Hello! It's Dave Lasecke here, Fredrickson owner and CFO.

We’re hoping that 2022 is off to a good start for you. We’re already a few days into February, which is a good thing here in Minnasoda. Get this winter over with, eh? The trouble is, February seems like it has a whole lot more than 28 days, which probably explains why everyone I talked to at this week’s Roundtable has a trip lined up for Florida or Arizona in the next few weeks.

Speaking of the Roundtable, our final RT event in November 2021 featured an AMAZING (!) and heartwarming story from Mary Beth Dondelinger and her wonderful crew at Optum Enterprise Training. There were a lot of follow-up questions that attendees had, so we asked MB if she would answer some of them. The next section of this newsletter has the Q&A, which we hope can continue the dialogue on inclusion and diversity.

Looking ahead, we have a 2022 events calendar that reflects many of the topics of interest we hear from you. Some of those events are highlighted later in this newsletter. At this time, the upcoming events are all going to take place in the Zoomosphere, but we are keeping our fingers crossed that we can do some in-person learning and sharing later this year!
The Roundtable for Learning Leaders community experienced a powerful session in mid-November, during which Optum's Enterprise Training team shared how their unique approach to inclusion and diversity was creating transformation within their organization. We wanted to make the content of this session available to the broader Fredrickson network, and we are pleased to share the recording of the session here.

Additionally, we aren't the only ones wanting to learn more about this journey that Optum has embarked on. Training Magazine published an article on the initiative, and we invite you to read the article on trainingmag.com.

We recently followed up with Mary Beth "MB" Dondelinger, VP, Optum Enterprise Training—and her team—to see how things are going in 2022. We're ever grateful for the time and generosity of both MB and her team; their passion on this subject is palpable.
The work that you and your team shared in November last year felt important and necessary, providing space for real and open conversations that touched on so many topics related to inclusion and diversity. We'd like to begin by asking, how are things going in 2022? How does this work continue to grow and evolve?

Thank you for that – and for the forum to share the approach. We appreciate Fredrickson! We’ve jumped into the new year with both feet…we have a full list of topics suggested by the team for our monthly discussions (e.g., immigrant experience, aging, pandemic impacts, etc.). We work at staying relevant – we can and will easily flex topics based on what’s going on in the world. Continue reading...

This was a big initiative—the kind that can be difficult to not only get off the ground but sustain within the organization. We've heard about how you and your team moved forward decisively to make this happen, however, we'd like to ask what advice you might give to other learning leaders to sustain efforts like this?

Great question. I have given this a lot of thought since the Roundtable. A very important part of ensuring that teams not only start but continue the program is having the right people. Like a lot of things, gaining the investment of key players is imperative. 

For this program, I’d suggest a few things: demonstrate investment by team leadership, offer well-executed events, and provide ongoing opportunities to keep the conversation “in the water.” Continue reading...

We talked about surprising or intangible benefits during the session that stemmed from creating something like this in the workplace. Now that a couple more months have gone by, are there any other big takeaways here you'd care to share?

The most impactful thing I’ve witnessed is growth in the confidence of the team members most heavily involved. Each one of them has stepped out of their comfort zones – they’ve taken risks, they’ve extended themselves. That’s not just the people who participated in the Roundtable – I’m seeing it across the team. People are speaking up, telling leadership what they need, both in terms of what we can do better and also in support of their own career goals.  Continue reading...

Has this work, or will this work, integrate into more formal DE&I training at Optum? How does it fit in with what else the Optum Enterprise Training team is doing, and what role do you think it plays in a broader training strategy?

DE&I at UnitedHealth Group and Optum is real. It’s visible and available. There are investments in overall learning systems for teams and for individuals. There are communities, resources, and tools to make it real. Our approach complements the overall enterprise approach – we make it more personalized and we discuss difficult topics. I think that knowing that the company is dedicated to change made us feel like we could push boundaries. Continue reading...

You seem to have found a recipe for success for tackling tough topics within the workplace—something that can be scary to many organizations. What advice would you give to organizations on the fence about something like this? Why should they take the leap?

I can’t tell you how amazing the impact has been. The team has found its soul. Team members are closer. People are more trusting and transparent. Confidence shines out of people. Our employee experience survey results have been amazing. But more than that, it’s a feeling…an atmosphere. A sense of family – a knowledge that people care about you beyond just the job. Continue reading...
As we entered a new year, we turned to members of our incredible Fredrickson Learning Community and asked them this question:

What is one goal or aspiration you have for yourself and your learning team in 2022?
Maisha Frederickson
Senior Manager, Immersive Learning at
Allstate

"As we flipped the calendar to 2022, I leaned into the words of Brené Brown and chose courage over comfort by changing organizations. I finished my master's in Training and Performance Improvement at the start of the pandemic and felt compelled to move from a locally headquartered Fortune 500 company to one that offered more diversity and inclusion opportunities. 

On the first business day of 2022 I joined Allstate, a primarily home-based organization that offers customer protection to things as small as items you purchase at Target, to cars, yachts, homes and businesses. This has me leading a geographically diverse team of leaders and their instructional designers in each time-zone of the county. In my short time, I’m seeing real time how innovation is born through varied perspectives, lived experience and the permission to experiment.
 
As far as my team’s 2022 goal, we plan to execute our future of learning strategy. The pandemic flipped the learning experience on its head. Instead of in-person learning in our education labs with physical cars and tools, we’re challenging ourselves to bring the same hands-on application to each learner across the country from the comfort of their own homes. In-app guidance and support tools, as well as virtual reality is where we’re investing to make this goal a reality in 2022. The year will be filled with experimentation via proof of concepts, fast fails and innovation we hope will be scalable to our multiple lines of business."
Lindsey Lien
Director, Service Operations at
Polaris

"Personal: Our Leadership team recently completed an externally-moderated session on Personal Accountability. What resonated with me was how much could apply not only to my work life, but also my personal life. As we start 2022, I’m focused on asking myself ‘How can I make a difference’ and ‘What can I do to contribute’. These short, simple questions can serve as a personal guide to adding value- whether that’s to my company, family, or community organizations.
 
Team: As our Learning Team has asked ourselves ‘How can we make a difference?’, we’ve found a clear answer: Expand our Center of Excellence. Our team was formed to meet one specific need for our dealership network, but we’ve grown to support seven learning portals that serve dealers, internal employees, and our public customers. 

2021 presented the opportunity to share our knowledge of Adult Learning Principles and Instructional Design with several new internal partners, and the appetite for our team’s involvement continues to grow! With the help of the Fredrickson team, we were able to double the number of projects we helped guide last year, and several more teams have approached us for support. 

As we coalesce into a true Training Center of Excellence, I’m excited about the opportunities for innovation, efficiency, and best practices for our internal teams, and a consistent, excellent, engaging experience for our learners."
Tara Aiken
Associate Vice President, Learning & Development and
Operational Excellence at
Regis Corporation

"We have a phrase in 2022 that we’re using, 'Think like a marketer.' And that’s because our projects are simple in concept, but complex in their execution. This year we’re building fundamental, role-based learning in salons to support operational best practices and improve the onboarding experience. Historically, we’ve underinvested in these essentials within our own organization and our franchise network. In order to be successful, we need to address two key challenges as we execute these projects.
 
The first is to design content that is engaging and highly visual for the creative individuals and artists that make up our learners (stylists, barbers, etc.). It needs to be good enough to motivate them to take the training and inspire them enough to come back for more.

The second challenge we have is gaining buy-in from our franchisees. L&D historically hasn’t provided role-based solutions to our franchise network, so much so that most of our franchisees don’t know L&D exists. So, we’re leaning heavily on marketing and creative avenues in both the program design and implementation to showcase the value, create excitement, and gain buy-in with franchisees for future L&D programs."
Lisa Weinberger
VP Talent & Organizational Development Director at
Heartland Financial

"Personal: As I look to 2022, I see the Learning/Talent Development community as an important connection for personal growth and development and a key factor for my aspirational goal this year. I want to continue to develop meaningful relationships, a shared understanding and contribute to the pool of knowledge through various professional communities and engagements. An outcome is a renewed perspective and deeper insights. These will enable us to continue to move our Talent Development function forward.

Team: We have a renewed focus on a Talent Development partnership model with the business in 2022. The model outlines by initiative, our shared understanding of how we will accomplish each agreed to core initiative together. 

Throughout 2022, we will become a solutions partner to the business through alignment of our learning programs and initiatives with a focus on driving business outcomes and our strategic goals. This model will pull through all of our work as a Talent Development team, whether we are focused on leadership development initiatives, upskilling by role, or sales training."
Courtney Wasowicz
Manager, Financial Professional Learning & Development at Securian Financial

"My team will be grounded in our purpose to foster growth & productivity for firm leaders, operations & financial professionals through collaboration, consulting & coaching. We will continuously engage with our commitment to create and deliver meaningful educational experiences at every stage of their career.
 
My team uses the purpose and commitment as our guide to develop key plans within a Run/Grow/Transform framework. To transform our business in 2022, we will collaborate to develop a competency-based model that describes the knowledge, skills and abilities at every stage of the financial professional’s career. We will use this model to redefine our training curriculum.

The first stage is to modernize our approach to onboarding inexperienced financial professionals. This training program will help them develop a differentiating business plan with the goals they need to succeed and tools to track progress so they can grow their practice in the way they want. It is a fun and exciting time to create transparency in how we support our network so they can provide goals based financial advice to clients through personalized service."
Thank you to all of our community members who continue to inspire us and share their wisdom as we embrace 2022!
Dr. Kevin Anderson, Senior Organizational Development Consultant and author of the recent book, The New Workforce: Productivity Through Virtual and Hybrid Teams will lead our upcoming Thought Leader Series workshop.

During this workshop we will start with topics that keep us up at night such as learning and development, business problems, strategy, structure, and culture building. We will then pair these challenges with interactive technology, such as online surveys and whiteboards, to engage teams in problem solving leading to resolution and improved performance.
 
Whether you're doing online assessments with teams, training them, or just interacting with teams on wicked organizational problems, you will find these practical approaches helpful. Purchase the book here and hope to see you at the session.

The Thought Leader Series provides a venue for forward-thinking learning leaders from around the country to inspire, challenge, encourage and educate learning and development professionals.
Hannah Klug, Vice President, Sales Enablement at Arctic Wolf Networks, will be presenting on Effective Sales Execution on Wednesday, March 16th.

The invitation is yet to go out for this event and more details are to come, but if you are interested in attending please consider joining our Sales Enablement Circle community.
Pam Conyngham, Director of Learning at Cardinal Health, will lead the Healthcare Learning Leader Forum on Wednesday, April 27th.

For those in the healthcare industry, you won't want to miss this session, titled "Stop Creating Content: Building a Performance Based Learning Network." If you are interested in receiving an invitation for this event, please consider joining our Healthcare Learning Leader Forum community.
On February 8th, the Fredrickson Roundtable for Learning Leaders was thrilled to hear from Jess Almlie, Vice President of Learning Experience for WEX Health Division (formerly Discovery Benefits).

Jess led an interactive and engaging conversation called "Beyond the Basics: a comprehensive onboarding overhaul that works for everyone." Jess welcomed attendees' sharing of their own experiences and stories about onboarding and told her own stories to shape the conversation.

Participants left the session feeling inspired to transform their organizational onboarding with the goal of creating experiences for their new team members to feel confident and prepared for their roles.
On January 18, the Fredrickson Young Learning Leaders Forum welcomed Danielle McClellan, Associate Director of Change Communications at Otis Elevators.

Danielle led an engaging session on Looking Beyond Education to Create Change in Your Organization. She discussed real-world case studies and provided key insights and resources for attendees to apply to their L&D projects.

During the session we explored methods of managing change, practiced change management tools, and shared best practices with one another in small and large discussion groups. As one attendee shared back, "[Danielle] was so engaging and made change management really relevant to L&D. She also gave us choices about how she presented the content, which I loved."
For our last community event of 2021, Judy Nollet led a session she called, "Gee Storyline...helpful tips and tricks." As an instructional designer and technical writer for White Plume communications, Judy shared many of the tips and tricks she's picked up over the last decade or more working with Articulate Storyline products.

The Twin Cities Articulate Group returned strong in 2021 after a short hiatus, and we thank presenters like Judy for donating their time and sharing their expertise. We can certainly tell there's an appetite for it, and we look forward to continuing to build momentum for this group in 2022.

If you or anyone you know is looking to stay connected with practitioners of Articulate products or stay sharp with their Articulate skills and practices, please let the