so, however, are inspirational communication skills. A vision is only as effective as it is clearly understood. Communicating in a way that inspires action involves being authentic as a leader. It’s not about conforming to a particular mold, but rather deploying your individual strengths and personal values to build relationships, establish trust, and bring others along with you.

Leaders of leaders can do this by sharing an example of what the strategy means to them personally, or one way they are personally invested in realizing the goals. This can help those they lead connect to them and elicit their support in making that goal a reality. They may even want to use a metaphor or story to bring the change they are leading to life. Doing this authentically is more important than doing it perfectly.

If your organization is trying to close the gap between strategic vision and business reality, don’t forget to mind the gap when it comes to supporting and developing effective communication skills for managers and leaders.

About the Authors

Joe Meyler