Independence in Learning - Fourth of July Special

What makes a training program truly effective? The answer might be simpler than we think: independence. When learners feel ownership over their development journey, engagement and results skyrocket.

In this special Fourth of July solo episode, our host Jay explores how traditional training programs often fail despite abundant resources. The missing ingredient? Relevance and autonomy. When we don't see how learning connects to our career growth or daily challenges, motivation vanishes. Most valuable skills develop through independent practice, not prescribed training sessions.

The most impactful learning experiences often stem from self-directed discovery rather than forced education. As you design your next training program, consider how independence might revolutionize your approach. How are you building self-discovery into your talent development strategy? Your learners—and your results—will thank you for it.

Meet the Host
Jay Johnson works with people and organizations to empower teams, grow profits, and elevate leadership. He is a Co-Founder of Behavioral Elements®, a two-time TEDx speaker, and a designated Master Trainer by the Association for Talent Development. With a focus on behavioral intelligence, Jay has delivered transformational workshops to accelerate high-performance teams and cultures in more than 30 countries across four continents. For inquiries, contact [e-mail] or connect below!

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayjohnsonccg/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jayjohnsonccg/
Speaker Website - https://jayjohnsonspeaks.com

Episode Transcript

Jay Johnson (00:01):
Welcome to this episode of the Talent Forge,
where, together, we're shapingthe future of training and
development.
I'm Jay Johnson, your host, andtoday I'm not joined by a
special guest.
In fact, today is a veryspecial edition, celebrating the
4th of July and upcoming, sothis is going to be a nice short
solo mission with a couple oftips and tactics for you to
consider in implementing yournext training or talent

(00:23):
development program.
One of the things that I wantto do is align this with the
holiday that we're celebrating.
Well, that's independence, andI want to share a little bit of
a story of before I became aconsultant.
I was actually working at WayneState University and there was
a number of different trainingprograms and opportunities, but
none of them were reallycustomized to what I wanted to

(00:44):
learn or the things that Ireally felt would elevate my
career and my pathway, and, inthat regard, one of the things
that we would see is there's ahundred different trainings, all
available online.
You could go schedule yourselfwith a number of things with
different facilitators andinstructors, and yet the
attendance in all of those wereexceptionally low.

(01:06):
A big part of that was is thatI didn't really get to feel like
I was actually engaging in someof the things that would be
really relevant to me in myevery single day life.
I didn't see how thosedifferent trainings were really
going to elevate my career, mystatus, make things easier for
me, or anything else.
A lot of my learning came fromindependent practice on the job.

(01:29):
So that word independence whatdoes it really mean?
Independence in the learningsphere can ultimately mean that
I get to drive my own education,and one of the ways in which I
did that, at least at WayneState University, is they were
kind enough to invest in ways ofgoing to conferences or some
other things.
But not every organization hasthe resources or capabilities of

(01:52):
being able to send somebody outto do whatever it is that they
want to do or whatever it isthat they want to learn.
So here's a couple of ways foryou to implement some concepts
of independence into yourtraining.
First, think about theindependence of exploration.
Okay, when we learn a new skillor a tactic, we know that
practicing it will make perfect.

(02:12):
That's what really solidifiesit as a habit and something that
we can actually call upon whenthe time is right for us to call
upon that skill or that need.
But that practice is reallyoften independent and it's done
at our own time, at our owndiscretion.
So here's something that youcan do is you can build an

(02:34):
independent practice into yourdifferent facilitations or
trainings.
Here's how it might look if youwere to incorporate that.
So I might start off a trainingsession with a facilitated
dialogue of what is your biggestchallenge and through questions
using generally how and what.
Questions like how is thatfeeling?
What is that experience like?

(02:55):
You know, what are some otherthings that are contributing to
these challenges.
I'm going to try to help theparticipants get to a core area
or core behavior that maybe theyfeel like they have a gap in.
Then, at that point in time,after that facilitation and
getting a better understandingof what it is that's actually at
the root of their challenge ortheir issue, I'm going to give

(03:16):
them some behavioral thoughts topractice it.
I might even ask them hey, whatare some ways or what are some
skills that you could practiceevery single day in order to
really hone in on solving thischallenge that you're facing?
Most of the time, we know whatit is that we need to develop or
what the skills are, so gettingsome kind of a commitment from

(03:37):
them on what they want topractice.
That's a game changer, becausewhen we tell somebody what they
need to practice, they may ormay not do it.
They may look at that as welldon't tell me how to live my
life but when they come up withit themselves, they're more than
likely going to say, all right,this is something I actually
want to do.
Then create the conditions forthem to be able to practice it.

(04:01):
Ask them okay, on a daily basis, we want you to practice this
behavior.
What would that look like toyou?
How is that going to show up?
What is the operationalizationof that?
Maybe even design somedifferent tracking documents or
some prompt documents that aregoing to give them the necessary
motivation and visual cueing toremember to go in and actually

(04:22):
practice those behaviors.
So I might send them on a solomission for a week or two weeks
and then come back to afacilitated session together and
ask them what was yourexperience?
How was it practicing this?
Were you successful?
Were you unsuccessful?
If you were unsuccessful, whatwas the barriers or what were
some of the areas that stoppedyou from being successful?
Now, allowing them that time toindependently go and practice

(04:47):
is going to inspire them,because it's going to be
something that they have decidedthat they want to practice,
going to inspire them.
Because it's going to besomething that they have decided
that they want to practice,they have created the parameters
for them to go out and practiceit, and they are also
reflecting internally,independently, about what that
experience felt like or whatthat looked like for them.
So this is a way that we candesign something to actually get

(05:07):
people to own their ownlearning opportunities.
Another way to build this intoour training is to really think
about systems and notnecessarily content.
Okay, so what do I mean by this?
When we're designing forsystem's sake, we're thinking
about what are the maybe keyperformance indicators that they
are experiencing in their jobs?

(05:29):
Okay, well, what type ofsystems do they have currently
set up?
And asking somebody hey, couldyou design a system that's maybe
going to be something that'srepeatable, something that you
can follow along with?
This is really going to appealto some of those earths and
waters that are looking for morestructure.
But having them actually gothrough the process of designing

(05:49):
it independently and then maybegetting some feedback or
opportunities yes, that'slearning Number one they're
actually taking the time tothink about and reflect upon
their different actions, theirbehaviors and the different jobs
that they're doing.
Number two being able to givesome of that coaching, feedback
and guidance in how to set thosesystems up are really going to

(06:09):
solidify some of that systemsthinking.
So it's not just them beingtold how to do their job, it's
them designing a framework tosay if you were to teach this to
somebody else, what would thatlook like?
What systems would you have inplace to make sure that they
didn't run into those same snagsor those barriers?
So that can be a powerful wayto do that.
A third and final way to do thisis to really rely on the

(06:32):
opportunity for them toessentially go and find their
own opportunities for learning.
Now, that may sound like you'rejust shuffling off the
responsibility, but that's notactually the case.
What this is is really diggingin to say each individual is
going to learn differently,they're going to experience
differently and they're going tofind different values to

(06:53):
different learning modalities.
Now you can always do somethinglike find one of the big
providers a LinkedIn, pulse or adegree or a Udemy and give them
the opportunity to go scour outcontent.
That's not even really what I'mtalking about here, what I'm
actually speaking to is givingthem the opportunity to design

(07:14):
some kind of a learningframework that they're going to
operate under.
That may include differentaspects of online courses.
That could include practicallearning or simulations or
reading or podcasting.
The big piece here is to havesome level of accountability.
Think about like a book club,right?
Like a book club, you get toread a book and then you

(07:36):
actually sit with people.
People are going to know veryquickly whether or not you
actually did the reading whenyou sit down for that
facilitated dialogue.
So this is where we can buildsome accountability in and make
sure that learning remains apriority to those people that
we're serving.
So when you're thinking aboutyour next design, ask yourself
how am I building independenceand independent discovery into

(07:59):
this?
Think about all of thedifferent ways that you've
discovered different thingsthroughout your careers in an
independent way.
It felt pretty good, more thanlikely, and you felt
accomplished by learningwhatever the new skill is
without having to be told tolearn it.
So offer that as an opportunityfor growth and development.
And this Independence Day, Iwish you all a safe, healthy and

(08:22):
fun time in the holiday.
If you're celebrating, and ifnot, then I just wish you a
wonderful and peaceful weekend.
Thanks for tuning into thisepisode of the Talent Forge,
where, together, we're shapingthe future of training and
development.