Adapting to the New (virtual) World professionally!
Hello to the LeaderLike You! Community
New times call for new approaches. Connecting with you all monthly allows me to share uplifting stories of leadership that may inspire and motivate in these times of change. Wherever you are in the world and whatever your position at work, you have most likely had to adapt your working day in some way recently. Normal, as we knew it, has ‘left the building’.
In this edition, I will share my personal account of adapting to this ‘New World!’
In the past, organizations I worked with viewed ‘working from home’ with doubt and even disdain. The general attitude appeared to be “it’s something that is not for us”.
Likewise, many trainers shied away from online or blended training. Technology moves at a rapid pace, so this is understandable! Covid-19 has accelerated many businesses to virtual learning and education.
I’ve noticed two shifts:
- Participants are ready to attend online sessions, (albeit, not a full blown 8-hour, online seminar).
- Organizations are now willing to entertain the idea of delivering sessions online.
Organizations are moving along a continuum that leads from face-to-face to virtual approaches (which has meant learning a whole new vocabulary for most of us. My suggestion to organizations is to compartmentalize learning:
- Synchronous learning: webinars, live streaming and live demonstrations
- Collaborative asynchronous: discussion groups, learning with social networking so learners can react when and where they want to
- Self-paced asynchronous – so learners can come in and out of the learning when and where they want to.
I’ve come to realize that learners expect online (virtual) training environments that work from their phones, tablets and laptops wherever they are, at times convenient to them, seamlessly and with as little effort and complication as possible. Who doesn’t want problem free technology after all!? This puts pressure on coaches and trainers to handle the challenge of technology whilst delivering their workshops.
Click here to see me getting ready for an online event
as master of ceremonies
With at least 4 months’ experience (March to July) under my belt, I am now thoroughly enjoying the new world and even becoming experimental combining face to face sessions with virtual participants! So, it seems that the pandemic somehow forced many of us into a new digital dimension and phase of personal development! Who knew!
Click on the image to find out more about his work:
Here is one quote from the inspiring Eckhart Tolle: