One of the great things about what I do is the opportunity to travel and experience other cultures.

 I have been traveling to Africa since 2009.  I still remember the first time I stepped off the plane in Khartoum, Sudan. It was going to be one great adventure. And it was…

Definitely not corporate…

I was shown to my “hotel”- a container fitted out with the necessities to look like a living quarters. I was lucky, I had one with a toilet (“ablution”) connected to it. Despite this convenience, it was different.

When I took my first UN flight, I suddenly missed the porters I always took for granted in airports. I had to pull and sometimes carry my 20 kg luggage around; starting from loading it on and off the bus, queuing up at the pared down but functional terminals, to heaving the luggage onto raised platforms for weighing.  This was one of the biggest motivations to lift some weights after I got back home.

Security Briefing…

I was welcomed and briefed. There were rules to abide by: curfews to follow, and places to steer clear of. A “go bag” of not more than 15 kg needed to be ready in case of emergency.  The next time I went, I made sure I had everything for my 2.5 weeks’ stay in a 15 kg suitcase.  This was a lesson in prioritization.

Chow time and bathroom breaks…

The camps/bases had cafeterias but these were not connected to the training room. During the breaks, I had to walk for at least 5 minutes (at times, more than 10 minutes, depending on the mission location) under the hot sun to get my sustenance.  I skipped lunch the first few times, but learned my lesson as time went by. I started bringing crackers or something similar for a light lunch, just to keep me going in the afternoon.  Then I could squeeze in a quick nap while waiting for the class to get back.

Now, as for the toilets: It also involved quite a trek to relieve myself. In some instances, there were rains, too, which added to the challenge. I remember asking myself “do I really, absolutely, have to go?” This required proper timing so that I could go when I really needed to, but not so desperately that I would have an “accident” due to the distance. And before you leave the toilet, you have to ask yourself whether you are absolutely done to save on an unnecessary trek back.

Point of View…

When eating in restaurants in the places I have been in Africa, the waiters would notice when I consistently did not finish my food. They asked with concern whether I did not like the way the dishes had been prepared. I politely told them that I found the quantity overwhelming. They would be shocked and relate to me that they would typically get complaints that the food is not enough, so they found it rather amusing for me to say the opposite.

While we are on this subject, I was ordering fried tilapia (a specialty of Entebbe, Uganda) and wanted to check how big it was. The response: “not big. It is just small, just enough for 1 person.” Holy smokes, when the fish was served, it almost filled the entire plate.

Attitude towards Time…

I was the only customer in a restaurant, but it took almost 30 minutes to get my order ready. The thing was, the wait staff did not even seem perturbed about the delay.  I was slightly annoyed until I understood better within the next few hours.

I booked a taxi and promised the driver that I would be quick; 25 minutes tops since I was only going to pick something up. Due to problems encountered, I was only able to make it back after almost 1.5 hours. There was no annoyance on the cab driver’s face. He simply said he was sorry I encountered problems. And no, he didn’t ask for additional payment but out of guilt, I gave him more.

Africa is too diverse…

Following one approach for the entire Africa wouldn’t work. Just like here in Asia, while we are collectively called one continent, within our ranks are so many nuances that make each country uniqueness. I have only been to 6 countries in Africa. There is so much more to learn.

This is the most common question asked by Learning & Development (L&D) professionals. To answer the question, there are 2 related questions one needs to ask: 1) What really is Instructional Design? and 2) What do you do in the L&D function?

I describe Instructional Design (ID) as the planning side of training. My daughters say it so abstract that I have been using a metaphor of building a house to be more easily understood.

You can build a house without a plan; but you could probably guess how that would turn out. You can also buy ready-made house plans but these would not specifically suit your personal requirements. To build a custom house, you would normally turn to an architect. She would bring us back to reality when we let our imaginations go wild, such as building a multi-storey home on a tiny property; or wanting the best features for the least amount of money. Your architect will help you priortize your goals, and tell you what is realistically possible given your resources (such as the size of your property, its terrain, your budget, your timeline). A blueprint is then drawn up to represent what you as a client decide on.

In training, the task of developing the blueprint in called Instructional Design (ID). To do this, you would have understood your client’s requirements, resources, and priorities (Training Needs Analysis). This is why I compare an Instructional designer’s job to that of an architect.

But constructing a house involves other parties as well. The architect will work with a contractor who will execute the plans. The contractor, in turn, will use appropriate tools or rent these from another company. The contractor is the trainer who is tasked with the delivery or implementation. The tools that are used are called courseware (i.e., PowerPoint slides, handouts, assessment materials) which may be developed by the trainer or outsourced from someone else.

At the end of the project, the client will decide how satisfied he is with the construction project. This would be based on how well the execution has adhered to the design, which in turn, is anchored on how well the architect understood the client’s requirements. In training, this is the Evaluation phase.

Training Needs Analysis, Instructional Design, Training Implementation, Courseware development, and Evaluation are collectively known as Instructional SYSTEMS design or ISD. These steps represent what I call the Training Value Chain.

We’ve explained what ID is in a simplified manner. Now let’s go to the question “What do you do in L&D?”

If your responsibility includes working with clients to articulate their requirements into a tangible, measurable output; partner with training vendors, or assess their proposals, then you would need ID (Design and an understanding of Analysis).

If your job requires you to assess the effectiveness of training delivery and measure training impact, you need Evaluation knowledge. But Evaluation is based on the Design, just like a home owner will base their overall judgment on adherence to the plans.

If your work is focused on developing training materials, you will need an understanding of learning principles and the use of media in instruction. ID is not a requirement; an understanding of how courseware affects training effectiveness will suffice.

If you deliver training, you will need ID should you design your own training programs. Otherwise, a Train-the-Trainers Workshop that includes basic ID principles should serve your requirements.

ISD (the training value chain) consists of different specializations for various L&D professionals. Choose what best fits the work that you do. That is, don’t decide based on the content (or the program title); focus on the program’s objective which summarizes what it promises to deliver.