Learning is not a software update... yet
Maybe one day, but until then?
I recently spent three hours trying to “convince” a houseplant to live.
I’d bought the premium soil. I’d researched the exact light requirements. I even bought a digital moisture meter that looked like something from a NASA lab.
I stood over that wilting Monstera and practically begged it to photosynthesise.
It died anyway.
(I know. I have a black thumb. Don’t judge me.)
The thing is, I was doing everything to the plant, but I couldn’t actually do the growing for it.
We do the exact same thing as learning professionals.
We stand over our teams with expensive LMS platforms and “interactive” SCORM files, shouting: “BE SMARTER!”
We treat learning like a software update. We push the notification, wait for the progress bar to hit 100%, and then act shocked when the “installation” fails the moment people actually have to do their jobs.
The Great Semantic Mess
I’ve spent the better part of 3 decades listening to stakeholders mix up three words that we really need to stop using interchangeably.
I’ve heard the same frustrated questions on loop:
“Are they trained yet?”
“If they’ve been trained, why are they still making mistakes?”
I have a literal graveyard of ignored PDFs and unused toolkits to prove how dangerous that confusion is.
If we want to stop being the departments of “unnecessary noise,” we have to get honest about what we’re actually doing.
1. Training (The “To” Factor)
This is the event. The workshop. The compliance module that everyone hates.
It’s something we do to people.
(Look, I know. A great in-person session can be magical if the stars align, the coffee is strong, and the WiFi actually works. But those are the outliers.)
Usually, training is just us doing the heavy lifting while they stare at the clock. It has its place—mostly for making sure people don’t set the office on fire—but let’s stop pretending a four-hour PowerPoint is a life-changing experience.
2. Enablement (The “With” Factor)
This is the environment. The toolkits, the “just-in-time” guides, the searchable Slack channel. It’s clearing the debris so people can actually run.
3. Learning (The “Self” Factor)
This is the only part we can’t control. It’s that internal “click” when a person decides to change their behaviour when nobody is watching.
We spend 90% of our budgets trying to “deliver” learning.
But you can’t deliver a cognitive shift any more than you can download a personality.
Stop the Heavy Lifting
If we want to see real change, we have to stop trying to perform the learning on their behalf.
Here is how we start being “Smart Friends” rather than “Corporate Enforcers”:
Stop dressing up compliance as “engagement.” If it’s a box-ticking exercise, admit it. Make it 5 minutes instead of 60. Your people will respect you more for saving them 55 minutes than they will for a fancy animation.
If a staff member has to log in three times and navigate a labyrinthine folder structure to find a simple template, they won’t use it. You don’t have an “engagement” problem; you have a UX problem. Fix the access, not their “mindset.”
Information needs silence to stick. If your teams are in back-to-back Zoom calls from 9 to 5, they aren’t learning. They’re just surviving. Give them blank space. If there’s no time to reflect, there’s no time to rewire the brain.
The Bottom Line
We provide the tools. We build the stage. We light the fire.
But we have to get out of the way and let them feel the heat.
We are architects, not magicians.
AND FINALLY, THE CURATION STACK
Here are some things that caught my eye this week:
Ryan Martin wrote some thoughts on Instructional Designer branding on his Linkedin: “You’re not an “instructional designer.” You’re a performance engineer with a branding problem.”
The UK government in conjunction with PwC and a stack of tech companies launched the AI Skills Boost program aimed at skilling up people on AI. As a learning professional this is a great example of how NOT to do things. It should be analysed and shown as a case study for horrific learning experiences. Heather Murray, one of the best AI trainers out there gave her thoughts. Just go and make up your own mind before you take my word though. Send me your thoughts in the comments!
Catch you in the next one,
Mark