Lonely? Sometimes being an L&D (Learning and Development) manager can promote feelings of isolation. You’re in charge of everyone else’s learning, development, and growth, but what about your own?
Below are a few things you can do as an L&D manager to prevent feelings of isolation. And as you do them, you’ll also be boosting your effectiveness as an L&D professional and honing your leadership skills.
Reach Out to Other Managers and Department Heads
While you’re creating courses for your training or L&D programs, reach out to other managers and department heads within your organization—especially if you’re trying to gain executive buy-in for a new program you’re spearheading. Not only will you feel less isolated, you’ll also gain valuable insight from others about what their employees need from the programs you’re developing and managing. You’ll be able to continually improve your programs and prove that they’re effective to the C-suite on a rolling basis, while you’re consistently interacting with others.
Survey and Talk to Program Participants
Another way to decrease feelings of isolation is to talk with your program participants. Ask them what they like about your programs, and answer any questions they have. You could host small focus groups or have one-on-one meetings on a rolling basis. You can also engage with program participants online, and ask them if there’s anything they need to know about your programs, and offer them assistance when needed. Not only will you gain valuable insight into what’s working and what’s not by talking to program participants, you’ll also get the reputation as being an innovative and accessible leader who only designs or manages L&D programs that people like and that are effective.
Host Regular Interactive Webcasts and Webinars
If you want to engage with your learners and other managers more often, host live webinars and webcasts about your programs or specific training content. During live webcasts, you’ll be able to answer live questions and engage with your audience, while you’re providing valuable information and learning content. You could even interview other industry leaders in live webcasts as part of your L&D program so you get to learn from others while engaging with them, too.
Join Committees and Panels External to Your Organization
Most feelings of isolation L&D managers experience come from the fact that they are the only people inside their organizations who hold the title “L&D manager.” While there are typically several sales managers, for instance, there aren’t that many L&D managers. So, join committees and panels for organizations that are external to your organization, organizations solely dedicated to L&D and human resources. It’s a great way to meet others who do what you do, while building a more expansive network you can rely on in the future.
Even if you’re the only L&D manager inside your organization, you can prevent feelings of isolation by doing some of the things recommended above, and by reaching out to others.