Be a L&D Expert, Be Invaluable

Danni Designer’s morning had been a doozy. Minutes after finishing her green shake, the Vice President of Sales rushed into her office, having just returned from an Educational Technology conference. “I know what I want for our New Hire Sales Training,” he breathlessly exclaimed. “It needs more video examples, gamification, and I want everything to be accessible via smart phone. Everyone is moving their training to mobile.” Was Danni the least bit intimidated by the daunting task of starting a project of such scope? No way! She’d been reading about these trends along with the latest and greatest in L&D for months. Her skills were at the top of their game, she had a back pocket full of new management tips she’d been dying to try, and her team was ready, efficient, and scalable. How was this possible in today’s ever changing L&D landscape? Danni is an L&D Expert plugged into the most up to date news from around the web.

Here’s how it helped her and how it can help you too:

1. Be ahead of the curve.

There’s nothing better than sounding knowledgeable and well informed when your VP of Sales or department head asks your opinion about a new learning trend. By knowing what the brightest minds in L&D are interested in and talking about, you can stay up to date with the latest trends and innovations while looking like a department hero.

2. Keep your skills sharp.

Some design and development skills are practiced every day within the scope of your job. Others you may have learned at one point but are a bit rusty from lack of use. Watching YouTube videos and subscribing to blog posts can keep these lesser used skills fresh in your mind and ready for use for when new initiatives arise.

3. Become a more effective leader.

When you feel confident in your L&D knowledge and skills, it shows. By gathering the perspectives of the top influencers in L&D, you are able to form robust, well thought out opinions on new L&D movements. Your team will feel confident following your leadership and it will be less threatening taking risks with new L&D innovation.

4. Learn to maximize your time and workspace.

Becoming an L&D expert is more than just knowing the skills and trends. How are other L&D professionals making the most of their time? Can mindfulness save my company money? How important is spatial design to my employee’s creativity? Learning more about increasing efficiency at a personal level and in the workplace may also pay off big in the long run.

5. Learn how to use a new tool.

It seems the internet has made it possible for anyone to be an expert in anything. While this is an exaggeration, it has become easy to be master of your own education and L&D advancement. Have some time between projects? See what the L&D community is humming about and take that new challenge on! To sum it up, being informed about advancements in L&D will give you a broader viewpoint and a better base to form your thoughts, opinions, and strategies.