Most adults are self-directed learners: They want to learn what they want, when they want, and how they want. Adult learners have their own style of learning that includes four key elements, discussed below. Even if you structure your training program to meet these elements, however, you may still run into reluctant learners. We also provide seven rules for training reluctant or resistant learners.
Two things have happened over the last 20 years that are making opportunities for advancement not plentiful enough for younger people: The economy has run into deep troubles, resulting in skeleton staffs that remain at skeleton levels even as the economy recovers, and more people who decide to put off retirement. Those two elements equal smaller staffs with fewer positions for advancement, with those upper-level positions that remain often taken by people, who in earlier eras, would have retired already, or at least be thinking of doing so.
With workforces still much slimmer than they were years ago, generational relations can be a zero-sum game, in which young up-and-comers are left with few development opportunities—until someone above them vacates their position. Do you notice this in your organization?
No one wants to push out a senior-level person who has years of experience and wisdom, but, on the other hand, a fresh, frequently more tech- and social media-savvy perspective can be invaluable to a company’s growth. In addition to the different technical skills younger employees may have, another benefit of advancing those in their 30s and 40s into leadership positions is an updated leadership style. Most of them came of age at a time when staffs were so slim that they never had the luxury of “delegating” their responsibilities. That means most of them are not adverse to learning new tasks to get their jobs done, and most of them would naturally gravitate toward what might be called “participatory leadership.” That means leadership that chooses to participate in getting the work done, rather than just seeing their role as director and critic.
Many older leaders have learned to take a similar approach, but it’s still common among older leaders to feel they can have a job role in which “That’s not my job” is a common reply to requests from their team for help. It’s understandable that some, if not many, of these leaders in their 50s, 60s, or 70s would have that perspective. They came of age in the workforce at a time when staffs were much larger, when it was not unusual for even mid-level employees to have an office and a secretary. So, now that they’re at the pinnacle of their careers, why would they feel the need to be participatory in their approach to leadership?
Part of the solution to make room for advancement opportunities from the mid-ranks to the top is to separate the wheat from the chaff. At one company, there’s one leader who is around the same age as the boss, but who is known as being a great mentor and leader—one who seems to have emotional intelligence and a natural inclination to participate in the workload, and to create a work environment appealing to 30- and 40-somethings. The boss, on the other hand, is a textbook case of a person who has outlasted his usefulness to the modern workforce. A red flag that he is more a part of the chaff than the wheat is that he isn’t open to learning new skills. Your age and generation is not important, as long as you’re willing to learn new skills and use those new skills to help out. For example, we (or I) manage a Website, and he doesn’t even know how to create a hyperlink or add a photo to a page. He spends his days in meetings offering his opinion and criticism. Is that a personality you need in your organization? If you have a mid-sized or large organization, you probably have at least one leader like this on your payroll.
One idea is for training professionals to work with department heads on assessing the skills and potential for growth of all of their employees, regardless of generation. What do you do at your organization to preserve the best of your senior ranks, while encouraging (or facilitating) the less-than-stellar to bow out? Do incentives for some of these individuals to retire make sense for your company?
Organizations today need to discover what will work them and their environment. Ignoring this challenge or hoping it will just work itself out is not the answer. The future for all is what is at stake and there is no time like today to address this.
The Four Elements of Adult Learning
- Motivation. To motivate adult learners, set a friendly or open tone to each session, create a feeling of concern, and set an appropriate level of difficulty. Other motivators for adult learners include:
- Personal achievement—including attaining higher job status or keeping up with or surpassing competitors
- Social well-being—including opportunities for community work
- External expectations—such as meeting the expectations of someone with formal authority
- Social relationships—including opportunities to make new friends that satisfy people’s desire for association
- Stimulation—that breaks the routine of work and provides contrast in employees’ lives
- Interest in learning—which gives employees knowledge for the sake of knowledge and satisfies curious minds
- Reinforcement. Use both positive and negative reinforcement to be successful in training adult learners. Use positive reinforcement frequently, such as verbal praise, when teaching new skills in order to encourage progress and reward good results. Use negative reinforcement, such as negative comments on a performance review, to stop bad habits or performance.
- Retention. Adults must retain what they’ve learned in order to realize benefits on both the personal and company-wide levels. Achieve great retention rates by having trainees practice their newly acquired skills again and again until they are familiar and comfortable enough to ensure long-term success.
- Transference. Adults want to bring what they learn in training directly to the workplace. Positive transference occurs when adults are able to apply learned skills to the workplace. Negative transference occurs when learners can’t—or don’t—apply skills to the workplace.