fbpx
Log In | Register
ideas for learning ideas for learning
  • Home
  • Virtual Seminars
  • Webinars
    • Scheduled Webinars
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Browse by Topics A-M
      • Accountability
      • Career Development
      • Change
      • Coaching
      • Communication
      • Conflict
      • Creativity & Innovation
      • Customer Service
      • Decision Making
      • Diversity & Inclusion
      • Emotional Intelligence
    • Browse by Topics L-Z
      • Leadership
      • Learning
      • Negotiation
      • Performance
      • Personality
      • Problem Solving
      • Project Management
      • Sales
      • Supervision
      • Teams
      • Workplace Conduct
  • Blog
  • About HRDQ-U
    • What is HRDQ-U?
    • Become a Presenter
    • Contact Us
  • Shop HRDQstore
  • Home
  • Virtual Seminars
  • Webinars
    • Scheduled Webinars
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Browse by Topics A-M
      • Accountability
      • Career Development
      • Change
      • Coaching
      • Communication
      • Conflict
      • Creativity & Innovation
      • Customer Service
      • Decision Making
      • Diversity & Inclusion
      • Emotional Intelligence
    • Browse by Topics L-Z
      • Leadership
      • Learning
      • Negotiation
      • Performance
      • Personality
      • Problem Solving
      • Project Management
      • Sales
      • Supervision
      • Teams
      • Workplace Conduct
  • Blog
  • About HRDQ-U
    • What is HRDQ-U?
    • Become a Presenter
    • Contact Us
  • Shop HRDQstore

14
dec
0

Share:

myths_in_workplace_learning

Why Myths Matter

Posted by HRDQ-U WebinarsHuman Resource Training, LearningNo Comments

I’ve called out a number of myths (and superstitions, and misconceptions) in my latest tome, and I’m grateful people appear to be interested.  I take this as a sign that folks are beginning to really pay attention to things like good learning design. And that’s important. It’s also important not to minimize the problems myths can create. I do that in my presentations, but I want to go a bit deeper.  We need to care about why workplace myths matter to limit our mistakes!

It’s easy to think something like “they’re wrong, but surely they’re harmless”.  What can a few misguided intentions matter?  Can it hurt if people are helped to understand if people are different?  Won’t it draw attention to important things like caring for our learners?  Isn’t it good if people are more open-minded?

Would that this were true. However, let me spin it another way: does it matter if we invest in things that don’t have an impact?  Yes, for two reasons.  One, we’re wasting time and money. We will pay for workshops and spend time ensuring our designs have coverage for things that aren’t really worthwhile. And that’s both profligate and unprofessional.  Worse, we’re also not investing in things that might actually matter.  Like, say, Serious eLearning. That is, research-derived principles about what actually works. Which is what we should be getting dizzy about.

But there are worse consequences. For one, we could be undermining our own design efforts. Some of these workplace myths may have us do things that undermine the effectiveness of our work. If we work too hard to accommodate non-existent ‘styles’, for instance, we might use media inappropriately. More problematic, we could be limiting our learners. Many of the myths want to categorize folks: styles, gender, left/right brain, age, etc.  And, it’s true, being aware of how diversity strengthens is important. But too often people go beyond; they’ll say “you’re an XYZ”, and people will self-categorize and consequently self-limit.  We could cause people not to tap into their own richness.

That’s still not the worst thing. One thing that most such instruments explicitly eschew is being used as a filter: hire/fire, or job role. And yet it’s being done. In many ways!  This means that you might be limiting your organization’s diversity. You might also be discriminatory in a totally unjustifiable way!

Myths are not just wasteful, they’re harmful. And that matters.  Please join me in campaigning for legitimate science in our profession. And let’s chase out the snake oil.  Please.

 

employee development
HRDQ-U Webinars

About HRDQ-U Webinars

HRDQ-U is a free learning community for trainers and facilitators, coaches and consultants, organization development professionals, managers, supervisors and leaders; really anyone who shares a passion for soft-skills training and performance improvement. We bring exciting content to you through webinars from subject matter experts and thought leaders to help you explore new ideas, gain industry insight, and improve people skills in your workplace.

Blog Categories

  • Corporate Training Materials
  • Communication Styles
  • Career Anchors
  • Coaching Skills
  • Conflict Management Strategies
  • Critical Thinking Training
  • Customer Service Training Games
  • Emotional Intelligence
  • Experiential Learning
  • Corporate Team Building Games

Recent Blog Posts

  • Calculating ROI Should Not Be Overwhelming
  • Managing Up Starts with Managing You
  • Turn that Smile Upside Down – How to use failure, frustration, and lower test scores to predict better learning and results.
  • Why the DISC Letters Have Failed Us…But the Styles Could Change Everything
  • 5 Tips for Keeping Virtual Learners Engaged
HRDQ-U
827 Lincoln Ave, Suite B-10
West Chester, PA 19380
Phone: 800-633-4533
Email: info@HRDQU.com

> Present Your Webinar on HRDQ-U

Connect with us!

loader

ideas for learning
© Copyright 2020 by HRDQ-U. All Rights Reserved.



Home About Us Upcoming Webinars On-Demand Webinars Blog Contact Us