Online Articles

Training magazine named the winners of its 2012 Top Young Trainer awards, recognizing the top 40 training professionals age 40 and under. These executives will be profiled in the May/June 2012 issue of Trainingmagazine and online at www.trainingmag.com, and they will be honored at an awards ceremony in February 2013 at the Training 2013 Conference & Expo, World Disney World Resort, FL.

By Alexandra Harocopos There is never one correct method to follow in prescribing training and/or performance interventions. A variety of solutions can be implemented based on knowledge sharing and a company’s organizational structure. The best solution is figuring out what works well for your project and your organization. This article will examine how Organizational Design (OD) contributes to performance. It will focus specifically on the influence of knowledge sharing through Communities of Practice (CoPs). What Is a CoP?

By Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. Millions of dollars and thousands of hours are spent each year trying to teach leaders and managers how to coach their employees and give them effective feedback. Yet much of this training is ineffective, and many leaders and mangers remain poor coaches. Is that because this can’t be trained? No, that’s not the reason. Research sheds light on why corporate training often fails.

By Nick Lane, Director, Strategy and Planning, Everything Everywhere

By Brandon Williams, Consultant, The Educe Group If you build it, will they really come? Drive the adoption of enterprise-wide social learning technology by creating thriving online communities of practice. What Is a Community of Practice?

By Joe Cortez, Interactive Media Specialist, Signature Worldwide Technology has driven us into some new, unforeseen territory in the last few years. Before, when you had a problem with a company (or its level of perceived service), you would have to call an 800 number and navigate through a touch-tone menu of options just to speak to someone who hopefully could resolve your problem. Today, instead of dealing with the company directly, you can express your dissatisfaction through a public medium such as Facebook or Twitter.

As balanced scorecards have become increasingly common tools used to manage entire businesses, many training and development professionals have tried to adapt them for use in our profession. For example, ASTD developed its Workplace Learning and Performance Scorecard in 2006, and Ajay Pangarkar and Teresa Kirkwood published their Trainer’s Balanced Scorecard in 2009.

By Bill Whitmore, Chairman, President, and CEO, AlliedBarton Security Services There’s a direct connection between engaged leadership, workplace security, and organizational success, regardless of your product or service. Psychologist Abraham Maslow identified safety and security as among the most basic human needs on the road to self-actualization—achieving one’s full potential. It, therefore, follows that if your employees don’t feel safe and secure, they’re not going to do the best job for you.

By Dr. Heidi Grant Halvorson

By Hank Moore, Corporate Strategist How can women and minority business owners be most successful? See yourself as a plus to the business world, not as a liability. We are all minorities operating in the whole, as do professional specialties within the company’s big picture. Through diversity, each element blends and supports others, as does the corporate visioning process. Major public sector contracts require qualified minority subcontractors. Select partners, and show good faith efforts to procure and execute contracts.