A Key Note

So, I'm back in the office today, catching up on a day out, and reflecting on the learning points I took away from yesterday's trainingzone Live 2012 conference in London ( http://www.trainingzonelive.co.uk/ ).  The organisers helpfully provided us all with a reflective Personal Learning Log sheet in our conference pack, which I've scribbled into, but I've already decided to capture - and more importantly, share - my key learning 'nuggets' (from my own and others' contributions to the Twitter backstream yesterday) in a Storify story.  That's for later tho'...

I got a lot out of the workshop sessions I chose to attend, and that will show up in my Storify.  But, whilst I have come away from those sessions intellectually and professionally stimulated, I have been thinking today about what most inspired and energised me during the day.  And it wasn't the workshops, it wasn't the opening presentation, and it certainly wasn't the closing "Any Questions" expert panel discussion - it was the second-to-last session with key note speaker, Steve Backley OBE ( http://www.stevebackley.com/ ), Olympic javelin multi-Medalist, World record-holder and now development consultant with his partner Roger Black.  Not only was Steve an engaging personality, he told an enthralling story of success and failure in his athletic and Olympic journey, authentically, with passion, humility and humour, and he had the audience in the palm of his hand throughout.  Others have - and I will, in my Storify - shared their 'take-aways' from Steve's session, but here's what I wanted to talk about today...

I have been fortunate enough to attend several conferences - and my first UnConference - in the last year.  From each of them, I came away with useful personal and professional development ideas which I have been able to utilise, in one way or another.  But what has really hit home after yesterday's trainingzone Live, is how great the different Key Note Speakers at those events were, and how humble, entertaining, intellectually stimulating, inspiring and downright 'value for money' they have been.  

I heard Lord Robert Winston ( http://www.robertwinston.org.uk/ ) speak on the development of the human brain (at the Learning and Performance Institute's LearningLive conference) last year); I also enjoyed Edward de Bono ( http://www.edwdebono.com/ ), Ray Kurzweil ( http://www.kurzweiltech.com/aboutray.html ) and Jaron Lanier ( http://www.jaronlanier.com/ ) delivering challenging - and contrary - keynotes at the Learning and Skills Group's 'Learning Technologies' Conference in January this year.  And now I am pleased to add Steve Backley to that list of inspiring speakers.

What I loved about them all is that, whilst they are 'experts' in their own specialisms, they brought into our increasingly navel-gazing L&D world a different energy, passion and perspective, which challenged me to step out of my professional comfort zone and consider what we do and the people with whom (and,in some cases, to whom) we do it, in a completely different light.

What I missed at yesterday's TZL, particularly from the 'expert' panel at the end, was that sense of humility, of that recognition that we now operate in a very different world, with different expectations of what learning looks, feels and tastes like; that it is happening out there now, with or without our involvement, and that, maybe, we should lift our eyes up and look at what's happening around us.  I was really disappointed that no-one mentioned the growth of social and collaborative learning (not social media - that's just a tool in the arsenal) and that our roles in L&D need to change to embrace, facilitate and support peer-driven learning - as another part of the blend.  If we keep thinking of ourselves as the experts, then we are going to be arched and sidelined by the wisdom of the crowd and by people's own desire to share and learn from each other.

So here's where I'm going with this.  My recent attendance at the L&D Connect UnConference (to which, incidentally, I was invited through LinkedIn by one of my Twitter friends and on which I have already blogged) opened my eyes to another way of thinking about the opportunities afforded us when we get a load of L&D people in one room at the same time.  In an UnConference, the attendees set the agenda, discussion groups are formed and dynamically change during the sessions, with people free to move between groups as their interest/whim takes them.

Now, imagine the stimulation for discussion if your next conference was an UnConference AND it was kicked off by a quality keynote speaker of the calibre of those above, who would challenge you to think outside of your comfort box, before you break out into your discussion groups. And then you share your learning during and afterwards by whatever social and other tools are available to you.

So, conference organisers and colleagues, let's take a chance, look up, get a different perspective, and let's put some humility and passion back into the mix.  Any thoughts?