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Articles by Lee Maxey
Driving from output to outcome
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Does anyone even care? Fostering an ROI learning culture
Are you navigating the complex landscape of evaluating the true effectiveness of learning initiatives and operations while pondering the level of concern shared by your peers and stakeholders? You’re not alone. During my 15 years in the field of learning and development solutions, I have observed a concerning trend: Despite the crucial role of ROI in showcasing the impact of learning initiatives, it often remains underutilized or entirely overlooked.
Learning Insights: Regina Dunning embraces a growth mindset in corporate learning
Chief Learning Officer’s “Learning Insights” series is dedicated to showcasing the thoughts and career journeys of chief learning officers and learning executives—the tireless trailblazers who are transforming the landscape of corporate learning and workforce development. In this Q&A series, we garner strategic insights, innovative approaches and challenges overcome from visionary leaders worldwide.
Achieving meaningful growth through coaching and mentoring
Coaching and mentoring have become indispensable tools for navigating personal and professional growth in the dynamic landscape of 2024. The latest trends in the coaching and mentoring industries all emphasize As the coaching industry evolves, recent trends emphasize the significance of continuous learning and development.
Beyond the 4-year degree: Looking to alternative indicators of success
If you’ve been paying attention to hiring trends post-pandemic, you’ve likely noticed that some major tech companies removed the requirement that employees have four-year degrees. While this trend may have emerged in response to a tight labor market, I don’t expect it to reverse—even as the labor market opens up. Why? Because acknowledging a four-year degree is not the sole indicator of an individual’s potential for success in every role is long overdue.
CLO Symposium 2023: Powering the workforce of the future
“Please join me in welcoming two amazing visionaries and change-makers,” said Spencer Stewart, as he kicked off one of the 2023 CLO Symposium’s first breakout sessions on October 16 in San Diego. Stewart, who served as moderator of the session, titled “Impact Innovation: Powering the Workforce of the Future,” is vice president of strategic partnerships at Western Governors University, a 2023 CLO Symposium Gold Sponsor.
Learning Insights: Jason Weber values curiosity and collaboration
Chief Learning Officer’s “Learning Insights” series is dedicated to showcasing the thoughts and career journeys of chief learning officers and learning executives – the tireless trailblazers who are transforming the landscape of corporate learning and workforce development. In this Q&A series, we garner strategic insights, innovative approaches and challenges overcome from visionary leaders worldwide. What initially drew you to a career in L&D, and how have your experiences evolved over the years?
From the editor: Refill your cup
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CLO Symposium 2023: Kamales Lardi on the end of 'business as usual'
“Let me welcome you to the future,” began Kamales Lardi, as she opened her keynote address, “The End of Business as Usual,” on October 18 at the 2023 CLO Symposium. Lardi, who serves as chief executive officer for Lardi & Partner Consulting, was the closing speaker for the event, which took place over three days at Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego — the first in-person CLO Symposium since late 2019.
How corporations can help at-risk schools thrive
The University of Toronto made headlines recently for returning a $450,000 gift from Amazon. The school’s dean wrote, “We acknowledge the important questions raised about the lack of full transparency pertaining to the gift and the perception of external influence on our academic activities.” While it is indeed vital from an ethical standpoint for schools to be transparent about their funding, I have some potentially radical thoughts about the second part of the statement.
Designing a holistic L&D experience: Nurturing growth across your organization
Crafting a holistic learning experience is the prime focus of the corporate landscape and a strategic imperative. This goes beyond learning and development programs and solutions, and encompasses a comprehensive approach that nurtures employee growth, enhances skills and competencies and aligns with the objectives of the organization.
2023 CLO Symposium: Day 3 Recap
The third and final day of the 2023 CLO Symposium — held in San Diego this year — began early with a networking breakfast, followed by a CLO PowerHour which focused on the journey to lifelong learning and powering the workforce of tomorrow.
2023 CLO Symposium: Day 2 Recap
The second day of the 2023 CLO Symposium — held in San Diego this year — began bright and early with a networking breakfast, followed by a keynote address by Dr. Ruth Gotian, chief learning officer for Weill Cornell Medicine. During her keynote, Dr. Gotian discussed the characteristics and attributes of high performers and shared applicable lessons based on research and in-person interviews she’s conducted with astronauts, Nobel Prize winners, CEOs and Olympic champions.
CLO Symposium: Day 1 Recap
For attendees of the 2023 CLO Symposium, Day 1 felt like returning to summer camp after a long year — or four — of not seeing your favorite camp buddies. Festivities began Sunday evening with the 13th annual LearningElite Awards Gala, where 59 learning and development organizations were honored for their outstanding achievements in L&D, including KPMG LLP, this year’s recipient of the prestigious LearningElite Organization of the Year award.
Microcredentials and badges are the future
A traditional four-year degree has long been the gold standard indicator of an individual’s ability to perform well in a career of their choice. But the world we live in at the height of the Information Age is much different (i.e., faster-paced) than it was decades ago. The need for agility is only increasing in the workplace and elsewhere. There are valid questions about how well traditional educational pathways serve this need for speed in our advancing world. Today, the .
Building skills through the use of “how to” training
For many trainers, statements like, “This was a great training, I just wish I knew what to do with it!?” or “This was really good, I just wish my supervisor was here to hear this!” are all too common. While getting the skills we teach integrated into the day-to-day behaviors of our employees, it can be frustrating hearing these types of comments, as they indicate barriers that prevent new knowledge from taking hold in an organization.
For Gen Z, a great place to work must be a great place to learn
Millennials and Gen Z account for nearly half (46 percent) of today’s U.S. workforce, and that will only grow over time. More racially and ethnically diverse than previous generations, more values-driven and more likely to attend college, Gen Z is also on track to be the most educated generation to date, according to Pew Research Center.
Your skills development strategy won't work: Here's why
HR and learning leaders are being tasked to improve employee performance and ultimately operational excellence. It’s strategic. It’s imperative. But it might feel overwhelming. How do you know where to start? Nowadays, organizations have so many options to develop their employees: They can select a learning vendor promising to improve employee skill sets. They can revamp their in-person training to bring people together. They can continue providing e-learning or virtual instructor-led training.
How corporations can drive innovation in higher ed - and why they should
It was once a young adult’s “golden ticket to the American dream” and a key indicator to businesses that a candidate was worth hiring. But in recent years, its true value in modern society has been . I’m talking, of course, about a four-year college degree. As the American workforce evolves, corporations have a tremendous opportunity to drive the future of higher education to align students, schools and workplaces toward a set of shared goals and competencies.
A human-centered learning biome: How prioritizing learning atmospheres propels organizational human performance
Being singularly obsessed with the optimization of human learner performance, I have discovered the foundational cause of ultimate learner success lies in something so often overlooked and embarrassingly dismissed by enterprise learning and development: conditions. Conditions are the environment, the atmosphere, the “feel” — the full emotive and affective experience of learning by learners that takes place in an organization.
Standards organization to release metrics guidelines for L&D
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Apple Vision Pro: The iPhone moment for spatial learning
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Manager, mentor or coach? Help! We need some distinctions!
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The importance of soft skills in an AI-forward world
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Combatting a campus (and workplace) mental health epidemic
In the past few weeks, a number of college campuses have become COVID-19 pandemic hotspots, with numbers of cases spiking as students return to school for the Fall semester. However, an additional risk lurks in the shadows: Some behavioral experts, media and research point to a mental health epidemic on college campuses. According to an article from Psychology Today, students seeking treatment for mental health issues in the past year had risen from 19 percent in 2007 to 34 percent in 2017.
Don't close the door on disabled workers
Like the opening to Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities,” current U.S. unemployment data is the best of times and the worst of times. If you’re an able-bodied worker, unemployment has hovered near 3.5 percent during the past year according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Obsession with efficiency is creating more impatience and less happiness
David Elkind writes in his book “The Hurried Child” that society is increasingly rushing children and students through life in the name of achievement and efficiency. Pushing oneself beyond what’s comfortable to grow physically, emotionally and spiritually is valuable. But we’re seeing signs of what happens when a healthy pursuit becomes an obsession.
The face of higher education is changing
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 1970, 2.57 million 18- to 19-year-old students were enrolled in degree-granting postsecondary institutions compared with 767,000 students age 35 years and older. In 2020, the NCES projects those same groups will total 4.24 million and 3.28 million, respectively.
Tackling employee student debt
Lee Maxey is CEO of MindMax, a marketing and enrollment management services company. Students will be heading back to school in another month or so, and along with the excitement of a new school year comes the stress of figuring out how to pay for it. Federal student loan interest rates have been on the rise, up from 3.76 percent in 2016-17 to 5.05 percent for the 2018-19 school year. Interest rate hikes may be leveling off.
The Economic Virtue of Teaching Diversity
Lee Maxey is CEO of MindMax, a marketing and enrollment management services company. After traveling the United States in the early 1800s, French political scientist Alexis de Tocqueville noted, among other things, that cooperation and association are not easy virtues to learn, but embracing both makes possible freedom and democracy. If today Tocqueville toured an American university or corporation with a diversity and inclusion program, I believe he would see freedom and democracy at work.
You Want Student Athletes on Your Team
Lee Maxey is CEO of MindMax, a marketing and enrollment management services company. March Madness is upon us. Each year at this time, the annual NCAA Division I college tournament determines which men’s and women’s basketball team will be crowned national champions. After the celebrations end and graduations pass, what happens to the athletes?
It’s Already on Your Permanent Record
“Do people want privacy?” asked Elon Musk while appearing on The Joe Rogan Experience last September. “Because they seem to put everything on the internet, practically.” If you remember the concept of the “permanent record,” then you may recall being scared into not only curtailing questionable behavior but also agonizing over what might be on your record that could affect getting admitted to college or offered a job.
Taking the High Road
Lee Maxey is CEO of MindMax, a marketing and enrollment management services company. Last July 4, the Los Angeles Times editorial board wrote that “There is cause today to be nervous about our national debate, in part because the tactics have moved from merely attacking each other’s arguments, or even attacking each other, to attacking the legitimacy of the institutions and conventions that allow the debate to take place.” We can, and must, return to civil discourse in the public square.
Higher Education: Late to Online Learning
In his book “Thank You for Being Late,” Thomas Friedman analyzes why the world seems to be accelerating away from us at a remarkable pace. His explanation: Humans are adaptable, but no generation has experienced technology, globalization and climate change at the rate we are seeing. As an example, Friedman suggests that if advances in microchips had instead occurred in cars, today’s successor to the 1970s Volkswagen “Bug” would cost 4 cents and have a top speed of 300,000 miles per hour.
Consider the Unconsidered Worker — Chief Learning Officer - CLO Media
Making the Grade Consider the Unconsidered Worker In the struggle for talent, education is key. Lee Maxey is CEO of MindMax, a marketing and enrollment management services company.Today’s 20- and 30-somethings, the oft-talked about millennials, attract a lot of attention on the job. But what about the baby boomers and Generation X?A lack of education may be all that stands in the way of some of these “unconsidered” workers making a big difference in a company.
Using Education to Prepare for a Fluid Future of Work
Making the Grade Educating for a Fluid Future While the nature of work is changing, educational preparation lags behind. Lee Maxey is CEO of MindMax, a marketing and enrollment management services company.Management guru Peter Drucker allegedly said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” For example, in mergers, cultural mismatch can ultimately break a business bond. Think Daimler and Chrysler.
The College Oversell Crisis
The College Oversell Crisis A middle-class level of wealth should not be a matter of degrees. Lee Maxey is CEO of MindMax, a marketing and enrollment management services company. Like the dream of homeownership for all, which drove America’s 2001-06 housing bubble and its subsequent collapse, many sectors of the U.S. economy currently are overpitching four-year degrees.
Too Little Progress
Making the Grade Too Little Progress More is needed to fulfill the promise of microcredentials. Lee Maxey is CEO of MindMax, a marketing and enrollment management services company. Mia Radic credits a microcredential program with helping her find her dream job ahead of schedule.
Bridging the Last Mile to Close the Skills Gap
Making the Grade Bridging the Last Mile to Close the Skills Gap Closer ties between CLOs and universities can help close the persistent skills gap. According to U.S. employers, a lot of American college graduates aren’t prepared to join the workforce. A 2016 survey by PayScale noted that only 50 percent of the nation’s employers believe college graduates are ready for professional careers. So what skills do managers want that graduates lack?
Listen to Learners’ Needs, Not What They Say
Making the GradeListen to Learners’ Needs, Not What They Say Success will come from research, collaboration and listening. We are entering a time of uncertainty and upended mores. Perhaps it’s a time for hope. But I’m reminded of a so-called Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times. Corporate learning is changing. Workers want ongoing and accessible education. They want to acquire skills without leaving full-time employment.
An Investment in MOOCs Pays Off in Talent
Since I began writing this column, I’ve been roving the crossroads of higher education and business to chronicle real-world advice and success stories for CLOs. Georgia Institute of Technology’s online master’s degree in computer science has received a lot of media attention. CLOs should care because Georgia Tech’s program may be the first financially successful credit-bearing MOOC in the world.
Teachers, Thinking and Learning in 2017
Predictions are a good way to start a New Year’s column. But as much as we all like predictions, I don’t think prognosticators are held to very high standards. So, I’m going to report back at the end of the year on how many, if any, of these predictions pan out. To start, brace yourself for a continued significant shift from teaching to learning. The drivers behind this prediction are twofold. First, a learner’s accessibility to information has never been greater.
Teachers, Thinking and Learning in 2017
Predictions are a good way to start a New Year’s column. But as much as we all like predictions, I don’t think prognosticators are held to very high standards. So, I’m going to report back at the end of the year on how many, if any, of these predictions pan out. To start, brace yourself for a continued significant shift from teaching to learning. The drivers behind this prediction are twofold. First, a learner’s accessibility to information has never been greater.
Are You Taking Time for a Second Look?
Both of the candidates for the recent presidential election had marred track records, and voters had to give one a second chance. Americans love second chances. From our beginnings to this very day, we’ve attracted immigrants with the promise of starting over. Those second chances are happening in education, too. The booming market of nontraditional and continuing education is filled with many people who are now working toward degrees because they got sidetracked earlier in their studies.
Are You Taking Time for a Second Look?
Both of the candidates for the recent presidential election had marred track records, and voters had to give one a second chance. Americans love second chances. From our beginnings to this very day, we’ve attracted immigrants with the promise of starting over. Those second chances are happening in education, too. The booming market of nontraditional and continuing education is filled with many people who are now working toward degrees because they got sidetracked earlier in their studies.
Are You Taking Learning Personally?
A lot of chief learning officers and college administrators spend time answering two questions to help people excel professionally or to embrace a new educational construct: If you can learn something online, then why provide instruction in person? And if you can teach something in person, why offer online instruction? Both higher education and the corporate learning world get tripped up by these questions, but they’re red herrings.
Are You Taking Learning Personally?
A lot of chief learning officers and college administrators spend time answering two questions to help people excel professionally or to embrace a new educational construct: If you can learn something online, then why provide instruction in person? And if you can teach something in person, why offer online instruction? Both higher education and the corporate learning world get tripped up by these questions, but they’re red herrings.
Missing Learning Development Link: Government
All columnists should take their own advice regularly, if for no other reason than to show some empathy for their readers. In past columns, I’ve posited ideas for how business and higher education can work together to develop tomorrow’s workforce today. Those columns encouraged CLOs to reach out to their counterparts in higher education.
Missing Learning Development Link: Government
All columnists should take their own advice regularly, if for no other reason than to show some empathy for their readers. In past columns, I’ve posited ideas for how business and higher education can work together to develop tomorrow’s workforce today. Those columns encouraged CLOs to reach out to their counterparts in higher education.
Using MOOC Data for Your Benefit
For corporate learning departments, any course that’s not a “page-turner” means wasted effort. If chief learning officers could tap into research showing how people are learning most effectively online, however, it could greatly improve learning content. By talking to universities about their approach to, and results from, online learning, CLOs could change the way their learning and development teams design courses and think about learning.
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