Where is your Training GPS Leading?

GPS football player

There is an individual in our workplace who is 100% reliant on their GPS to get them places - even if they have been to that place numerous times in the past.

This "phenomenon" is caused by the fact that when information is readily available to you, you don't have to commit it to memory or learn it. In some instances, this is a wise approach. You don't need to remember what is in your refrigerator - just open the door and remind yourself. You don't need to learn how to complete your taxes when there are step-by-step guides available online (the GPS of taxes, if you will).

But, in other cases, being completely reliant on prompts is counter-productive and potentially dangerous. Sadly, there is more than one example of a person who followed their GPS to doom (go ahead, we'll wait while you Google "GPS Fail"). And, alarmingly, the GPS example is akin to what is happening in our companies today. How often have you heard (or said!)  Hmmm. I  don't know, give me one second, I'll Google it.

Google and "generic" or "universal" information is just one part of the equation, however. A readily available "smartphone" enables workers to have instant access to information they need to do their jobs - either from that universal fount of information, or from a company-supplied portal. In some arenas this is known as mLearning (an abbreviation of mobile-learning) - however, simply putting the word "learning" in the title doesn't magically turn it in to learning.  It should more accurately be called: mInformation

Just like the driver who is dependent on their GPS, an employee who is dependent on a resource to provide them with information to do their jobs, will be consistently dependent on that device. They will never grow their skills, or experience, or capabilities because they will never put any of their own independent thought in to the work. They will be 100% reliant on prompts.

True learning is dependent on experience, experimentation, practice, reflection, and an internalized understanding of not only what and how to do something, but why it is done the way it is. True skill and mastery comes from having internalized the rationale or thinking that underpins a process.

Imagine a football coach who is reliant on robotic prompts to call the next play. Come to think of it, the coach wouldn't be necessary would he? The prompts could be transmitted to the players through their helmets. They would be completely focused on their job, and their position, without having to take in to account the environment around them (e.g. other players, both on their team and against), the score / clock, their proximity to the end-zone, etc.  While in some respects, this might lead to a very accurate game, you would have players who never had to learn the sport, the rules, the strategy. They simply would follow the information they were provided, whether accurate or not.

A Filter is Required"whether accurate or not," is an important point. If you know nothing about a topic, and suddenly you are presented with a "how to," it seems perfectly reasonable to you. Why? Because you have no critical thought through which to filter the information. Especially in the workplace, where decisions are made quickly and can have far-reaching effects, it is imperative to have perspective on a topic or process, and not rely on a quickly-received “answer.”

For worker and workplace success, it is important that we teach people to think more thoroughly, to ask questions, to look for more than one answer, and to be able to make judgements about the information they receive.