Just as Human Resource Leaders Need to Create More Strategic Value there’s a huge need for Learning and Development professionals to do the same.
Last year Rob Pearson became the new CEO of the Canadian Society for Training and Development. I reconnected with Rob at a Conference Board of Canada Learning and Development meeting last fall a few months into his new role. As we discussed his plans for CSTD and the profession I was excited by his vision. Rob sees workplace learning and development professionals making a strong contribution to Canada’s prosperity. He envisions learning and development professionals engaging and inspiring people to perform at their best and “championing the power of workforce performance and learning to enrich lives, enhance productivity, foster innovation, and fuel organizational results.”
In moving toward this renewed vision for the profession, CSTD has just rebranded itself as The Institute for Performance and Learning. Rob explains that “a bolder brand better aligned to The Institute’s business goals is integral to becoming a more recognized and respected voice in workplace productivity, innovation and performance.”
As part of refocusing and rebranding IPL has revised and clarified their beliefs. A few that stand out — and connect to providing more strategic value — are:
- Workforce performance and learning is mission critical and not a cost of doing business.
- IPL’s work is critical input to successful corporate strategy and government policy.
- Professional practice is guided by research and approaches from fields such as organizational development, facilitation, neuroscience, education, instructional design, coaching, the arts and change management.
- The profession needs to be based on evidence-based principles.
- Approaches need to be part of a complex system that intertwines organizational and individual development and impact.
- The best solutions are multifaceted and woven into the fabric of an organization, not isolated events disconnected from the workplace.
Kudos to Rob and the IPL board for their leadership in moving the learning and development profession forward. I’ve had a long standing relationship with CSTD. I am looking forward to working together further with IPL with events like tomorrow’s webinar on How Learning and Development Can Build Stronger Leaders and Cultures and my November 18 session at the national 2015 conference in Toronto on Making Leaders Stronger for Organizations and Organizations Stronger for People.
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