TLB #24 🧠 Gremlins got nothing on us!
A by-weekly inside scoop on all the hottest events, juicy discussions, and oh-so-many other exciting things happening in our dynamic L&D community. 🧡
Hello Shaker,
Thank you for sending some good energy my way. I am grateful for your love.
I am back and let’s get straight to today’s issue.
Here’s all that you’ll experience in today’s issue:
💡Learning Bites: How to cage your confidence gremlins
🗓️ Community Calendar: Be a part of events like Push Your Limits! For more Creativity in your Life and many more.
🖌️ Community Creations: Let’s welcome Martin Unruh, Mercedes Salce and Eugenia Gargallo to take the lead as the new Leadership Cluster Leads
🔖 Resource Reel: A collection of resources on Learning Transfer, Performance Consulting, Facilitation and many more.
🎤 Shaker's Stage: This week’s stage is taken by Shreya Toshniwal.
Learning Bites 💡
For this issue’s Learning Bites, I'm diving into a topic that often lurks in the shadows, yet profoundly affects us both personally and professionally. It's something we all face but rarely discuss openly—the relentless doubts and beliefs that hold us back, our very own gremlins. Sarah and Helen talk about how to cage your confidence gremlins in their podcast episode.
My Top Takeaways:
Embracing Gremlin Awareness: Gremlins, those pesky doubts and beliefs holding us back, are ever-present in the workplace. From the impostor syndrome whispering in our ears to the fear of conflict-paralyzing action, understanding these gremlins is the first step towards caging them.
Identifying Gremlin Triggers: Just like in a horror movie, knowing what triggers these gremlins is essential for survival. Whether it's past experiences haunting us, certain individuals amplifying our doubts, or toxic work environments feeding our insecurities, recognizing these triggers empowers us to take control.
Spotting Gremlins Early: One effective strategy is to develop a keen eye for spotting gremlins before they cause heavy distress. For instance, knowing what I worry most about at work can help me be aware of situations where my gremlins can become more powerful.
Setting OK Expectations: Instead of striving for unattainable perfection, setting "OK" expectations is the name of the game. For example, rather than expecting flawless presentations every time, aiming to deliver a solid performance while acknowledging room for improvement fosters a healthier mindset.
Sharing Gremlins for Support: It's easy to feel isolated in our battles against gremlins, but sharing our struggles can be incredibly empowering. Whether it's with someone good at your gremlin or someone who you think can support you to cage that gremlin. It can be your manager, mentor, coach or peer.
What This Means for Practice:
Gremlin Workshops: Host interactive workshops where team members can openly discuss their gremlins in a safe space. Encourage participants to share specific instances where gremlins have impacted their work, fostering empathy and understanding among colleagues.
Gremlin Spotting Sessions: Incorporate regular "gremlin spotting" sessions into team meetings or one-on-one check-ins. Or, encourage individuals or team members to form gremlin accountability partnerships, where they commit to supporting each other in caging their respective gremlins. By dedicating time to reflect on potential gremlin triggers and brainstorming strategies for containment, individuals can develop a proactive approach to gremlin management.
Gremlin Support Circles: Establish peer support circles where team members can share their gremlins and offer encouragement to one another. Pair individuals facing similar challenges and facilitate structured discussions to exchange coping strategies and build resilience.
Remember, instead of trying to get rid of them completely, learn to ‘cage‘ them. Drop🌱 below in the comment section if you’ll take a step towards ‘caging‘ your gremlins.
Coming Up Next
Community Calendar 🗓️
Our next events lineup is here! Join us for super practical, fun and interesting sessions and meet other L&D buddies. Register for events using the link below!
Register for the events below! 👇
Community Creations 🖌️
Welcome Martin Unruh, Mercedes Salce and Eugenia Gargallo to take the lead as the new Leadership Cluster Leads!
They're here to drive meaningful conversations and foster exchanges around leadership within the L&D Shakers community, through online events to lively discussions in the #3-leadership channel.
I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to Or and Patrícia Bittencourt for their outstanding contributions to the Leadership Cluster throughout 2023.
So, let's give a roaring welcome to our new team members, showering them with energy and appreciation!
Cool Stuff You Don’t Wanna Miss Out
Resource Reel 🔖
This week’s hottest resources are:
100 Ways to Create More Impactful Training Programs by trevato lists small actions that you can implement in your training programs for more effective learning transfer.
Why is Performance Consulting so important for L&D? by Steal These Thoughts talks about performance consulting and how L&D can get started with it. Give it a read, it’s full of practical ideas and tools that you can use.
Career Canvas by Amazing If that will help you coach yourself and move ahead in your career.
Dispelling the Data Access Mystery by The Weekly Measure, a short conversation between Kevin. M Yates and Dr Alaina Szlachta. They talk about data inaccessibility and how to build bridges to boost data access.
22 Books to Improve Your Facilitation by Chris Stone covers a list of books from Training from the Back of the Room to Advanced Facilitation Strategies that you can add to your reading list to improve your facilitation and workshop game. Thank you Priya for sharing.
When people thrive, business thrives: The case for human sustainability by Deloitte makes the case for focusing on people and creating value for them as rightly so if you want your business to thrive.
Community Corner:
Shaker's Stage 🎤
Let’s welcome Shreya Toshniwal, Founder and Design Head at Fold Labs to take the Stage.
On a good day, what can you legitimately be proud of about yourself?
-I played the role of a boss for the first time about 8 years ago. It was an unexpected promotion at a new workplace. I was terrible at it. I am barely in touch with any of my teammates. I left that job soon after. Cut to now – I have come a long way in my team-building/leading journey. Over the past 7 years, I have formed the deepest bonds with my colleagues & juniors. We seek each other out as team-mates, friends and mentors. There is a regular expression of admiration and respect for one another. As the founder of a learning design agency, and usually the person who needs to keep projects on track, I often find myself making decisions where I easily put people first - over any constraint, deadline or project need. That makes me feel quite happy and proud – the fact that I don't have to think too much to behave 'people-first' :)
What’s a source of inspiration for you right now?
-A few :) I am trying to envision how Fold (my learning design agency) can help create equity through our work. Thus, I'm very inspired by people and organisations who are creating widespread social impact through innovative learning design. For eg. Menstrupedia, Uninhibited. I have also been feeling inspired by people who can share content on social media with authenticity - posts that don't feel like a template.
What is one piece of advice you’d give to someone starting out in your career?
-Dear younger me – "Rake in all the learning science bit. Start there. There is no learning design without learning science. You cannot create good learning experiences without understanding how humans learn."
What does being an L&D Shaker look and feel like for you?
-Like living in a world of warmth and brilliance, that's large yet safe, dispersed yet accessible :)
〜See you soon
Till then, keep spicing up your learning! 🧠🧂
Sejaal