Learning Scouts

Appoint 5 Learning Scouts: Every learning executive should appoint at least 5 Scouts. A Learning Scout is a team member who has the intentional mission of keeping you up to date on an area and providing a unique perspective. Here are five suggestions of Scouts to recruit from your employee base:

• Youngest Generation: Find a "youth" in your workforce and make them a scout. Ask them to keep you up to date on how they (and their friends) collaborate digitally, learn things, read books (if they do), approach their careers and view your learning offerings.

• Retiring Generation: Go to the other end of the generational scale and appoint a person about to retire in the next year. Ask them the same questions plus how they would like to be involved in the knowledge transfer of what they have learned over their careers. Warning: they may be way more digital than you assume.

• Global Scout: Find one person who does not work in the home country of your company and ask them to give you on-going perspectives about learning from their point of view. Check to see if they are feeling like a 2nd or 3rd "world" member of your knowledge team.

• Tech Scout: Find one or more folks to monitor emerging trends in technology. I have a scout who tracks changes in DVD standards. Another one is a gamer with challenging views about information transfer. I have asked one person to be my scout about changes in RSS feeds and Social Networks. Some of your best tech scouts do not work in the IT department!

• Faith Scout: Find one person who is deeply religious or spiritual in your organization. Ask them about the connection between their belief systems and learning/training offerings. Explore the role that their faith has in workplace conversations.

Scouts aren't formal job descriptions. And, they don't have to report to you. They are another set of eyes, ears and souls in the organization. Take them to lunch once a quarter. Ask them to send you an occasional email. Good executives need great scouts!