MWL Newsletter No 63

Here are posts, articles and news about Modern Workplace Learning (MWL) selected by Jane Hart for the week 29 April – 5 May 2018


From around the Web

Workplace matters: how to make it great  Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes, April 2018

“Everyone wants a great workplace. An environment where the work is both interesting and challenging. Where people collaborate to promote the worthy cause of terrific products or make-a-difference services. Where careers blossom and the bottom line thrives.”


How to run a successful WhatsApp group  Paul Armstrong, Forbes, 29 April 2018

WhatsApp group chats are now a common feature for WhatsApp users who want to organise a holiday, a meal or just keep in touch with friends who are miles apart. Although thanks to WhatsApp’s 256 member rule (the maximum number of people in one group), the ‘just a few friends connecting’ message seems to have gone on the window .. but how do you keep the groups usable? Sure you can mute them (and large groups recommend you do) but that is not what admins or WhatsApp need. Instead, WhatsApp groups need to focus on be useful and give a good amount of signal.  Here are some top tips group admins should consider:”


How measuring performance with numbers kills innovation Jerry Z Muller, The Next Web, 1 May 2018

“More and more companies, government agencies, educational institutions and philanthropic organizations are today in the grip of a new phenomenon. I’ve termed it ‘metric fixation’. The key components of metric fixation are the belief that it is possible – and desirable – to replace professional judgment (acquired through personal experience and talent) with numerical indicators of comparative performance based upon standardised data (metrics); and that the best way to motivate people within these organisations is by attaching rewards and penalties to their measured performance.”


The road from training to performance  Bob Mosher, CLO Magazine, 2 May 2018

“We recently concluded a year-long benchmarking study with eight major corporations at varying stages of this journey, and the results are interesting. Although the study concentrated on five major change areas, the focus on cultural evolution was particilary eye-opening and especially relevant to those at the senior level in their organization. We began by identifying an implementation spectrum to show the degree to which these organizations had successefully embedded learning and support deliverables in their workflow. The spectrum had five levels:”


Learning is a learned behaviour. Here’s how to get better at it  Ulrich Boser, Harvard Business Review 2 May 2018

“A growing body of research is making it clear that learners are made, not born. Through the deliberate use of practice and dedicated strategies to improve our ability to learn, we can all develop expertise faster and more effectively. In short, we can all get better at getting better.”


Your students learn by doing not by listening  David Gooblar, Chronicle of Higher Education, 1 May 2018

“Small class sizes? Fewer lectures? More active-learning activities? Does any of that sound familiar? Students are most successful in our courses when they learn for themselves — much as the participants in this study did. They changed their minds about how to eat well, and changed their behavior. The trick for all of us in academe is designing courses that help students do that.”


Use Learning to engage your team  Harvard Business Review, 1 May 2018

“Whitney Johnson, an executive coach, argues that on-the-job learning is the key to keeping people motivated. When managers understand that, and understand where the people they manage are on their individual learning curve — the low end, the sweet spot, or the high end — employees are engaged, productive, and innovative.”
Email to Learning & Development  Andrew Jacobs, 3 May 2018

“Doesn’t time fly? 4 years ago I was worried that you wanted me to personalise my learning; I now have the freedom to do what I want but now if it’s not counted on your platform it doesn’t count. That doesn’t feel right.”


7 Secrets To Effective Team-Training, Mr. Miyagi Style  Center for Management & Organization Effectiveness, May 2018

“Team training and employee development are both crucial components of a successful company. If you want employees to be invested in the company’s success, you must create a workplace environment that fosters their personal and professional growth and long-term success.”


This week’s Twitter Poll


In the MWL Magazine

Supporting Professional Self-Development at Work  Jane Hart, 24 April 2018

“Providing individuals with the opportunity to take charge of their professional self-development in the workplace is not just one way to build a continuous learning mindset, but it also gives employees choice, flexibility and ownership of their learning.  It also offers a balance between achieving professional and organizational goals, and provides a motivation for the individual that is not often present in many organized learning initiatives, since they have significant control over what they actual do to achieve their goals.”


Next MWL Workshop

Supporting Professional Self-Development at Work

Next public workshop runs: 14 May – 18 June 2018

In this 4-week online workshop we look at how individuals might use a formal process of professional development in which they take responsibility for organising and manage their own self-improvement or self-development – and how you might support them in this process.


Modern Workplace Learning 2018

This new book includes some (updated) content from Jane Hart’s previous books as well as new material. 

Part 1: An Introduction to Modern Workplace Learning in 2018)
Part 2: Designing, Delivering and Managing Modern Training for the Workplace
Part 3: Supporting Independent Continuous Learning at Work 

Available as a PDF to download.

Find out more about the Modern Workplace Learning 2018 here.


How to become a Modern Professional Learner

In the modern workplace there is no longer such a thing as a job for a life – only a life of jobs – so it’s up to everyone to continuously update their knowledge, skills and productivity and become an independent modern professional life-long learne

This newly updated resource now contains 60 Tasks to help you get the most out of your work life and take control of your career.

Find out more here


Jane Hart
Centre for Modern Workplace Learning
w: ModernWorkplaceLearning.com
t: twitter.com/C4LPT 
l: linkedin.com/in/C4LPT

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