MWL Newsletter No 11

News and articles about Modern Workplace Learning (MWL) selected by, and with commentary from Jane Hart for the week 23-29 April 2017

From around the Web

More autonomy means happier workers Personnel Today, 25 April 2017

“Employees with higher levels of autonomy have better overall wellbeing and higher levels of job satisfaction, research has found.”

JH: This article reinforces the content of the articles in this week’s MWL Magazine – see below


10 Alternatives to TED Talks You May Not Have Seen Yet  MakeUseOf, 28 June 2016

“TED Talks aren’t the only way to get you closer to big ideas. The alternatives to TED Talks enable you expand your world view in little ways too. Some of the links below will take you to events that are much easier on the pocket (without watering down the knowledge), and some are free. Of course, you can catch them all for free on the web.”

JH: An updated article from 2016 with some interesting resources


The End of Corporate Culture as We Know It  MIT Sloan Management Review, 12 April 2017

“We are evolving toward the age of networked enterprise, in which the traditional hierarchies of the corporation will be supplanted by self-organizing systems collaborating on digital platforms.

It will be the era of entrepreneurship, distributed leadership, and the continual reorganization of people and resources. It will be the time of disintermediation both within and between organizations. Layers of management will fall; the need for centralized systems and trusted go-betweens will dissipate, if not disappear.”

JH: The key is decentralisation and self-organisation – another theme from this week’s MWL Magazine articles


Self-Directed Learning or Self-Directed Performance Gary Wise,  28 April 2017

“Nibbling around the edges of sustained workforce performance by continuing to chase learning is not a bad thing; but methinks we’re missing the “business value boat” by neglecting to place a sense of urgency…and the appropriate L&D skill sets…on ground zero where we drive results that pay the rent. Nothing wrong with self-directed learning, but I’d rather equip my workforce to direct their own performance at the moment of need as a priority.

JH: Both are important – supporting the now (self-directed performance) and the future (self-directed learning)


From the MWL Magazine

A Blueprint for Supporting Modern Professional Learning: Part 1 Rationale

“The traditional training/knowledge transfer model is no longer fit for purpose as it reinforces an organisational  training mindset where the only valid learning in the workplace is deemed to be L&D-organised training or e-learning initiatives … Rather what is needed is an approach where individuals take responsibility for organizing and managing their own learning so that they can learn and develop in their own preferred ways, using methods which they find most comfortable and therefore enjoyable.”


A Blueprint for supporting Modern Professional Learning: Part 2 Overview 27 April 2017

At the heart of this model is a self-reliant, modern employee who addresses their own learning and performance problems, organizes and manages their own professional goals, continuously learns and keeps up to date, builds their own (personally-selected) learning toolkit and maintains their own digital portfolio.


Upcoming MWL Workshop

MODERNISING TRAINING AND E-LEARNING

Next workshop runs 8 May – 2 June 2017

There will always be a need for organisational training, but this just needs to be more relevant and appealing for appealing for today’s workforce. This 4-week online workshop will help you to consider a number off ways to organise modern content and learning experiences – in line with the ways people now learn on the Web.


You may copy, print or forward all or part of this Newsletter to others as long as any use is not for resale or profit and I am attributed.is Newsletter to others as long as any use is not for resale or profit and I am attributed.

Jane Hart
Director, Centre for Modern Workplace Learning