What A Learning Manager At Salesforce Wishes They Had Known Before Entering The Learning And Development Industry
Halimah, a Learning Manager at Salesforce, learned that "you're never gonna be perfect" in facilitating learning sessions, emphasizing the importance of focusing on learning objectives rather than flawless execution; even when technology fails, as it did when "both my and my co-presenters' laptops just died," adaptability and empathy are key.
Communication, Problem-Solving, Resilience, Overcoming Challenges, Achieving Goals
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Halimah Jones
Learning Manager, Slack Global Onboarding
Salesforce
Northwestern University, 2016
N/A
Psychology
Technology
Human Resources (HR)
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. In Learning and Development, feedback is crucial, but perfection is unattainable. Be prepared for unexpected issues and learn to adapt.
2. The ability to improvise and think on your feet is essential when facilitating sessions or presentations. Embrace the unexpected!
3. Focus on achieving learning objectives; minor setbacks or imperfections shouldn't overshadow the overall success of the session.
Transcript
What have you learned about this role that you wish someone had told you before you entered the industry?
For learning and development, feedback is really important. But I also think the idea that you're never going to be perfect is crucial. You're never going to facilitate a session exactly how you envisioned it, and nothing's ever going to go entirely according to plan.
Something will always go wrong in some form or another. One time, both my co-presenter's and my laptops just died randomly while we were facilitating. I had to draw a brain from memory. It was challenging, but I knew the content, so I was able to continue.
Things like that happen. Being able to think on your feet is important. People are very empathetic because we've all experienced things going wrong. Even when things do go right, something probably went wrong that you didn't notice.
Perhaps you didn't phrase something exactly how you wanted, or you stumbled over your words, or forgot an example. The key is to know what the true goals are, the true learning objectives. As long as you've reached those, then you did a great job.
Sometimes you can get caught up in the details when you're facilitating. But knowing that you're not going to be perfect, that you'll use filler words, is normal. That's just what people do, and it's a normal thing.