I enjoy the learning process that I experience with others in conference presentations. The process of facilitating insights and dialogue offers rich insights into people’s needs,hopes and aspirations,this was especially true of my experience this week presenting at the OAYECC FirstWork Futures Conference.
The process involved assessing and discussing approaches to professional development. It was amazing to witness how hungry people are to learn and grow. The group enthusiastically shared about their needs and aspirations with one another. At the same time,I learned how little on-going development professionals’ are able to access within their work. In particular,there was clear evidence of a lack of support for developing professionals skillsets on the job. Out of a group of 80 people,only 2 received active support from their supervisor / manager. For the majority of the group,the focus of their management was on meeting program goals,not on developing the people. This is unfortunate,as sin my experience those managers who actively coach their professional workforce get better results on the bottom line!
For those of you who are interested in the presentation,you can view it on slideshare.
