Exploring New Frontiers in Learning and Development: What Has Changed Is Not Enough
What can we expect to see as we head into the future of learning and development (L&D)? How can we enable integration of hybrid and remote workforces, and bring an equitable lens to curriculum and experience design? A virtual panel of alumni from Northwestern University’s Master’s of Learning and Organization Change (MSLOC) program highlighted the new and evolving needs of the field and how practitioners can encourage and enable these changes. The panel, held in January 2022, was part of a continued celebration of MSLOC’s 20th anniversary. It was moderated by Ryan Smerek, associate director of academic affairs and associate professor for MSLOC.
A Practice Informed by Culture
“Because L&D involves people, it has to be culturally aware,” explained Yasmin Marrero (MS20), founder of Yasmin Marrero Leadership and Empowerment Coaching. “It has to be culturally informed and it has to be so on multiple levels because we’re dealing with some complex and diverse amounts of people in a certain space.” According to Marrero, “to be culturally-aware is to acknowledge that each individual is coming in with a set of norms and beliefs they consider standard (culture) and to appropriately adapt to include that culture in their dynamic.” For those who facilitate discussions around L&D, this often means critically evaluating the systems that they operate within and believe to be true. Marrero pointed out that L&D deals with the unsaid–organizational and interpersonal norms and assumptions about interactions with people. This means cultivating a space where individuals can voice their thoughts comfortably, listen with empathy, and truly connect. To facilitate conversations that bring out the (often) unsaid, it is key to recognize and adapt to cultural cues and contexts so the information resonates.
A Balance of Creative and Concrete
James Altman (MS11), president of Jackrabbit Learning Experience, brought up how a number of promising shifts have just begun in the field, including the breakdown of silos across industries and domains. “What has changed is not enough,” he stated. He urged for a more proactive approach from practitioners: “It’s okay to push a really creative, totally unfounded, unresearched idea, if it’s a really good idea. That creative tension – the tension between following the rules and introducing something that is unproven could be a really good, innovative thing.” He highlighted how concrete frameworks like the ADDIE Learning Model have produced structured processes and a more rule-following approach to instructional design. He called for more of a push and pull between the creative and concrete processes, challenging the temptation for some to lean on existing ideologies and methodologies.
Experiences, Integrated and Aligned
Learning has moved from programs developed by select, contained groups to learning experiences that are part of a larger, complementary strategy. Drew Fifield (MS17), director, head of talent development at Bridgewater Associates, was previously a learning architect of scaled learning strategy at Facebook. “I’ve seen this shift,” said Fifield of his time at Facebook, “from needing an enterprise learning and development professional or team to needing a strategy that more aligns to talent management plus or integrated talent management.” This means collaborating with talent teams to co-create and infuse broader organizational initiatives to develop learning objectives. Ways this manifested during Fifield’s time included an emphasis on diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ), along with a shift from best-in-class, in-person workshops to online, on-demand learning tools like virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI). In this way, individuals are no longer simply curriculum designers or training specialists but “people experience” professionals, as Fifield described it.
Recent years have accelerated the pace at which L&D has moved, with technology serving as a catalyst to inspire new methods and modes of learning. As these alumni panelists shared, keeping a high level of cultural awareness, innovation, and alignment top of mind creates more effective and engaged learning environments.
Throughout 2021-2022, MSLOC celebrated 20 years of disrupting the status quo. MSLOC offers an alternative to MBA programs and master's programs in organizational development, organizational behavior, industrial/organizational psychology, human resource development or similar graduate programs. The center of MSLOC’s attention is not the business or enterprise but the people within the enterprise.