Menu
Learning Rewired

#14 Moving Beyond Learning Towards Development

The accelerated rate of change we are experiencing will not disappear with the subsidence of Covid-19 – this is the new normal.

In this episode, Dr. Alan Watkins joins us to discuss how can leaders build the capacities they need to engage with this rapidly evolving landscape, and that L&D functions within organisations need to move beyond L (learning) and focus on D (development). In this interview, Dr. Alan shares his views and expertise in L&D topics such as:

  • How we avoid development by getting locked into ‘aboutism’
  • The critical difference between horizontal and vertical development
  • The profound and far-reaching need for HR leaders and the organisations they serve to take development seriously
Dr. Alan Watkins, physician and a neuroscientist, CEO and Co-Founder of Complete.
Meet our Guest

Alan Watkins

Dr. Alan Watkins is a renowned physician and a neuroscientist, CEO and Co-Founder of Complete, and recognised internationally for his expertise in leadership and human performance.

Dr. Alan believes in the potential of human beings and with a unique broad mix of commercial, academic, scientific and technological abilities, he has been coaching thousands of individuals and many of the world’s top business leaders to greater levels of performance and new ways to succeed and establish market leadership in their industry.

Throughout his incredible career, Dr. Alan’s knowledge and expertise have reached millions around the world. Either through acclaimed TEDx keynotes such as Being Brilliant Every Single Day and Why You Feel What You Feel where he discusses some of the most important aspects of human development and control of emotions to achieve success and happiness. Or, through one of his many books such as 4D LeadershipCoherence: The Secret Science of Brilliant LeadershipCrowdocracy: The End of PoliticsWicked and Wise: How to Solve the World’s Toughest Problems or The HR (R)evolution – listed in the top 5 business books by CEO Today.

Learn more about Alan Watkins

In this Episode

Why should organisations move beyond learning and focusing in development? In the L&D equation, it has been all L and no D. However learning is only 20% of the value, 80% of the value is in the development, which is the application of the learning to drive positive change to drive evolution (…) It's the difference between a 6 vs. a 12 year old trying to solve a problem, when you're more developed, you can solve problems way faster. The world is speeding up and getting more complicated, you need speed and agility - that is given by increased maturity. So it's a strategic advantage, the more that organisations lean into development, the better they are fit for the Future.
What are the eight lines of development that matter in most companies? The five internal you can't see: physical, emotional, social intelligence, cognitive values, and ego. And then the three on the outside, which is behaviour, networks, and then influencing those networks. Those are the eight lines that really matter.
I have seen so much unnecessary suffering occur as a result of poor quality decisions made by well intentioned people. Alan Watkins