The Future Of E-Learning And Leadership Development

The Future Of E-Learning And Leadership Development

The potential role of the Internet in recruiting, training, educating, developing, leading, and earning a return on investment in people are just beginning to emerge. But even in its infancy, the e-world holds great promise for enhancing the art and science of people management.

"There's no denying that the Internet has changed the business world, but I believe the Internet and e-learning will be forces for cataclysmic change in leadership and organizational development," says Dr. Albert Vicere, professor of business administration, specializing in strategic leadership, in Penn State's Smeal College of Business Administration.

Vicere recently completed a study, "Ten Observations on e-Learning and Leadership Development," that he presented at the International Consortium for Executive Development Research. It will appear in a forthcoming issue of Human Resource Planning, the journal of the Human Resource Planning Society. A noted expert on leadership and organizational development, Vicere directed Executive Education at Penn State for over 10 years.

In his paper, he assesses the current state-of-the-practice in using e-learning to attract, identify, train, educate, develop, and capture knowledge from an organization's leadership talent pool. His observations are based on a review of related literature as well as in-depth interviews with over 30 experts, analysts, providers, and practitioners.

Observation 1: Is it Real or is it Internet? Vicere notes that respondents agreed that leadership learning overwhelmingly remains a live-event process. "Most of the respondents say that an integrated architecture for e-learning and knowledge management is still missing. The field is too complex right now and, in its complexity, it is running head-long into one of the corporate world's biggest issues: The need to simplify, speed up, and expand global access to information, ideas, and knowledge," says Vicere.

Observation 2: If You Build It, No One Comes… As will all aspects of the dot.com sector, e-learning companies can tell a great story and demonstrate some wonderful products, but revenue remains an issue. "Survey respondents overwhelmingly claimed that e-learning is coming and that everyone had better jump on that train. But they also note that learners themselves are not flocking to e-learning platforms and singing their praises," says Vicere.

Observation 3:Stokin' the Star-Maker Machinery… "The need for content in e-learning has many respondents describing a fascinating scenario in which well-recognized gurus become industry superstars," says Vicere.

Observation 4: Talkin' 'Bout My Generation… Vicere notes that throughout his interviews, there seems to be a sense that younger people were more open to e-learning processes than their more experienced counterparts.

Observation 5: Everything Old Is Still New… "Most of the innovative leadership development initiatives I heard about were still live programs. True, they involved more action learning and leader-led initiatives, thus incorporating new methods of delivery, but the 'e' component was conspicuously missing," says Vicere.

Observation 6: Can You Put that in a Box for Me? Knowledge management systems seem to make it possible for organizations to align business strategies, development initiatives, organizational knowledge bases, individual expertise, project management systems, and communications networks into a single operating platform. "In effect, to put it all in one box, but knowledge management systems, so far, have not lived up to these expectations," says Vicere.

Observation 7: Clicks, Bricks and Politics… "Respondents' opinions were mixed on the relevance and viability of corporate universities but many challenged the credibility of corporate universities," says Vicere.

Observation 8: B-Schools Are Fading in the Stretch… "It is clear that some business schools will face challenges in the future but reports of their demise are somewhat exaggerated," says Vicere.

Observation 9: Convergence, Diverge, Megamerge… "When you factor in the migration to the e-learning space by top consulting firms, and when you observe that at least a few of the top-flight business schools are awakening from their market sleep, it seems that big things should be happening across the field. And that should only serve to help corporations in their quest to integrate e-learning into their development strategies," says Vicere.

Observation 10: Stay Tuned… Vicere predicts consolidation, focus, partnerships and, above all else, change.

"Is e-learning for real? You bet. Will it have a major impact on the fields of leadership and organizational development? Absolutely. Will consideration in the industry around e-learning fundamentally change the competitive structure of the industry? Without question. Will business schools need to change? Yes, as will any organization or individual operating in the leadership development space. Are there 10 easy steps to making that change? Not yet," says Vicere.