The colours of your learning leaves

Today I've been thinking about ‘the logical way of doing things’ versus ‘the reality’. This has been inspired by autumn, and about the leaves on the trees. As a kid I remember being told ​...

that leaves would go from green, yellow, orange, red, brown, to dropping off. But it's not true!

​Stood amongst a bunch of oak trees, most don't have any red in their leaves at all. Yet yesterday I walked down a street where a single leaf was full of reds, greens and oranges! So, that logical pattern of what we're told doesn’t necessarily take place in THAT order and for ALL trees.

What’s this got to do with L&D? When you take a training qualification, you're told to design in a set way. And that's fine for foundation knowledge. But in reality, you need to work with the trees (audience). You need to work out 'what are the colour patterns and how will I adapt to their needs?'

When I go into organizations I help training teams to consider more than just design and delivery. I observe, give feedback and mentor. People often hold on to what they have been taught. But when you step away and consider that you’re working with different 'trees', you can really answer the question; ‘What are the colours of your learning leaves?’ www.curiouslighthouse.co.uk