Influencing ‘The Business’ With Christopher Lind

Christopher Lind is Head of Global Digital Learning at GE Healthcare and a seasoned L&D executive.  In this episode he talks about how speaking the language of business, rather than the language of L&D, has helped him influence his stakeholders, transform his function and do more with digital. KEY TAKEAWAYS One of the biggest differentiators in Christopher’s success is the ability to speak the language of business, as well as the language of L&D. In L&D there’s a tendency to be caught up in your own space; the way thinking is done, even down to the phrases used. But to business leaders, lots of what they hear doesn’t make sense. It’s fine to be passionate about L&D, but we need to communicate that passion, along with ideas and input, by using laguage that everyone understands, otherwise it seems like a closed community. We can either take what business leaders say and start talking about learning needs and solutions, or stay with their map and talk about the business. A better place to start is not to enquire about the state of the people, who are of course important, but to enquire about the state of the business itself. L&D people need to have a genuine curiosity about the business when you ask the questions, which will allow an authentic response. Remember also that you’re going to get knocked down. Get back in there and keep trying. There’s a misconception that Learning And Development should mimic the school scenario, but it’s up to us to bust that preconception. It should not take the form of “learn before work”. Technology is allowing entirely new ways of learning, including livestream tutoring and networking that can allow people to learn on the job with the help of a connected mentor. BEST MOMENTS ‘We talk about things that make sense to L&D practitioners, but to business leaders it’s just Greek’ ’The first conversation we have with stakeholders, there’s a fork in the road’ ’Speaking the language of business requires us to refocus the conversation’ ‘You’re gonna get knocked down, and that’s okay’ ’Technology is changing things at a pace that is out of this world’ ‘Instead of being a content department, we can be an experience department' ABOUT THE GUEST Christopher is a bold, digital-first learning and talent development leader that’s always been directly embedded in the businesses he serves. As a result, he’s spent his entire career reimagining the landscape of learning and talent development while going head-to-head with business operation leaders and being directly accountable for the outcomes.   You can follow and connect with Christopher via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherlind/ LINKS The Learning And Development Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-learning-development-podcast/id1466927523 ABOUT THE HOST David James David has been a People Development professional for more than 20 years, most notably as Director of Talent, Learning & OD for The Walt Disney Company across Europe, the Middle East & Africa. As well as being the Chief Learning Strategist at Looop, David is a prominent writer and speaker on topics around modern and digital L&D as well as an active member of the CIPD L&D Advisory Board. CONTACT METHOD Twitter:  https://twitter.com/davidinlearning/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjameslinkedin/ Website: https://www.looop.co/