Learning from Panto, an annual open class

Sunday morning musings. It's been a theatre kind of weekend and it's not over yet. Friday night was all about Panto at Cumbernauld Theatre (oh yes it was), yesterday catching up with some songs and tonight, I'm taking part in a fundraiser show for said local theatre that lost its multi-year funding from Creative Scotland. Now thats a whole different conversation for a different platform but with my L&D head on, let's talk Panto. 

A celebrated end of year theatre trip for young and old alike packs skills and development opportunities long cemented in education and workplace alike. 

In early years education, a trip to the theatre helps to develop focus and concentration. Interaction with the performers, helps to build communication skills (verbal and non verbal ) "behind you"....."where"....."there" ...(cue....mass pointing) It screams team work and collaboration, vital for early years development. There's also plenty to suggest that live theatre through schools can be linked to increased empathy, literacy skills and better classroom behaviour. A theatre trip can be inspirational, building confidence to express thoughts and ideas to peers, and ultimately start the journey towards a career in the creative industries........so what about performers and industry professionals themselves? 

Panto is often linked to a breeding ground for emerging artists. It presents a brilliant opportunity for recent graduates,  to work and learn from experienced professionals and begin to build vital networking opportunities in their field. It exposes a range of genre packed into one show from acting to music to dance and comedy not forgetting the audience interaction.

A critical aspect is also performance agility and stamina, these performers may be running 7 or 8 shows a week where no two shows are the same. There is generally an opportunity to observe a masterclass in improvisation and thinking on your feet if you're in the audience. 

Then there's innovation. Although a Panto is thought and planned well in advance (with bigger productions you generally find out the following year's show at the same time watching the present) the creative development process is generally quite short, so with this in mind there is usually a lot of reactive storytelling to include current affairs and pop culture (if you don't hear 6-7 in Aladdin or Cinderella this year I'll eat my hat) 

I know that part first hand, as I once wrote "Personella" as part of an end of year office xmas conference/party. For that, it was a review of our year in HR and it was played out as a team excerise complete with, scripts, scenes, costumes, improv and even.....a full on Panto horse (two of the leadership team battling to be the front of the horse and not the back)......That was and to this day remains the best team day collaboration ever. 

So, the long and the short, get yourself to a panto this year and observe a masterclass in skills and creative development.

Evolution and the art of relevance

I was having a conversation about relevence the other day, and the better part of me pointed out that for our generation, we have done nothing but be relevant in our time. Moving through every stage of digital and beyond, or to be even simpler (for the benefit of those that followed) heck we even lived without mobile phones.

If I put this into context of my corporate L&D journey, it's a significant shift in education and workplace learning. One that hasn't just adopted technology but a generation that successfully bridged the gap between digital and analogue (albeit how many of you still say you tape a programme on your SKY telly box?) L&D have been pioneers of continuous development, not just learning how to use it, but unskilling and reskilling to continually evolve. In school I used overly thumbed copies of books and scribbled notes in jotters, my kids got iPads. In corporate I started writing content on acetate sheets before PowerPoint was a thing. Learning life in my early career was a largely static landscape where information was scarce (and fingers were covered in ink from editing training for overhead projectors) Then came the internet, mainstream personal computing and not forgetting inventing "learning in the flow of work" as we learned how to use email, use the web and access essential tools for knowledge work. This laid the ground work for the subsequent digital education and training.

To stay in the game, L&D had to be ahead of the curve to remain relevant. We were drivers of digital learning adoption, championing the LMS and other e-learning platforms and toolkits in recognition that the speed of business required scalable digital alternatives to costly and time consuming classroom training, looking for ways to blend the approach and cut time to competence.

Today, at this time. L&D is at it again, as technology evolves from digital delivery to intelligent learning systems. Having mastered the "how" (technology of delivery) we are now focusing on the "what" and "when" (personalised and on-demand).

So lessons from this old Gen X'r. When people talk about L&D getting a seat at the table as a more strategic player, or old timers remaining relevant, look at the career/function arc in the last 25+ years.  It's been opening the doors and letting people into the meeting room, demonstrating that continuous improvement and upskilling is essential. It's driving the corporate investment into AI powered tools that offer personal pathways, feedback on demand and adaptive content. Moving away from one size fits all.

As organisations are looking to relevance in their marketplace for customers, they could do well to take lessons from Generation L&D where unlearning and relearning is the Imperative. The willingness of L&D to personally reinvent is a powerful example for all areas of the corporate landscape. If there is a key insight that can be taken for business it's that despite what they may think. L&D isn't just there to serve the consumers of learning. They are crucial change agents, who not only understand the full spectrum of learning from it's rigid pre-digital past to the flexible, AI driven future, but they possess the institutional knowledge and digital fluency to guide organisations through the phases of technological disruption. Their deep understanding of educational transformation is critical to maintaining a competitive, adaptable workforce.

This rant has been brought to you by too much coffee and the touchy topic of relevance.

P.S.....if you'd like to see NoteBook LM's new video feature take on this click here