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Workation evaluation – lessons we have learned so far

Workation evaluation – lessons we have learned so far

by Jana Wölfl | Nov 28, 2022 | Agile Leadership, Best Practice, MDI Inside | 0 comments

Vacation during working hours seems like a dream – but is it really?

We provide a workation evaluation, weigh the pros and cons and look at the lessons we have learned so far.

* Workation evaluation – Lessons Learned so far

Workation – Work and Vacation – has become a popular tool in recent years for companies to give employees a little relief. After all, who doesn’t want to escape the gray daily work life for a few weeks?

In this article, you’ll learn a little more about what we have learned from our workation experiences so far, and what possible consequences it could entail.

Work on vacation

At first glance, it seems strange to put the two words work and vacation together. Normally, when we are on vacation, we don’t want to think about our job, we want to switch off.

In the past, digital nomads in particular, i.e. remote workers, were not tied to a specific workplace. But in the age of digitalization and technological progress, more employees get the opportunity – regardless of the industry – to work from somewhere else.

Workation is about escaping your work routine.

For a limited time, employees can travel to a specific country and do their work from there. Whether from the beach, a big city or the mountains – the location doesn’t matter. The only important thing is that the Internet connection is stable enough and that the agreed times are adhered to. The rest is mostly up to the employees.

Is all that glitters gold?

Workation evaluation – Lessons Learned so far

Vacation during working hours seems like a dream at first. But is this concept really ideal? We weigh the pros and cons.

Pros:

  • The advantages are obvious. You discover new places and experience a different culture.
  • In addition to the usual work tasks, you can relax a little.
  • Change of scenery: Everyone needs a change from the usual four office walls.
  • Travel stimulates creativity. New impulses arise from new impressions.
  • Flexibility – employees are free to decide where they want to work from.
  • Traveling with other team members can additionally be a good way to get to know each other better and build a stronger team

2022 Facts and figures about workation

Clearly, the concept of Workation is extremely attractive to employees.

But we also come across some benefits for companies themselves. According to statistics from workation.com

  • 93% of employees are more productive than before.
  • This increases the performance of remote working by 20% overall.
  • In turn, the company saves per remote employee $11,000 per year.
  • In addition, 86% of Millennials want more flexibility in the workplace.
  • Workation can be a great solution to create more agility and increase employee satisfaction.

Cons:

  • Complete relaxation is not guaranteed. You probably think about work most of the time and so you can’t switch off completely. Especially when your job is hectic and you have a lot to do it’s hard to enjoy the vacation part of workation.
  • Your technical equipment – laptop, cables, etc. – adds extra baggage.
  • If the Internet connection is not stable, you can hardly do your job.

Maintaining a better work-life balance with workation

In the end, however, it is worth giving the concept of workation a chance. In most cases, employees return more relaxed and can continue working with renewed energy. Complications can’t be avoided, but after all, they also arise during normal travel.

We at MDI have already tested workation ourselves. If you want to know how it went, you can read about it here 🙂

  • Third Workplace – Can you really work from anywhere?
  • Third Workplace – a plea for more flexibility

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Agile mindset beyond company boundaries

Agile mindset beyond company boundaries

by Book "Agile Leadership Development", Marina Begic | Oct 20, 2022 | Agile Leadership, Digital Transformation | 0 comments

Agile mindset beyond company boundaries

In order to compete in a constantly changing market, companies must be able to react quickly to changes.
Strong networking, increased knowledge exchange and an agile mindset beyond company boundaries are crucial.

Leadership in times of crisis

We are in highly uncertain times – everything around us is always changing and no decision is really definite. Every day we are confronted with new and unfamiliar challenges.

Sometimes, as a leader, it can feel overwhelming. In this article, you will find some practical tips on how to handle challenging situations to the best of your ability.

Without continuous development, there is stagnation

A simple but important skill when managing crises is the will to keep developing. If you grow both personally and in your role as a leader, you can essentially work in a calmer and more reflective way.

Smart networking

For this, it is important to have a good network and to share knowledge within it. Doing so is important because with an ever-increasing amount of information, we remember less and less and find it difficult to filter out the relevant information.

Find your community

Until now, most professionals exchanged knowledge at business events like Leadership Horizon – at summits, congresses or events. However, there are also virtual communities on all kinds of topics. One example is our community personalist.at – a platform for HR experts or the LinkedIn Leadership Community, where leadership development is the leading topic.

Open Knowledge

In order to learn sustainably, it is not only our previous components of technology and people that are important – but also digitisation. This is where the concept of Open Knowledge comes into play. Knowledge is open when it is easily

  • accessible,
  • changeable
  • and shareable by all.

This perspective requires organisations to reflect on how they deal with information and how it is distributed. Open Knowledge thus plays a role not only in future training, but also in the economic survival of companies.

Agility according to the TIE model

(by Gunther Fürstberger) 


In terms of the TIE model, the following factors are necessary for an agile approach:

  • Transparency (T) between companies in terms of information exchange.
  • Iteration (I) – tools, methods and content are tested and reviewed in short cycles – leading to rapid further development
  • Empowerment (E) by trusted guides, executives, opinion and market leaders.

The principle of agility is generally seen as a requirement for the ongoing changes we face. It no longer functions  as a buzzword, but rather as a must in order to be able to deal with crisis situations.

In the future, we should therefore be able to apply an agile mindset not only within a company, but also beyond the company’s boundaries.

Marina Begic

Marina Begic

Digital Business Development Expertin und Senior L&D Consultant

Marina has been working on new, effective learning methods and the future of corporate learning for over 15 years. In her current role, she is responsible for Digital Business Development at MDI, where her focus is not driven by the current buzzwords, but primarily on the feasibility of digital transformation for clients such as Erste Group, Lenzing, Semperit, Deutsche Bahn, Andritz AG, Uniqa, Mayr-Melnhof, Frequentis, RHIM. Her greatest strength is bringing loose ends together, which she impressively demonstrates time and time again with her big picture view and multi-dimensional approach. Her greatest passion is to provide learners not only with an experience, but also with real, lasting value for their real challenges.

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How to become resilient? Your personal superpower

How to become resilient? Your personal superpower

by Anita Berger, ARD | Sep 26, 2022 | Agile Leadership, Leadership Tips | 0 comments

How to become resilient? Your personal superpower

Meeting the challenges in the VUCA/BANI world

In this article you will get an insight into key competencies as well as starting points to strengthen your own resilience. Concrete reflection questions and tips for implementation will let you become a “pro” of your own superpower.

VUCA & BANI

VUCA or BANI as explanatory models for our challenges

In our daily professional lives, we are constantly confronted with turbulence. The following models provide a framework to bring challenges closer for companies and for society as a whole:

All these terms define what we are up against in this ever-changing society – a fragile system that is only fueled by uncertainty and anxiety, as well as complex, non-linear problems. The demands on organizations and leadership are sometimes ambiguous and contradictory, but also incomprehensible.

Key competencies for your superpower

to meet these challenges

Resilience in dealing with crises and challenges

Jamais Cascio counters these complex models with a response option: RAAT (Resilience, Awareness, Adaptation and Transparency). For the first factor alone – resilience – there are several models. I present the Vienna Resilience Model below.

Seven key resilience competencies

The Vienna Resilience Model describes seven key resilience competencies that positively influence a person’s resilience:

The basic pillars of resilience are 

  • acceptance
  • optimism
  • self-fulfilment
  • responsibility
  • network orientation
  • solution orientation
  • future orientation.

Each of these factors plays an important role in strengthening one’s resilience.

Strengthening the superpower of resilience holistically

In contrast to the Vienna Resilience Model, Stephen Covey identifies four pillars in his 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which are also found in most other models to strengthen one’s resources and thus one’s resilience.

When reflecting on how you use your resources, you should take each resource individually and consider how well you take care of each. This could be in the form of the following approaches, for example:

  • Physical: I regularly keep myself informed about things that affect my health and fitness.
  • Mental: I clear my head every day through, for example, music, silence or relaxation exercises.
  • Social: I listen to others and pay attention to what they have to say instead of thinking about what I want to say.
  • Spiritual: I have the courage to stand my ground even when others oppose me.

Becoming the “pro” of your own superpower –

tips for implementation

If we want to strengthen our resilience, we sometimes need to develop new habits and behaviors or retrain “bad habits” (for example, taking the stairs instead of the elevator). James Clear’s (2020) 1% method states that the best way to achieve goals is to get a little better every day, i.e., to work towards them in small steps for maximum impact. Improving 1% per day will yield a 37-fold increase in one year.

Conclusion

The VUCA or BANI world presents challenges to all of us. In dealing with these challenges, we can further “nurture” or build our key competencies of resilience by being aware of them as a first step.

In small steps and with the coupling to our previous habits, we can then integrate our resources, which further strengthens our superpower resilience holistically into our behavioral repertoire

Read the full (german) article that was written for ARD Magazin | Edition 6814/6/2022

Anita Berger

Anita Berger

Executive Coach, Consultant, Trainer & Managing Partner MDI

Anita Berger is an executive coach, consultant and trainer specialising in leadership development and international human resource management. She is a partner of MDI Management Development International. For more than 15 years she has worked in management and leadership positions (among others as HR-
Director at Coca-Cola Hellenic and HR Manager at Konica Minolta Business Solutions).

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Learning in the agile age: waterfall or cycle?

Learning in the agile age: waterfall or cycle?

by Dominik Etzl | Jun 28, 2022 | Agile Leadership, Best Practice, MDI Inside | 0 comments

What is the reality of learning in large companies today?

We often see in a wide variety of companies that there is a department that is single-handedly responsible for designing training programs, then planning them through from A to Z in advance, with a strong focus on teaching abstract models.

What’s the problem with that? Firstly, the work context is too complex for any department to know what the employees’ real-world challenges are. Secondly, the pace of change is now too fast for training to be valid over time. And thirdly: Us humans are not purely rational beings who learn on the basis of theoretical models, but also need “heart” and “hand” to change.

About the author

​Dominik Etzl is Solution Development Manager and Trainer at MDI Management Development GmbH and Managing Director of Metaforum International. His focus is on topics of digital transformation, as well as OKR (Objectives & Key Results), agile leadership and lateral leadership. His goal is to support managers in leading a valuable contribution to their environment: on an individual, corporate and societal level.

Waterfall vs. cycle

It seems obvious: If employees are inefficient somewhere, we choose an expert on learning who is qualified by his long-time expertise to create the perfect learning program with the appropriate content.

Although this seems very obvious at first glance, this approach belongs to the outdated mindset of taylorism. This sees people as machines working on an assembly line, for which all that is needed is an engineer who knows which update will increase efficiency. Learning here resembles a waterfall, where from start to finish one thing leads causally to the next.

In theory, it looks like this:

  1. Pre-reading X leads to
  2. Aha-experience, leads to
  3. Interest in more, leads to
  4. Active involvement in the seminar, leads to
  5. Trying out in everyday life, leads to
  6. Better business results, …

Is learning even plannable?

This approach cannot be dismissed completely. After all, looking back on a learning experience, correlations can be seen! Entire models and companies have specialized in optimizing this approach. For example, Dr. Donald Kirkpatrick has made the valuable contributions with the “New World Model” that a training program must be designed “back to front”. One must derive the necessary behaviors etc. from the desired goal and not vice versa.

This has its merits. Nevertheless, these approaches are built on an assumption: Learning could be planned.

Thought exercise

But is it? Please think of one thing in which you have achieved mastery. Would your personal path to mastery, as it happened, have been predictable? Could an expert have given you a coherent chain of experiences that you just had to follow blindly to get really good at? Of course not. Nevertheless, in practice we see far too often that people compulsively try to understand learning as a complicated, i.e. mechanically transparent problem.

Learning is a profoundly complex problem

However, it is true that learning is a deeply complex problem and thus cannot be planned. Whenever we deal with people, especially knowledge workers, we find ourselves in the complex cynefin quadrant. Thus, the expert loses its validity. There are no more “good practices” to follow, only “emergent practices.” This means it takes an iterative, collaborative, and holistic approach to learning. So the metaphor for learning – especially in the digitized 21st century – is not the waterfall, but the circle.

The 3×3 Rule

In what follows, we don’t invent anything new, but let the effective laws of learning work for themselves. What we are doing is bringing 3 elements of agile learning, which have mostly been seen separately, into a coherent picture.

Element 1: 3 process steps

Agile has defined – in complex situations – iteration as the most efficient way to reach the goal. The mantra is: long planning is a waste of time because the context is in flux. It is more efficient to take small steps and to refocus on the goal at regular intervals. This applies to project management (e.g., SCRUM) or product development (e.g., design thinking) just as it does to learning: “What small learning iteration do I need right now to master tomorrow’s deadline better than yesterdays?”

Big Picture

At the same time, it’s important not to lose sight of the big picture in learning either. Similar to business strategies, there needs to be some sort of vision or north star to follow. This can also be questioned at regular intervals. In this way, short-term and long-term goals form a symbiosis that optimally supports the learner in the learning journey.

Thought Exercise

Join in: What’s a skill you’re proud of? How did you learn it? – Think through the process: Whatever you learned, at some early point you had at least a rough idea of what you wanted to learn next (planning). Then you jumped into the more or less deep end (acting). Finally, you were either happy because you managed one more pace in the water, or you pulled yourself out of the water exhausted and analyzed what could be better (evaluating). Then the cycle starts all over again.

Let’s take a figurative look at this – indeed, deeply human – movement: These 3 process steps form the outer framework of the MDI learning circle: plan, act & evaluate. They are the skeleton that gives the learning process its shape:

Element 2: 3 levels of action

Running in circles does not automatically make you better. Us humans are living beings and need stimulation on 3 levels, which only as a coherent whole results in change.

Mostly unconscious, but nevertheless present in every learning process, are these 3 effect levels of learning:

  1. Brain: understanding why and how something works
  2. Heart: feeling that the current situation is not good, or that another one would be better
  3. Hand: trying – only by doing the world changes

Learning can start at any point

Tip: The 3 levels of impact are not chronological, but learning can start at any point. What is important is not when, but that all 3 are stimulated. Think of a 3-legged stool: If one leg is missing – no matter which one – the stool tilts. Three of them create stability.

What happens if one of the three “legs” is missing?

  • A learner without “brain” (cognitive insight) is at best a “blind benefactor” – and at worst wasted potential because he does not see when, how and why action should be taken.
  • A learner without “heart” (emotional responsiveness) is at best a “rational optimizer” and at worst a narcissistic manipulator.
  • A learner without “hand” (practical experience) is at best a “benevolent theorist” and at worst an “aloof know-it-all”.

These three types are extreme expressions to illustrate the co-dependency of the 3 levels of effectiveness. In practice you will find these types in a weakened and mixed form. Do you recognize someone?

Example

But let’s also look at a positive example. For example, on the topic of giving feedback:
Giving critical feedback in such a way that the other person receives it as a gift is an art. It has to be learned. Are you good at it? If so, please recall a specific feedback situation. (If not: Choose another skill you have mastered.) – If you are a master of feedback, you have certainly given and received critical feedback frequently (hand). – You’ve felt at several moments how it works, how good authentic feedback feels, and how painful hidden or unfair criticism is (heart). And you cognitively understood that critical feedback is a value-add that moves you and your colleagues forward, even if it’s not always pleasant (brain).

Note: Often it’s not stand-alone learning moments, but many small “AHAs” that lead to the big “eureka.”

Element 3: 3 Stakeholders

The third part of the 3×3 rule is about stakeholders. Why? Learning success in business is proven to be a collaborative success. It takes several to pull together and make their respective contributions. Who is that specifically? Learning research clearly shows that 3 stakeholders in organizations are crucial for learning to actually work (cf. Weinbauer-Heidel, Ibeschitz-Manderbach):

  1. Learner
  2. Organization (especially HR & leadership)
  3. Trainer

The learner
he learner naturally bears a main responsibility for the interplay of learning and applying. What matters most is the learner’s own will and confidence to apply the content in the short and long term.

The organization
The organization’s learning lever lies primarily in providing a system for defining and evaluating short- and long-term learning objectives that learners can use as a guide.

The Trainer
The biggest levers to learning success on the trainer side are clearly communicating expectations, teaching relevant content, allowing active practice in the seminar and conducting implementation planning for applying what is learned in the work context.

Similar to the 3 levels of impact, all 3 stakeholders play essential roles in the success of learning in continuing education. If one of the 3 stakeholders does not fulfill his task, potentials remain unused and in the worst case the learning construct collapses like a house of cards.

The MDI Learning Circle

Finally, let’s take a step back and widen our view again from the individual element to the big picture. What does the 3×3 rule tell us? It sums up how learning works in an agile environment. Here you can find everything summarized in one picture:

  • The 3 process steps: plan, act, evaluate.
  • The 3 levels of action: Brain, Heart, Hand
  • The 3 stakeholders: Learner, Organization, Trainer

Take all 3 elements into account and you can be sure that the learning success in your organization will increase!  Note: This article addresses almost exclusively your brain – not your heart or your hand! 😉 So consider: what concrete next steps can you take to establish a more agile learning culture in your organization?

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10 agile ways to make organizational learning more accessible

by Peter Grabuschnig | Jan 26, 2022 | Agile Leadership, Best Practice, learning effectiveness | 0 comments

10 agile ways to promote organizational learning.

In order to respond to the current challenges in an organization in the best possible way, different learning formats have proven to be strongly supportive in terms of implementation. These enable new knowledge to be shared proactively and flexibly in the form of impulses within the company. They also have a positive effect on the networking of participants, as they can learn from each other and develop results together.

In the following, Peter Grabuschnig presents some methods for learning and networking and their approaches from the new book by MDI: Agile Leadership Development – How Leaders Learn in a Self-Determined and Needs-Oriented Way

 

Knowledge as the foundation for innovation and development

In a world where buzzwords such as VUKA1, BANI2, digitalization and agility have found their way into the operational meetings of HR departments, it is essential to actively address the constantly new and changing realities of our society. Knowledge, which not only lays the foundation for acquiring new competencies but is also essential for strategic and operational decisions, must therefore have the following characteristics:

  • It must be easily understandable and accessible.

  • It must also be transparent and kept up to date.

This poses increasing challenges not only for corporations, but also for small and medium-sized companies.

Information and knowledge alone do not create competence

For this, transfer into practice, application and training are required. So in order to learn new things (development) and create new things (innovation), it is highly relevant not only to know where I can find information, but also to actively engage with it. New things can only be created through new impulses that help us sharpen our perspectives and reflect on them.

Transparency and networking as drivers of leadership development

Every year, companies invest vast sums in the further development of their workforce. Often, large training programs are rolled out that have taken months of painstaking preparation. A common disadvantage of these programs is that in most cases they are quite rigid and fixed.

However, the fact that quite a lot can happen in a year and that circumstances can change completely in just a few weeks has been demonstrated not only by previous economic crises and the Corona pandemic. This is not to say that such measures are not useful.

Nevertheless, tomorrow’s leadership development should be able to be more agile and thus more adaptive and inclusive.

In many companies, a lot of knowledge is already available through ongoing training offerings and the experiences of employees. This now needs to be leveraged and put “on the road.” This requires courageous, new and participative concepts that link employees with each other, provide them with new impulses and give them the opportunity to learn from each other. In addition to the classic transfer of knowledge and the training of methods and models, agile management development also relies above all on transparent networking of the target group and flexible adaptation of the content to the current, actual needs of the leaders involved.

10 agile ways to make organizational learning more accessible

The following are some methods for learning and networking and their approaches.

1. Leader Camps

The most successful format for networking is the Leader Camp – a modification of the Barcamp. This is a method that originated in software development. The Leader Camp is titled with a current umbrella topic and offers participants the opportunity to discuss their own issues and challenges in correlation with the umbrella topic. The format itself can either take place in presence as a large event or be conducted as an online congress.

2. Web Camp

The Web Camp is a shorter online version of the Leader Camp in which a specific topic is covered. For example, topics that have come up as a result of a Leader Camp, a survey, or even strategic or operational operational need can be further explored and worked on quickly and without much effort with a larger group of interested participants.

3. Hackathon

The Hackathon, like the Barcamp, is a format that has its origins in the field of software product development. Here, first and foremost, a basic question is asked about a topic. An example of this would be, “How can we – as a company – manage to integrate flexible working models?” An answer to this main question is then developed using a predefined creative process.

In the first step, the problem is examined, analyzed and described in detail. Then possible solutions are collected together. Clearly defined, tightly held time phases prevent the participants from getting too caught up in discussions, so the focus is always on solving the problem. The third step involves the concrete implementation of these solutions. Here, an attempt is made to develop a directly implementable option from the ideas collected. Finally, the groups present their results to each other. The hackathon is thus an ideal method for achieving results and implementation possibilities quickly, agilely and in a solution-oriented manner.

4. Masterclasses

In music, the masterclass is used as a format to learn from the best and get new impulses and ideas for your own progress. The Masterclass for Leaders has been inspired by just that. Online in a short, 90 – minute webinar format, but also implementable in presence, it thus offers many different possibilities. For example, participants can learn new things from experts and have the opportunity to reflect on knowledge they already know. They can also ask questions and exchange ideas on the topic.

The procedure is as follows: As a rule, the expert gives a keynote speech. Afterwards, they have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the topic with her. The short duration of the format makes it easy to integrate into the daily routine of executives, who are often very busy. Participation is based on voluntariness, and if someone is unable to attend, a recording can be provided.

5. Internal Masterclasses

To make existing knowledge in the company more accessible, the format of the internal masterclass is equally suitable. It does not make sense in every area, nor is it necessary, to buy in expertise from outside. There are many experts within the company who are willing and able to share their knowledge with others. Internally organized masterclasses, conducted by colleagues, create a good mix in the formats of continuing education programs, show appreciation for the expertise of individuals and offer the opportunity to effectively share important, company-specific information with a large group of people. Possible uses for internal masterclasses from the field include a financial review with the CFO and his team at the end of the fiscal year, etc.

6. The virtual implementation of the masterclasses

enables leaders to participate independently of locations and thus, for example, a better relationship, but also a better understanding, can develop between headquarters and countries. Particularly with regard to a hybrid working model, this format is suitable for bringing information to the workforce and providing them with news and impetus. This not only creates more transparency, but also promotes trust.

7. Online training

In 2020, the rapid technological adaptation of many companies to the realities of the pandemic led to the widespread acceptance of online training and online development activities. This digitization push has enabled us to now see training formats in virtual space as an actual alternative and extension to traditional classroom training. The big challenge will be to develop quality standards for online training. Nevertheless, online training is a very good way to get to know new methods and models and to train them in a virtual set-up in an entertaining and cost-reducing way.

8. Online courses

The online course as a form of asynchronous e-learning has been on the rise for some time. Platforms such as Masterplan, Udemy, Skillshare and LinkedIn Learning have recognized this and offer a variety of courses with different licensing models for use. With online courses, knowledge on a wide variety of topics can be made available on demand, quickly and without barriers.

However, the major challenge for personnel development is now not only the quality requirements for the content conveyed, but above all the large number of courses on offer. Curating the courses requires expertise that is not yet available in most cases. In addition, the lack of quality standards for online courses makes selection even more difficult. The professional field that will deal with this selection in the future are so-called learning curators. However, here, too, the question arises as to when an artificial intelligence with suitable algorithms à la Netflix will automatically offer our continuing education program adapted to the individual needs of the individual.

9. Breakthrough Sessions

Another way to make knowledge accessible and motivate leaders to transfer what they have learned is through Breakthrough Sessions (BTS). These are short sessions for reflection, sharing and getting feedback. Let’s assume a Web Camp is held, which leads to three specific projects. The project groups work on their topics and then have the opportunity in a BTS to present their progress or results and get feedback from other interested parties. Another option would be to bring in new projects, celebrate successes that have already occurred, or simply discuss new ideas together. Essentially, it’s about reflecting back on what you’ve learned from the learning pathway and discussing together what helped with implementation, what may have been missing, or where you still need support.

10. E-Coach

Making an additional learning offering alongside live formats compact and easy to access – this is the opportunity offered by the E-Coach. The E-Coach can be seen as an info and learning package. It can take the form of a newsletter, be embedded in the intranet or LMS, or be integrated into MS Teams as an MS SharePoint page. The goal is to provide leaders with additional learning opportunities or with necessary information.

Thus, with access to curated content such as e-learnings in the form of online courses or web-based trainings, podcasts, video lectures or interesting technical articles, the e-coach offers many supplementary tips and assistance for the daily management routine. In addition, it can be used as an information page to publish training dates, enable registration for individual measures, or provide direct access links to virtual events. In this way, participants can find all the important information about their development measures in one place.

Want to learn even more?

Learn more about Agile Leadership Development in our new book (german) or simply send us an inquiry to contact@mdi-training.com.

About the book
Peter Grabuschnig

Peter Grabuschnig

MDI Partner, trainer, mindset coach and consultant.

Peter is a partner and trainer at MDI, advising major international corporations on implementing hybrid work policies and building a hybrid work and leadership culture.

He is considered an expert in training design. With his Webinar Guru Framework he has developed a tool that helps to design training content for successful and activating virtual learning.

 

  • LinkedIn

By the way, Peter will also be moderating our upcoming Leadership Horizon Conference 😉 

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or maybe this?

Five Characteristics of Agile Leadership Development

Five Characteristics of Agile Leadership Development

by Gunther Fürstberger | Jun 22, 2021 | Agile Leadership, International leadership development, learning effectiveness | 0 comments

What does the future of agile Leadership Development look like?

MDI CEO Gunther Fürstberger has answers and shows you five helpful Characteristics.

In the past, leadership development was mainly carried out in the classic mindset of project management. To achieve specific goals, a project team led by the Learning & Development department defined multi-modular development programs and educational catalogs.

Lifelong learning

With the spread of e-learning, development programs were enriched with blended learning elements. With home offices, learning experience platforms and the need for lifelong learning, it is time for an agile mindset and toolset to take hold in leadership development as well.

Starting from the learner

L&D-driven training programs with a transfer concept will continue to exist, but no longer as a core component, but as a supplement to a development concept starting from the learner. The transfer of learning, which is at least theoretically held in high regard, is also part of the ‘waterfall view’ of traditional project management.

Learning that is demand-driven, tailored and up-to-date

In the meantime, Youtube, Netflix, etc. have enabled demand-driven, tailored and up-to-date learning. For example, if you want to learn to change the wheel of a micro-scooter, you can get immediately actionable offers on the Internet. Many programs learn as they go and suggest to learners, with AI support, what they will need next. Agile leadership development means enabling timely, appropriate learning experiences for ongoing leadership learning needs and is driven by five characteristics:

5 Characteristics of Agile Leadership Development:

  • Iteration
  • Empowerment
  • Purposeful learning motivation
  • Effective, transparent learning process
  • Use of current learning technology

1. Iteration

Agile methods such as Scrum or OKR are based on the principle of checking in regular, rather shorter intervals: “Where do we stand and where do we want to go?” The same principle makes sense in L&D: For example, reviewing once per quarter based on target competencies and results:

  • Where do we stand? (Review)
  • How was the learning process? (Retrospective)
  • What do we want to have learned in the coming quarter? (Goal setting)
  • During the quarter, we work towards the goals. Regular check-ins, e.g., weekly, are used to review learning progress, set next learning activities, and ensure that the importance of learning can prevail over the urgency of day-to-day business.

2. Empowerment

The learner as designer: in the past, companies mainly saw the L&D department as primarily responsible for operational learning. Today, it proves to be more efficient if the learners themselves take the main responsibility. L&D can support by making particularly attractive parts of the “learning ocean” accessible through research and negotiation with learning providers and can also ensure that the corporate culture and strategy are supported through pre-selection of content.

Planned training programs with consistent participants fit less in the agile learning world than in traditional learning environments. And in the trainings, the methodology also changes towards

  • Working with practical cases from the participants
  • More coaching orientation than teaching
  • Accompanying learners in practical applications through shadowing.

The consistent orientation towards the learner and the intensive involvement in the design of the learning process also increases commitment.

3. Meaningful learning motivation

Learners are no longer sent to seminars. The focus is on intrinsic motivation. In other words, learners know why they are learning something at a particular time in a particular way. Usually because they themselves have identified a challenge that they now want to overcome.

When the L&D department wants to promote a learning project, it focuses primarily on the “why.” What are the opportunities, what is the benefit of what has been learned? If employees understand for themselves that an agile learning culture brings more advantages than disadvantages for them, then the ball will keep rolling. In this way, a sustainable, agile learning culture can be built that is not lived by push from the outside, but pull from within.

4. Effective, transparent learning process

The meaningfulness of lifelong learning for leaders means that no quarter goes by without a need to learn. As a result, learning is a process in which 3 sub-steps are repeated on a regular basis:

Step 1

Define target competencies and learning outcomes: Learners define the target competencies together with their own leaders, L&D and, in some cases, colleagues and customers. A distinction can be made between two time horizons:

Long-term: this is a set of competencies valid for e.g. 2 years for the current function description. This long-term set of competencies is adjusted once a year for the next two years.

Short-term: effectiveness is increased by focusing on only a few competencies and expected learning outcomes within a quarter, e.g., 3 in total.

Learning objectives are defined as either intended learning outcomes or competencies. The recommended formulation is the future completed at the end of the quarter, “I will have learned X.” This envisioned image exerts motivational traction for the learning process.

Step 2 

Learning and measuring progress during the quarter: During the quarter, learners have a variety of asynchronous and synchronous learning opportunities available to them:

Asynchronous offerings are e-learnings, learning videos, or learning audios from inside and outside the organization.

Synchronous offerings are face-to-face events and virtual measures such as webinars, master classes, etc., usually with the possibility of direct exchange among learners and with the trainer or coach.

Since learning preferences vary, it is largely up to the learner to decide which offerings, at what intensity, and at what times are best suited. Some prefer to learn via audio files while doing sports, others need personal exchange with colleagues or a trainer. Since many things are constantly changing anyway, learning is understood as a continuous process for which a certain time and financial budget is dedicated.

Those who see learning as a project could run the risk of valuable time being lost between projects and the learning projects themselves losing relevance even before they have been completed.

Measuring progress is done through check-in meetings with yourself and a learning partner. Many learning platforms offer an automatic reminder, but a recurring appointment in Outlook is also sufficient. Intermediate grading in percentages helps visualize progress, making it more present.

Step 3

Diagnose competencies at the end of the quarter, review and adjust intended learning outcomes: At the end of the quarter, learners take a final grading before the learning cycle begins again with the definition of new intended learning outcomes. Average goal attainment is less important than the process of continuous learning. It promotes motivation when the learning trend is made visible across quarters. Gamification of the entire learning journey with bonus games, treasure hunts, and continuous feedback will contribute to the joy of learning especially for younger learners.

5. Use of current learning technology

In the meantime, the use of e-learning to supplement other learning formats has become a common practice. There are hundreds of learning platforms on the market that aim to support different learning scenarios. LMS are mostly used to provide web-based learning content, track learning progress and facilitate communication.

Current developments are moving in the direction of learning experience platforms that use artificial intelligence to make learning suggestions to the learner based on his or her past queries. Internet applications such as Amazon, Booking.com, etc. observe user behavior and thus make suggestions that are as accurate as possible. AI is helping to get to know users better and better. It becomes more convenient for users because they are supported in their routines.

At the same time, atypical learning experiences should be maintained, since deeper learning involves confusion and breaking away from old concepts.

The original german article was written for Magazin Training by

Gunther Fürstberger

Gunther Fürstberger

CEO , MDI Management Development International

Gunther Fürstberger is a management trainer, book author and CEO of MDI, a global leadership development institute and managing director of Metaforum. His core competence is leadership in the digital transformation. He gained his own leadership experience as HR manager of McDonald’s Central Europe/Central Asia, among others.

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by Josef Wegenberger, Oliver Wegenberger | Jun 18, 2021 | Agile Leadership, International leadership development, learning effectiveness | 0 comments

Site Assessment in the context of agile management development

Authors: Josef Wegenberger, Oliver Wegenberger

Society for Business Psychology and Organizational Dynamics

Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of a company from the 1980s. TECHNIK AG is a typical large company with several thousand employees. The order situation is stable, the personnel is well qualified for the tasks through school and professional training. All leaders are “masters of their trade”, have essentially all the necessary knowledge and are thus predestined to act as “superiors” in the respective department. Personnel development is limited to training and continuing education, and even this is the exception rather than the rule. Discussions with employees are event-driven, and structured employee appraisals do not actually take place in practice. Further training events for very specific target groups are “prescribed” and centrally controlled.

In the mid-1980s, training needs are surveyed – if at all – by well thought-out training needs surveys using questionnaires sent to all managers. The human resources department evaluates these and prepares a preliminary training budget. Budget planning is then decided for the entire company; changes and budget reductions are reported back to the divisions and departments. After this, the specific training and development measures are planned and implemented by the end of the year. The remaining planned measures are postponed to the next year or are no longer current. Short-term training needs are covered by reallocations or cannot be realized.

The case study is constructed. However, it shows the cycle of two to three years from training needs assessment to implementation and evaluation.

Let’s switch to the present.

Our case study – TECHNIK AG is still operating successfully in the market. It is now divided into numerous subsidiaries and cooperates with numerous partner companies and start-ups.

The environment is VUCA

  • “Volatility” 
  • “Uncertainty”
  • “Complexity
  • “Ambiguity”

The year 2020, with the COVID pandemic, has once again reinforced the rapid pace and dynamics of changed and changing conditions.

Statements, such as “speed kills” and “the big will not eat the small, but the fast will eat the slow”[1], are no longer slogans [but] reality.

[1] Based on Eberhard von Kuenheim [*1928] Chairman of the Board of Management [1970-1993] and Chairman of the Supervisory Board [1993-1999] of BMW AG.

Agile working methods – Learn and evolve with change

Rapid and flexible cycles in target management [agreement – delegation – implementation – review / evaluation], virtual leadership, networking, etc. are changing the world of work and thus teamwork management at all levels and in all areas. TECHNIK AG has already converted performance management to quarterly cycles and coordination takes place in “daily standings”, weekly and monthly team meetings and individual discussions between leaders and team members.

Talent and competence management is still lagging behind somewhat and still opts for the more classic methods of assessing the current situation – apart from a few exceptions and “experiments” – by means of standardized appraisal interviews and assessment centers or potential analyses. However, all those responsible in the company are aware that agile talent and competence management will become a critical factor for success in the future.

“Agile and flexible approach” is sometimes confused in practice with “implementation without planning”.

Exactly the opposite is the case. Only through precise planning as well as a goal-oriented and consistent approach can the benefits of agile management be exploited.

Target management must not be a “one-time” thing at the beginning of the fiscal year”, but must be an integral part of “daily business” at all levels.

This can be applied equally to agile leadership development.

However, the application of the various, small-scale methods of competence development, such as micro-learning, learning nuggets, e-learnings, webinars, intensive coaching elements, etc., requires a continuous assessment of the current situation. This includes the competencies relevant to the requirements [personal, communicative, methodological, special, technical and management competencies].

The “call” for targeted development of competencies

is also due to the fact that the investment costs are to be used efficiently and the “return on investment” is to be made at the earliest possible point in time.

The assessment of the current situation is the basis for recommendations for further development and clear development target agreements, which – analogous to target performance management – are evaluated, for example, on a quarterly basis:

The graphic shows the control loop of agile competence management, with the starting point of the site assessment (Standortbestimmung) in the form of the agile competence evaluation. (Kompetenzentwicklung) The result of the competence target/actual comparison (Erfolgskontrolle) leads to recommendations for further development. (Feedback) These are to be converted into concrete learning objectives, which form the basis of competence development

An essential component of the Continuous Learning Process

is the monitoring of the success and effectiveness of the learning content. The methods used for this purpose include self-assessments, specific test procedures, work samples, and even [interim] examinations as part of training courses. The feedback between manager and team member is the starting point for further competence evaluation and the continuous learning process can start again.

The role of the manager and their goals in this competence development process are to be adapted to agile leadership development:

  • “Strengthen” the employees’ “strengths”.
  • “Weaken” the “weaknesses” of the employees [i.e.: raise improvement potentials and neutralize deficits].
  • Developing employees in such a way that the actual competence profile ideally matches the target competence profile
  • Increased assumption of responsibility through competence development
  • Increasing flexibility
  • Increasing quality
  • Ensuring team-relevant competencies to achieve agreed team goals

The employees’ self-responsibility for their own development gains in importance:

The role image of team members continues to develop “from employees to co-entrepreneurs“. For the area of competence development, this means increased self-responsibility for their own development and career. Continuous learning will [have to] become a matter of course for all employees.

Goals of employees in the context of their own personal development:

  • Recognize, promote and implement own talents, strengths.
  • Foundations for own career development
  • Flexibility and mobility
  • Ensuring job-relevant competencies to achieve agreed goals
  • Adaptation of job-relevant competencies and qualifications to the requirements of the task area
  • Assumption of extended responsibility, more decision-making and action powers
  • Securing and increasing standard of living
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Impuls Series - The Future of Workplace Learning

Part 1 with Marina Begic: Digital Business Development Expert and Senior L&D Consultant

Our Digital Business Development Expert and Senior L&D Consultant Marina Begic is currently focusing intensively on “The Future of Workplace Learning”.

Fast and targeted learning, especially for leaders, is becoming increasingly important in an intensifying digital and agile world. Therefore, Marina shares her personal learnings with us. Let’s get started with the topic “Digitization Boost”.

By the way, we’ll soon continue with our second part: “Why you can do without Learning managment systems? (LMS)” We’re looking forward to it already!

Hey, Marina is a member of our LinkedIn expert group

If you would like to exchange thoughts and ideas about “Agile Leadership Development”, please send us a request. We are looking forward to you and your valuable impulses!

Join us now!

The Future of Workplace Learning

“friendly reminder”

Who doesn’t know this or a similar situation? The newly announced learning platform, which has been around for 2 years now, “will change the learning culture in the company in the long term, teach us innovative things and save us a lot of time”. Finally it comes out with the first two e-learnings: Fire Protection Ordinance and Compliance…

While you read the bubble text about “maintaining a safe distance from machines in production”, you can visibly see that a lot of effort has been made to maintain the corporate design and the new diversity policy, right down to the avatar named Lucy. After successfully completing the first two courses (there is no other way, since you can click around, until you find the right answer in the final quiz), the third one comes out 3 months later…

After resetting the access data of the e-learning platform (for the 7th company internal tool),

by finding the announcement mail with the link to the platform, one looks with joyful expectation and sees the only new e-learning course is on the topic of “IT security”. The deadline for completion is by the end of the quarter, so there is still enough time. We quickly close the program again. However, this time we set our favorites, so that the next time we do not have to look trough all our mails. In addition our e-mails do not become less and there is still so much to do for the upcoming presentation of a new project this week…

Three days after the end of the quarter comes the third “friendly reminder” from the supervisor, this time in red and capital letters. It tells us to complete the e-learning course “IT Security”, otherwise the quarterly commission cannot be paid on time if the learning objectives have not been achieved.

It’s hard to set priorities here, isn’t it?

The Future of Workplace Learning – Digitization Boost

Current developments

In the 21st-century-skills (P21) the following 4 skills were defined in the area of learning to be able to participate in modern working life:

  • critical thinking
  • creativity
  • collaboration
  • communication

The model has been extended, discussed and modified many times, but it is remarkable that the active and interpersonal part has always remained. Experts agree that learning alone is no longer sustainable in the 21st century.

Technical innovations have redefined teaching and learning

With the breaking down of technical barriers thanks to cloud solutions, more stable and faster internet, learning management systems (LMS) have become increasingly popular. The Corona pandemic gave the perceived need for LMSs another boost.

Face-to-face training sessions have had to be cancelled from one day to the next, and to ensure that learning doesn’t stop, numerous programs have helped to ensure that knowledge building, training and skills transfer can still take place. In other words, synchronous or asynchronous formats were put in place.

In Jane Hart’s annual international study of the “Top Tools for Learning” in over 45 countries, it can be seen that learning in the workplace does not happen only or only to a small extent via LMS.

The majority of learning does not take place via formal tools, but via informal and, in particular, via active tools, i.e. by trying things out for oneself and talking about them or sharing them!

Top Tools for Learning 2020 (Hart, 2020) 

Since the introduction of e-learnings, the decline of face-to-face training has been prophesied.

Despite many proven advantages such as cost savings, increased learning transfer, more flexible learning through location and time-independent learning, it was only the Corona pandemic that made the necessity of digital learning formats apparent to even the very last companies.

It has become clear that there will be no return to the old ways.

Two-thirds of companies are planning to move employees to remote working in the long term. It is now known that the half-life of knowledge is decreasing insanely fast and that one must continue to learn continuously in one’s working life.

A century ago, it took about 35 years to correct or replace half the knowledge an engineer learned in college. New estimates put the half-life of an engineering degree between 2.5 and five years. The basics remain, but other things evolve.

“Those who don’t evolve with the times will soon no longer be able to do their jobs.” (Jane Hart 2020)

Marina Begic

Marina Begic

Digital Business Development Expertin und Senior L&D Consultant

Marina has been working on new, effective learning methods and the future of corporate learning for over 15 years. In her current role, she is responsible for Digital Business Development at MDI, where her focus is not driven by the current buzzwords, but primarily on the feasibility of digital transformation for clients such as Erste Group, Lenzing, Semperit, Deutsche Bahn, Andritz AG, Uniqa, Mayr-Melnhof, Frequentis, RHIM. Her greatest strength is bringing loose ends together, which she impressively demonstrates time and time again with her big picture view and multi-dimensional approach. Her greatest passion is to provide learners not only with an experience, but also with real, lasting value for their real challenges.

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