Melissa Kruminas

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve visited my favorite Mexican restaurant and filled up on chips and salsa. I missed the best part of the meal because I was hungry, and the chips and salsa were… there. Too often, we fall into this trap not only with last night’s dinner, but with our training and enablement strategies, too.

What’s the different between training and enablement?

Without getting into the psychology of learning – behavioralism, cognitivism, metacognition, etc. – we’ll simplify and say that training impacts what you know and enablement programs focus on what you can do. It’s the link between training and performance. Training initiatives are a part of any great enablement program, but a focus on capability and results will drive enablement.

What about the chips & salsa?

What does this have to do with our chips and salsa analogy? When we oversaturate our talent with too much information up front, we lower the impact of our program. Oversaturation of content in learning and enablement programs may fill your learners’ plates before they really get to the main course. Hours of content that can’t be consumed should be left off the menu.

So how do we focus on making our learning and enablement strategies digestible, delectable, and out at the right time? We focus on the capability model.

What is the capability model?

Every few years, the Association for Talent Development compiles the latest research to generate a talent development blueprint that produces the largest impact on personal and organizational success. The new model introduced last year, the Talent Development Capability Model, introduces us to the three components of enabling a results-driven and capable workforce. These three interwoven components focus on long-term strategic initiatives that build personal capabilities, develop professional capabilities, and impact organizational outcomes (capability). The capability model may serve as the main course, but you’ll be enjoying the sweet dessert of an upskilled workforce when you focus on capability and impact.