You Never Forget How to Ride a Bike: Crossing
Generational Lines in Training and Development

By Rob Zell:

In too many classrooms, in too many organizations, training is failing. It is failing to focus on changing behavior and failing to engage workers in the joy of learning. Not just learning for the sake of knowledge; do that on your time please, not on the company dime. I mean learning that enhances your job performance. By building your confidence, you feel better, perform better and help the company meet its targets. Now that is return on investment.

We all went to school at some point in time. There are still people in the workforce who got to their post through hard work and experience, without advanced degrees. Even they spent some time in a classroom. That classroom experience has forever jaded them to what good training and development should look like. While I still remember some basic geometry and most of my grammar rules, none of those classroom experiences have stuck with me in great detail. Yet through trial and error, not to mention infinite parental patience, I learned to ride a bike and can still do it reasonably well. I propose that to cross generational lines in training and development we go back to the experience of learning to ride a bike, with a bit of a technological twist worthy of the 21^st century.

Engage learners in the idea

Do you remember riding a tricycle or a big wheel and watching enviously as the big kids rode a two-wheeler? There was a deep longing to be “big”. You probably envied the freedom and power that only comes on two wheels. In the workplace, learning professionals need to focus on creating the desire to learn by showing off the people who successfully use knowledge to be successful. The forward thinking learning organization engages in shameless self-promotion, sharing the stories of previous learners who are using the training curriculum to achieve organizational, and very likely, personal success. Use tools like:

• Blogs
• Short videos
• Newsletters
• Lunch and learn seminars
• Podcasts

By sharing success, we show off the freedom and power that knowledge brings. Everyone, regardless of age, likes a good story. The challenge is presenting the story in a variety of methods that appeal to your generationally diverse workforce.

Let people try and fail

I don’t know anyone who hopped on a bike on day one and rode successfully. There is always a great deal of wobbling, some falling and inevitably a skinned knee or two. Luckily, we lived through it. We bear our battle scars proudly because we know that the ability we gained was well worth it. Learning in the workplace can, and should, have the same format. No one likes to fail. While Millenials may be more willing to take risks, Boomers may prefer to play it safe and Gen X’ers are sure the whole thing will fail. Here is the good news: if you have them interested and engaged in the story, you can get them involved in a learning experience that allows them to try it out at their own speed. Try presenting your content in a variety of ways:

• Self-guided study through articles with accompanying questions
• Online articles and forum threads
• Simulations
• Case studies

You should also be ready to provide learners with “training wheels” or that parental hand on the back of the seat. Consider job aids and other performance support tools that learners can take back to the job to help them build confidence and gain proficiency.

Let learners show off

Once you could ride, you probably started trying stunts. You started small, maybe with quick turns and sudden stops, seeing how much tread you could leave on the pavement. With greater confidence, you let go of the handlebars, first one hand, and then two. Maybe you started building ramps, “popping wheelies” or simply dared to let a friend ride on the handlebars. No matter the stunt, you showed it off to your friends and everyone tried to expand their skill. When we tap into the diversity of the workforce, we can start to see how we interpret and apply knowledge differently. Through sharing and discussing, learners teach each other, coach performance and reinforce success. Learning organizations can reinforce this behavior through classroom experiences or online through wikis and forums.

Rider for life

Riding a bike is a skill we never really forget. Sure, it may get rusty and you may wobble a bit your first time riding after a long hiatus. Muscle memory will eventually take over and soon you’re riding with confidence. Learning in the workplace can be a similar experience if we approach it in a way that

• Engages the learner in the value of the knowledge
• Allows the learner a chance to try it out, potentially fail in a safe environment and learn from the mistakes
• Encourages sharing and group learning

As learning professionals, let’s strive to make the experiences we design as fulfilling as riding a bike.

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