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What is holding people back is not a lack of learning or skills
of work? Perhaps when you are talking about ‘capability’, you really mean ‘competence’? But here is the deal. Given that the training
you are doing on my behalf is coming out of my budget, I think you should be using my definition of capability. And capability is what I really want help with, because if my people are capable at the point of work, then I’m sure my performance problems will go away. I have promoted you to capability manager so that your focus is on ensuring the workers in
my department are capable – that is, they can do the job that is put in front of them. I don’t really care about how much they have learned; what concerns me is that they are able to do what I ask them to do, at the time and place where I ask them to do it. So please help me figure out what is
preventing my people being capable. What are the barriers that get in the way of them carrying out the task in front of them? I know from my own experience that when I cannot do a job, it is seldom because I do not know how to do it. It is usually because something else is stopping me, such as being able to find the right information when I need it. Maybe what is holding my people back is not a lack of learning or skills, but something else entirely – or perhaps a combination of things. It seems to me that we can work together to
figure out those barriers to capability. Are you up for doing that? Now, here is your real thought experiment... What would you do differently as a capability manager with a focus on capability rather than learning?
Paul Matthews is the founder of People Alchemy and an expert in workplace learning, specialising in informal learning, management development and employee performance support. He is the bestselling author of ‘Informal Learning at Work: How to Boost Performance in Tough Times and Capability at Work: How to Solve the Performance Puzzle’.
www.peoplealchemy.co.uk
Learning Magazine
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