TheArmed Forces fascinate me. Aside from the amazing job they do in protecting thecountry, as an organisation they fascinate me. One aspect of what they do thatcaptures me, is that here we have an organisation that has to continually learnabout a myriad of topics in order to be on top of their game at all times. Thisis quite simply outstanding.

Fromespionage, to front line strategy, to firing of weapons, to defence and attackstrategies, to physical training, and more. What is amazing about all this, isthat these topics aren't just nice to haves. They are integral to their verysurvival. If they don't understand these topics, they won't be able to do thejob they do, or, in some circumstances, survive. There's no two ways about it.

There'sa lot of learning we can take from the way the Armed Forces approach theirlearning and development. What I want to talk about is how this relates tomuscle memory. Muscle memory is all about keeping our muscles at a maintainedlevel of activity so they are ready for action. And, the Armed Forces show us,more than many other organisations, how important it is to keep our musclememory active.

Whenthey invest the time to learn something, they have the opportunity to put it intopractice. Not because they're given the opportunity by way of freeing them upfrom work, but because it is a core part of their work.

Isit really so hard for businesses to work in the same way? Most businessesunderstand their people need to go through learning and development in order tosucceed. And they may allow it to happen. But, and this is the key factor, theydon't make that skill an explicit part of their role. Or, if they do, it'shidden amongst project work and made to be an objective that is set over andabove their normal job description. They're being set up to fail before they'veeven got the chance to be successful.

Sowhat needs to change? Well, if we look again at the Armed Forces, theyunderstand a structured programme of training needs to happen, and when. But,more importantly, once you've learned how to do it, your muscle memory startslearning what needs to be done, and they continue to work that muscle.

Businessesneed to understand this difference in thinking. The problem is that staff arenot given opportunities to work their muscle memory for prolonged periods oftime. When the opportunity does arise, it's few and far between, and the musclereaction is poor. Having a dedicated L&D team or outsourcing learning anddevelopment is only one part of the solution. The way a business is structuredneeds to change.

Thismeans looking at the way you incentivise the learning to happen. Here's what Imean. You send someone in your team on Time Management training to help themunderstand how to prioritise and manage their workload better. The course willhelp them understand how they're meant to do it. But what has the business doneto enable them to actually improve? Most likely, nothing. In some cases a chatwith their line manager about what they learned and what they might be able todo differently. At best a sharing session with team members about what theylearned. That is not enough. And, when you look at it, hardly motivating,except for just managing their workload better.

Sothink about the outcome differently. Instead of just improving their ownperformance, the outcome of the training should be to enhance what they'realready doing. They should also then be made accountable to help others. Bygoing on the training, they are then the go to person for all things related toTime Management. Want to know how to prioritise your workload? Want to know howto effectively rank your to-do-list? Want to know how to manage expectations?Ask Bob*, he'll be able to answer all these. That's how people truly change.When they're given the opportunity to actively use the new skill they'velearned.

Sukhvinder Pabial

24 May 2011