On the third day, John Seeley Brown, an expert in education, gave the keynote. The gentleman, whose name escapes me, set the stage by discussing all the changes that are currently taking place.
The man making the introduction remarked that he had spent time in the ASTD global village to better understand the global participants’ perspective. He could glean these four concepts from his discussions:
- Everything is changing
- Change is creating opportunities
- The nature of work is changing
- There is more opportunity for collaboration
He promptly noted that change is generating stress, with people struggling to cope with its rapid pace. However, one key to managing change is learning. We need to build learning into change planning. The change plan must have learning goals built in from the beginning. Learning has to be a key factor.
As we respond to change, we need to enable learning. We must do a better job of sharing knowledge. Technology can be a force multiplier for sharing knowledge. Additionally, we need to develop and empower learning change leaders. They can help lead change efforts.
Most importantly, we need to rebrand change as learning rather than separate entities. Every change effort is an opportunity to learn. Change is a necessity; we will never get away from it. Organizations typically aren’t good at change. However, by looking at change as a learning opportunity, we can make change easier.
