Call me old-fashioned but I think training works best when it is interactive and experiential. Training that includes thinking and doing, that encourages the learner to look inward and creates “ah-ha” moments. Recently, I read an article in HBR about the future of leadership development training. It details the need for better offerings and reports on the latest trend to transition to online courses that can be personalized and adaptive. Having done my masters online, I see the value in this approach. I learned a lot in the online environment because I worked hard and I was hungry for the information.

 

We all know we can’t stop this movement towards digitized learning. Given today’s rapidly changing workplace, online training is an effective and efficient means to transmit the desired information to a large and often geographically dispersed audience. That said, online courses and social platforms only begin the process. Behavior change takes place through the application of information and the learning that results when people fail and when they succeed. If these experiences aren’t baked into the way your organization trains its leaders, you will get limited results at best.