Research shows that learning on the job (OTJ) provides the most effective leadership development. But it can be challenging to create a good OTJ learning experience. What do you do when one goes awry?
In this post, we’ll look at an on-the-job learning case study, diagnose some issues and determine how to fix them.
A On-the-job (OTJ) learning failure
I once talked to a leader, we’ll call him Jose, who expressed frustration with a direct report and her OTJ learning experience. He had a high potential employee on his team and wanted to develop her (Amy) for a bigger role.
As a stretch assignment, he asked her to take his place on a key cross-departmental committee.
Jose intended for Amy to work on communication skills, building relationships and gaining visibility with other groups. But he heard from a colleague that Amy sat in the meetings and did not speak up or contribute.
This leader had great intentions, but poor execution, related to this on-the-job learning experience.
What else could the leader do?
As detailed in an earlier post, managers can take steps to ensure a good OTJ experience. Let’s consider how Jose could have approached this.
Be intentional
Jose succeeded at being intentional. He recognized Amy as a high potential employee and found an appropriate opportunity for her to enhance her skills.
Structure the experience
Jose failed to structure the OTJ experience well. When he assigned Amy to the cross-departmental committee, he did not explain why or what he wanted her to learn.
For an effective experience, Jose could have explicitly said that he added her to the committee as a learning experience. In addition to providing value to the committee, Amy should practice communication skills, building relationships and gaining visibility.
Getting specific is important:
- By communication skills, Jose could have explained that Amy should work on sharing her ideas and pushing back appropriately when needed.
- With relationships, Jose could indicate specific people from other departments who Amy should get to know. These would be people who could teach her skills or provide valuable sponsorship in the future.
- For visibility, Jose could have explained that he wanted Amy to be seen by the committee leader as a strong contributor and that this might lead to bigger roles in the future.
Monitor and Debrief
Jose should have monitored the OTJ experience throughout the assignment and debriefed it at the end.
With regular check-ins, Jose might have realized earlier that the assignment was not clear and had gotten off track.
The two could also have talked prior to specific committee meetings, so Amy entered the meetings prepared and up to date on broader company issues.
What else could the employee do?
Clarify expectations
Amy could have clarified expectations with Jose. By asking a few questions, she could have learned that this was a boon for her and what she should learn.
Instead, she actually perceived the assignment as an added burden. She believed that Jose dumped the assignment on her, because he did not want to do it himself.
Keep learning in mind along with the task
Since she did not realize the assignment offered a learning opportunity, Amy stayed quiet in the meetings. Feeling intimidated by the more senior members from other departments, she did not believe that her perspective mattered.
Getting help
The guidelines for taking advantage of an OTJ learning experience specify that employees should investigate before seeking help, but still ask for it when needed.
Since Amy did not realize she was supposed to be learning, she did not apply these tactics.
If she had, Amy could have asked for help with things like finding appropriate words to use when pushing back or how to approach a committee member about doing an informational interview.
A happy resolution
Fortunately, Jose and I talked through this issue. Once he realized that he had skipped some critical components to setting up the OTJ experience, he went back to Amy and clarified.
Once she understood the situation, Amy felt energized and found her voice in the committee meetings. She had significant value to add, but had felt constrained.
The committee and the company benefited from Amy’s contributions. Amy received an exciting promotion a few months later.
OTJ experiences work, but they must be structured and communicated properly. Who can you develop today?
Related articles
The research regarding the effectiveness of OTJ learning was discussed in the post ‘Invest in Self-confidence to develop effective leaders‘.
A deeper dive into structuring effective OTJ learning experiences was covered in the post ‘Boost careers with on-the-job learning‘.
