My Approach to Learning & Development

In the knowledge economy, a critical factor that sustains the competitive advantage of organizations is its capability to meet the challenges of a changing environment. In this regard, the training and development of its human resources is key to ensuring that capability. I strongly believe in the central role of learning in building individual and collective capacity, not just to aid immediate business performance, but to generate capabilities and potential for future organizational performance.

I offer training in areas of general and human resource management (please use buttons on the left hand side of this page to browse through write-ups of my various training programmes).

What are my credentials for doing what I do? Well, I have extensive experience in executive education, gained while I was a lecturer in a university’s business school, as well as in my last position, when I headed the learning and development unit (for Asia-Pacific) of a global private bank. I have also worked in a non-governmental organization, as well as in the public sector. I have been a manager myself, managing teams/departments from four to over twenty people. I have a Ph.D in Sociology. Please see my brief CV for more details, if you are so minded.

Let me now tell you about my approach to training. My programs draw on my knowledge and experience of management, but are also grounded in theories and frameworks arising from research in the field.  Research-generated ideas, theories and insights are important because they have been worked through and ‘tested’, and they can offer fresh perspectives and increase our stocks of knowledge.  However, I only draw on research where they have relevance, and applicability.

I also use ‘research’ for another purpose, and that is to deepen my understanding of the organization for which I conduct training, the industry the organization is in, and the general environment in which it operates. I carry out research at the start of every training project to contextualize and customize my training, so that it is aligned to business objectives and relevant to the people I train.

My instructional style is interactive. I encourage learners to self-reflect, to dialogue, with me and with each other, to be open to giving and receiving feedback, and to be generally participative. I do not dispense prescriptions or formulas. I believe that learning is a dynamic and continual process, and I see my role in training as the facilitation of learning.

I deploy a variety of learning tools in my training programs, including interactive lectures, facilitated discussions, case studies, groupwork, experiential exercises, self-audits, assessments, and action planning.  I design many of my own exercises so that they will be relevant for those I train, and for the given context.

Please do take time to explore other pages on my website to find out more about my training programmes.