A good manager isn’t a boss, but instead, they lead their team from one success to another. They’re not only great listeners and communicators, they’re also experts in their industry and somebody their colleagues can turn to.

But how do you ensure your managers develop their skills so they become the very best leaders? In this post, we’re going to take a look at how managers can develop their skills and how online leadership and management courses can help make that happen.

The importance of leadership development in the workplace

Some employees are naturally better at leadership than others. That’s not to say that others can’t learn the necessary skills to become strong leaders as their careers develop.

However, there’s one thing both experienced leaders and new leaders have in common: they can always learn more. Your managers may have a wealth of knowledge, skills, and experience in leading a team, but there are always advancements made which means the learning should never stop.

Leadership development shouldn’t be limited to current or trainee managers, as the skills taught in courses develop employees of all levels. These include:

By offering leadership development within your business, it allows your teams to work confidently together, and enables you to promote from within and retain top talent.

The importance of leadership development in the workplace cannot be understated. Without it, your competitors are likely to overtake you, you’ll operate outdated practices, and your teams simply won’t perform as well as they should.

The importance of leadership training for managers

A great manager has to be proficient in many skills, and have in-depth knowledge in a multitude of different areas. These include communication, delegation, decision-making, listening, HR skills, and many more. This is why leadership training is important, and managers should frequently learn to upskill and refresh.

Leadership training for managers doesn’t simply cover the basics. While there is a wide selection of training that covers the fundamentals, there are also many courses that cover specific topics so your managers can become even better at what they do. It’s likely that your managers already have basic leadership skills, but developing this will equip them with everything they need to inspire, motivate, engage, strategize and organize.

When you have a manager who has great leadership skills you ensure the success of your teams, which in turn means you deliver quality results for your clients and customers.

For more information check out our blog post on 12 essential leadership skills.

As we’ve already highlighted, your managers may already have many qualities that make them great leaders. Qualities that come naturally to some managers include confidence, listening skills, and resilience. However, while they may exceed in some areas, they may lack skills in others - that’s why improving leadership skills is imperative, regardless of seniority or experience.

The advantages of leadership training include:

Save costs and improve financial performance - when you develop existing employees not only do you save on expensive and lengthy recruitment, but investing in your people can have a significant ROI

How difficult is it to develop leadership skills?

Depending on the current knowledge and experience of your managers, learning leadership skills will take a varying amount of time and effort. More experienced managers may find that they can complete certain leadership courses relatively quickly, while newer or developing managers may find it more challenging.

There is also a range of leadership training topics, from basic to advanced, which will have varying degrees of difficulty.

However, leadership development training ensures that the necessary skills can be learned regardless of the student's prior experience.

For example, communication is a skill everyone has - it’s just that some employees have better communication skills than others. Most employees know the fundamentals of communication, but training allows them to get a deeper understanding and helps them to learn the hows, wheres, whys, whos, and whens involved with workplace communication.

But one major question is how can employees develop their leadership skills? This may be especially challenging for employees looking to upskill, while not currently being in a role that allows them to put those skills into practice. It can also be difficult to find time away from the business to dedicate to development.

There are three ways employees can develop their leadership skills:

Work shadowing or mentoring can be a highly effective way of learning the ins and outs of a specific role. However, this isn’t the best way to identify an individual employee's unique management style - what works for one manager may not work for another.

In-person training can be useful, however, it can be expensive and time-consuming, taking multiple employees away from the business which can disrupt their day-to-day responsibilities.

Among the best leadership training programs are those offered online. Online courses are cost-effective and completely self-directed, meaning they can be taken during periods of downtime, or at other convenient times.

Online training will allow employees to develop their leadership skills by:

Understanding their weaknesses and how to improve them

Showing them how to strategize and set ambitious yet attainable goals

Helping them to understand their own leadership style

Teaching them how to become a well-rounded communicator

Allowing them to make better, well-informed decisions

Knowing how to learn from their mistakes (and not repeat them)

How to improve leadership skills in the workplace

Online leadership courses can teach managers all the relevant skills needed to be great leaders, but there is also more the employee can do to develop these skills in the workplace.

Three ways to improve leadership skills outside of training include:

Set goals - a key leadership quality is being driven by goals, and setting goals for themselves - which they then stick to - can lead to goal setting for others

Offer to help out colleagues - when employees offer to help others it displays a positive, proactive attitude, and can help build relationships and respect

Learn more about the business - a leader isn’t someone who sticks to their own team or department and will have to work closely with others throughout the business. For this reason, learning more about the business and the way other teams work will help build a deeper understanding of the business and how it operates

When looking to develop, an action plan to improve leadership skills on top of online training courses is imperative for managers to become well-rounded leaders.

Leadership and management training will teach managers how to be good leaders, but it’s also important that employees know how to practice the leadership skills they have learned.

Be seen - a good leader doesn’t blend into the crowd, they make themselves available wherever possible

Feedback - a key leadership skill is offering constructive, well-articulated feedback

Listen - this is the one part of communication that some people forget

Motivate others - positivity and motivation are the qualities of a great leader

Accountability - everybody makes mistakes, so owning and learning from them is important

Learn - use every opportunity to learn more

Improve your managers' leadership skills with online training from Go1

Go1 offers a wide range of online leadership training courses which are perfect for new or seasoned managers. For more information on what Go1 can offer your business, schedule a demo with our experts today.

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Leadership skills are critical to ensure your managers lead your teams effectively. Find out how to develop managers’ leadership skills with Go1

How to develop leadership skills in your managers | Go1

Leadership skills are critical to ensure your managers lead your teams effectively. Find out how to develop managers’ leadership skills with Go1.

How to develop leadership skills in your managers

Learning myths are everywhere. Take a second to think, and you can probably come up with a few of your own. Or, maybe they’re so pervasive and widely accepted that you don’t even realise they’re myths. For example, the idea that we only use 10% of our brains? Myth. Some people are left-brained, while others are right-brained? Myth. People forget 20% of what they learn after a day and even more after a week? Myth. And these examples are only the tip of the iceberg. 

As counterintuitive as it sounds, some learning myths make sense. Our brains are intricate, complex things, and we only understand a limited percentage of how they operate. Thus, theories and myths take hold to explain that which we don’t understand. 

Still, we think now is the time to set the record straight, debunking these myths and many more. Let’s dig in and debunk five learning myths. 

We’ve already covered this topic in detail in our recent article on whether learning styles are a myth or valid. So, we’ll keep this one blunt. A variety of studies and other reputable sources are unequivocal on this topic: learning styles are a myth.

Anyone who’s grown up believing in learning styles might find this hard to believe. You might even think of yourself as having a particular learning style. So, what does this mean? 

According to a 2017 study published by Frontiers in Psychology: “this idea [learning styles] has been repeatedly tested and there is currently no evidence to support it.”

Further, a study of more than 100 higher education providers in the UK found that 90% think learning styles are conceptually flawed. Plus, 67% believe they pigeonhole learners, 61% think they waste resources, and 56% think they create unrealistic expectations. 

We hear this concept all the time in popular culture — it has even been the basis for Hollywood movies such as Limitless and Lucy. However, the idea that we only use 10% of our brains is a total myth. 

How do we know? Well, brain scans show exactly that. According to Very Well Mind, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans “make it clear that large regions of the brain are at work during all kinds of activity…researchers have not found any region of the brain that does not serve a function. A study of medical myths noted that ‘numerous types of brain imaging studies show that no area of the brain is completely silent or inactive.’” 

While it’s a fun plot for a movie to imagine ‘unlocking’ the other 90% of our brains, that’s where the validity of this idea ends — of course we use significantly more than 10% of our brains! 

The idea that people are either left-brained or right-brained is exceptionally popular. In a recent survey, 77% of teachers believe this myth. These results should be highly concerning, as we will explain shortly. 

According to this theory, left-brained people are more logical, while right-brained people are more creative. This idea is so pervasive that you might even think of yourself as being either left or right-brained. Yet, once again, this idea is little more than a myth. 

In a 2013 study by the University of Utah, scientists analysed over 1,000 brains and “found no evidence that people preferentially use the left or right hemisphere.”

LearnDash adds to this, explaining, “not only is there no scientific basis for the idea that left-brained people are more analytical while right-brained people are more creative, scientists haven’t even been able to find any evidence that people use one side of their brain more than the other at all.” 

Another common learning myth is that Gen Z’s attention span is shrinking. You may have heard that attention spans have shrunk from 12 among Millennials to 8 seconds among Gen Z, on average. 

In reality, this is a half-truth at best. According to a study by Altitude, members of Gen Z have developed sophisticated, eight-second ‘content filters’. Since they have grown up with access to so many platforms and so much information, Gen Z has evolved to quickly assess large quantities of information. As such, they excel at judging what is worthy of their attention and what isn’t.

Basically, Gen Z processes information differently due to their relationship with technology, using content filters to sift out irrelevant information and hone in on things that matter to them. Altitude’s study explains that “they’ve grown up in a world where their options are limitless but their time is not. As such, Gen Z have adapted to quickly sorting through and assessing enormous amounts of information.”

To learn more, see our blog on how technology has changed the way we learn. 

You may have heard that you only remember 10% of what you read, 20% of what you hear, 30% of what you see, and so on. This theory is more commonly known as Dale’s Cone. While it sounds nice, this is a total myth. In reality, learning is rarely so neat and linear. 

According to a study published in Educational Technology, “there is no scientific data — or other data — that supports the claim that people remember some percentage of what they learned.” Moreover, they add that “no body of research — scientific or otherwise — supports any variation of the remembering percentages.” 

Not only that, but Dale’s Cone is actually a fundamental misunderstanding of Edgar Dale's original intent. According to PeopleMatters, “[Edgar Dale] hadn’t based his cone on any scientific research, which he explicitly mentioned in his study, besides urging his readers to 'not take it too seriously.'" 

Other people later added percentages to Dale’s original cone, based on little to no credible research. PeopleMatters explains that these were “randomly assigned percentages to people’s retention abilities.” Thus, what was originally intended to be an interesting but unscientific theory has taken on a life of its own, leading to a gross and occasionally harmful misunderstanding of the original intent.

Ultimately, it makes sense that Dale’s Cone is a myth, as human learning and memory are so complex and variable as to preclude such neat, linear, round numbers.  

For more insights, subscribe to the Go1 newsletter today to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

We think now is the time to set the record straight. Let’s dig in and debunk five learning myths.

Busting 5 learning myths

It was a typically cold, rainy day in the Melbourne CBD where the design team of Go1 gathered outside the Forum theatre. It was the initiative from Michelle Bell and Luke Brooker who brought us all together to experience the NO BS conference of 2022 as a team to grow both personally and professionally in our design thinking.

The Forum is a spectacular venue. With carved gods and goddesses peering down at us from balconies above, we filed into seats, eager to listen, learn and see how gems could be absorbed and taken into our lives and work. 

The NO BS conference was marketed as exactly that, no BS - an open space where speakers could literally talk about whatever they wanted without a filter. Speakers were invited to be blunt, brutal and honest about the industry ranging from agency work, branding, selling, emotional wellbeing, AI and social media platforms. 

We were introduced to our Master of Ceremonies, Ben Sorenson, who set the tone for the event. His dry, quite dark humour sometimes echoed to no laughs through the venue and other times elicited a stifled giggle from us or a “woo” for sharing trauma. A short meditation was held by Megan who allowed us to find anchor points within ourselves as we were exposed to all this information.

Day one started with a bang. Prue Jones talked about how she was the “first pancake” in the batch - meaning the one that you kinda get wrong but it’s okay, it’s just the first one. She captivated us with her explanation of “thirst traps” on social media and how horrifying the data mining is with retina recognition technology of 40 feet away. We laughed at the hilarity of it all which turned to uncomfortably squirming in our seats at the truth that “instead of making things that people love to use, we’re making things that love to use people.” 

Prue was definitely a stand out due to her engaging energy, vast knowledge and grounded reality of a call to action that we “use things, and love people.” 

Our team discussed afterwards that although interesting, hearing from speakers who were key sponsors of the event felt detached from others. The way in which speakers held the attention of those in crowd felt inflated due to the fact that they were part of the sponsorship team. Panel discussions that included sponsors avoided answering any sticky questions and had us questioning the intention; was this to inspire us? Or were we there to buy into these products? 

The speakers on day one that weren’t affiliated with sponsors spoke well, however, their area of expertise were in the digital agency space. As product designers, this didn’t interest our crowd as much. Others who attended this conference who were in that area may have really enjoyed these talks. Especially those graphic designers who are self started and freelance, which I predict a fair few may have been. Kevin Finn spoke about “don’t build a brand” and how a logo does not create a brand, but rather the brand gives the logo its meaning. Great advice for those asked by companies to “make me a logo.” Kevin also spoke about a powerful process as to how success is measurable by the impact that it’s able to make. The equation plasters on the screen read “Impact = Relevance = Revenue”. As product designers, we know how to take this away and apply this to our work to measure how we iterate and if we are designing the correct solutions for our customers. 

Day one finished off by a brilliant speaker, Michael Ventura. It was very much a TedTalk style experience which spoke about empathy. The poetic analogies he used spoke to our creative souls and illustrated points around how to see ourselves in others to foster connection and relation. A great UX tool he presented to us that mirrored a common matrix we’ve used before, had a unique twist on it in order to cut down work and focus on immediate goals and needs. Finishing off with a poem, he asked us, “what do you plan to do with your wild and precious life?” How inspiring. 

Every single one of us in the design team were blown away at the start of day two with a brilliant speaker called Jay Demetillo, the lead designer of Grab. Not only did he talk about his experience with Grab, a ride sharing app giant of South East Asia, but he spoke from deep within his heart about the exclusion he has experienced in the tech leadership and conference space that is ultimately, white washed. A memorable quote that sunk into us was “English does not equal intelligence”. By excluding non-english speakers from speaking roles, we are limiting our ideation and inclusive spaces. I think this is such an important point that many companies fail to see. I like to say that if there’s not enough seats at the table, build a bigger table. Lead by example in creating inclusive spaces and letting those voices be heard. It’s not a performative online training that is sent out company wide. It’s having open conversations with people in minority groups that can trigger our awareness to real actions that need to be taken. Then we can be the leaders that other companies look towards as a source of inspiration, creating a new benchmark in order to lift everyone up to as standard. 

The rest of day two was sprinkled with all types of product related talks. From Alex Antolino who spoke about attention being the new oil as the most valuable resource, Nichole Burton from Google who spoke so cleverly about the design process which we all drew inspiration from and Jasmin Bedir from F*uck the cupcakes, lifting and elevating the point of inclusivity stating that “purpose comes at a price. If it’s free, it’s performative”. 

The overall tone of the NO BS conference was inspiring. Even the speakers we didn’t feel a connection with, still had important stories to hear of their success path and lessons learnt along the way. Everyone who spoke had a point to make which all of us could take away to think further on how it applies to us later on.

The speakers that we did all really connect with, were the ones that were, actually, no BS. They spoke from the heart about things that mattered, whether they were funny, innovative, heartbreaking or downright terrifying. Topics of mental and spiritual healths, technology not being used for good and diversity within design solutions made us all sit up and listen, cheer when we wanted to encourage a point to the speaker and others and take mental notes that have kept circling within us days and days after the post-conference party. 

Speaking of, that was a very fun time. A live band who sung us 90’s rock songs and a front man who had his family on video call rounded the whole experience off and created a beautiful bonding experience between everyone on our beautiful design team.

For more insights, subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

Go1's product design team recently attended the NO BS conference where they heard from experts and grew in their design thinking. Check out what Vanessa McDonald, Associate Product Designer has to say about the event.

Go1's product design team visit the NO BS Conference

The shape and structure of our school systems affect our teachers and their ability to teach effectively and, in turn, affect our students and the way they learn. Gone are the days of teachers standing at the front of a classroom of silent children; the notion of connectedness and collaboration within the classroom as students demonstrate teamwork and communication is becoming more widely accepted. But have we applied this concept of connectedness to whole schools and communities globally?

In this issue, we first take a look at schoolwide system change through the lens of a leader, the big picture. How can a community of schools affect student learning so wholly? We then home in on the science behind student learning, and how to best help them retain new knowledge, to form a picture of a successful school at all stakeholder levels.

Complete these courses during the final days of school for a push of inspiration to move you into the new year or bookmark the learning to set yourself up after the holidays. This drop is not to be missed!

Which awesome content partners have we added to the platform?

The Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) is the largest professional association in the education sector in Australia and the wider Asia-Pacific region. They are on a mission to enhance leadership capacity through the delivery of high quality programs, including the newest course to land on EC Premium: The Devil in the Details: System Change in Action with Michael Fullan. Explore ways to strengthen success through connections with other schools, linking upward to the system as a whole.

LME Global is a mission-driven company serving students, teachers, and educators through learning science translation. Cofounded by cognitive neuroscientist, Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath, in his new course, Principles of Learning, he uncovers the science of learning by exploring three key principles of how human beings learn.  Drawn from brain, behavioural, and educational research, these principles are learning 'nuggets' that can shine a light on more traditional classroom practices.

Kim Marshall, drawing on his decades as a teacher, principal, central office administrator, consultant, and writer, lightens the load of busy educators by serving as their "designated reader." He is a renowned and prevalent educator in the US, leading workshops and courses, coaching school leaders and consulting with schools and districts since 2002. This course, What Makes Learning Stick: Brain Science and Memory is taken from The Marshall Memo, a weekly roundup of important ideas and research in K-12 education, and covers aspects of the neuroscience of learning and strategies to manage student working memory. 

Which great content partners are coming soon to EC Premium?

Kath Murdoch is an experienced teacher, writer, and university lecturer with a passion for effective classroom teaching. Her upcoming course, The Power of Inquiry is an inspiring and comprehensive guide to the implementation of quality inquiry practices in the contemporary classroom.

Have you seen Kath Murdoch’s short courses on EC Premium? Check them out here.

Margaret Thorsborne is committed to strengthening the connections between people with a focus on the need to rebuild relationships in the wake of harmful antisocial behaviour. Restorative practices within schools is a whole school teaching and learning approach that encourages behaviour that is supportive and respectful. In her upcoming course, Margaret will delve deep into strategies that will repair and improve relationships within schools.

Have you seen Margaret Thorsborne’s short course on EC Premium? Check it out here.

The Inclusive School is currently developing a course that aligns with their vision: that school is a place where all learners feel included, diversity in learning is celebrated, and families and educators are equipped with the inspiration and resources to support students to achieve success and satisfaction in their learning. Coming soon to EC Premium, this course will enlighten teachers about learning diversity and equip them with strategies and tools to assist and include diverse learners in the classroom. 

Check out a short preview of the short course by Michaela Epstein at Maths Teacher Circles: Powerful Teaching Tools for the Maths Classroom where you will engage in experiences that will get you excited again about teaching maths.

Michaela Epstein on Why Maths is Important

Our Featured Playlists are included in all schools’ Learning Hubs and are a great way to see a variety of high-quality content from different providers, all with just one click!

This month, we are featuring a playlist to support the professional growth of all staff in your school. No matter our role, we all have a shared responsibility for making schools a welcoming, efficient and exciting place to work and learn, and these resources are here to empower you to get the most out of your career as an educator. Whether it’s managing your time more efficiently with Harvard University, learning to run better meetings with CreativeLive, upskilling in software with Intellezy, or building great habits with Blinkist, there is something here for everyone!

Located in Sydney's western suburbs and part of the Nirimba Collegiate, Seven Hills High School has worked with the Executive Leadership Team at EC by Go1 for the past year. Together, we have focussed on coaching, support and building bespoke online Professional Learning workshops to sit on their EC Premium platform.

In April 2022, CEO of EC by Go1, Dave Faulkner and Learning Designer, Glenn Solomons delivered a workshop at the Seven Hills High School Leadership Retreat. During the workshop, the leaders determined their strengths and areas of growth to better understand each other and work more collaboratively. The teams then developed a clear plan for implementing their 2022 goals. It was a success!

Midway through the year, The Seven Hills Learning Hub was launched on the platform with the executive team and included two one-hour workshops with their dedicated EC by Go1 Learning Designer, Leadership Consultant and Education Success Manager (ESM). During the workshops, the Seven Hills team learned the EC Premium Hub hacks and ‘how-to’s’, searched for appropriate content to assign to their team and even completed a 10-minute course!

Use this amazing school as inspiration and reach out to your EC by Go1 ESM about acquiring further support with Professional Learning days and Learning Design with our expert team of teachers and leadership consultants. Or, consider a Rapid Upskill workshop with your dedicated ESM to kick off your school’s learning in 2023!

Ben works to help your school subscribe to EC Premium to change game for your staff’s professional learning. As a former teacher and leader at schools including Melbourne Grammar and Haileybury, Ben has real-world understanding of the K-12 sector. He also brings deep business development experience from his time with Pivot Learning and The Outdoor Education Group. Ben holds a master’s degree in education from Monash University.

A fun fact about Ben:
As a boy, Ben performed at six Carols by Candlelight and went on to study voice at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.

What a year 2022 has been! From growing our team and launching EC Premium, to working with incredible content partners, educational leaders and schools, to creating tonnes of engaging course content for educators. It’s been a big one! Lots of learning curves, heaps of constructive feedback and a wonderful amount of support. We would not be here without you. We appreciate your efforts in reading this far (congrats, it’s a long post!), for participating in the courses, and for being the passionate, soulful and inspiring educators that are driving the growth of the new generation.

A huge THANK YOU from the entire EC by Go1 team!

For more insights, subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs. 

Before you check out for the Christmas season and big Summer break, read on to discover our powerhouse of BIG new courses with some BIG and influential names in the education sector.

The EC Premium Content Insider - December 2022 edition

How would you feel if from the second you woke up to the second you went to sleep, someone was critiquing everything you did? “You haven’t made the bed correctly.” “Your kitchen is messy.” “That’s too much milk in my tea!” Sounds exhausting, doesn’t it? 

It’s called feedback fatigue and it refers to when someone feels mentally drained after receiving too much negative feedback. 

The same principle applies to the workplace, and it’s just as exhausting as if it were happening in your life outside of work.  

As simple as it sounds, exhausted people will struggle to work to their full potential.  

Let’s take a more detailed look at feedback fatigue in the workplace. What do you need to look out for? What are some of the potential impacts? And what can you do to stop feedback fatigue in its tracks? 

The rate at which people experience feedback fatigue is as unique as the individuals themselves.  

Some people may begin to crack under the pressure earlier than others (and that’s not necessarily a bad thing).  

As a result, it is absolutely essential to be aware of the signs of feedback fatigue; that way, you can recognise the signs in yourself, your colleagues, and those you manage before they get out of hand. 

The first sign to look out for is paralysis. In this context, paralysis involves an employee constantly second-guessing everything they’re doing and looking over their shoulder for approval from workplace leaders. 

Another impactful sign of feedback fatigue is emotional depletion. When people receive an amount of negative feedback that overwhelms them without any positive feedback to balance it out, they’re less likely to have the resilience required to change and act on that feedback. They may not even care enough to change.  

A knock-on effect of emotional depletion (and another sign of feedback fatigue) is immunity to positive feedback. Someone who receives too much negative feedback may find it hard to believe the positive feedback they do receive. 

What are the impacts of too much feedback?

Negative feedback is one of the necessary evils of every workplace and can be used to communicate to an employee that they aren’t currently meeting expectations in a particular area. 

However, if a majority of the feedback they receive is negative, employees are far more likely to lack motivation at work. 

Whether it’s true or not, employees that receive too much negative feedback may believe that their job isn’t secure, that they aren’t meeting expectations, or even that their status as a professional is being called into question. 

Additionally, an approaching annual performance review leaves many of us with at least some level of nerves. 

For those experiencing feedback fatigue, those nerves can turn into something more serious. 25% of employees report that they dread performance reviews more than anything else in their working lives, while a massive 55% of employees report that their most recent annual review felt unfair or inaccurate. 

When employees are under the impression that all the feedback they receive is negative, they may feel like workplace leaders have something against them personally and are therefore less likely to trust their advice. 

While you may have the impression that we’re anti-negative feedback, that’s certainly not the case. After all, how can leaders expect their teams to grow and improve if they don’t receive negative feedback from time to time? 

We’re simply suggesting that there’s more to improving your team’s results than telling them all the ways they need to improve.   

You may be a workplace leader who has firm boundaries with their team and wants to keep a very clear line between being their leader and being their friend. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not worth getting to know them. 

When workplace leaders understand what makes their employees tick, they can then learn about their threshold for negative feedback (among other things) and, therefore, reduce the risk of feedback fatigue. 

One of the tougher situations as a workplace leader is when an employee is missing the mark in a number of areas. That can certainly be very frustrating, and, at times, it can certainly feel tempting to let them know the negative impact they’re having on the team. 

However, bombarding them with feedback can act as a trip in the fast lane straight to feedback fatigue, and no one wants that! 

Never fear, there is a way to combat this scenario. Start by making a list of all the areas of improvement for that employee, ranked in order of importance. Ask yourself: what is the most important thing that needs to be fixed? 

From there, focus on that one thing and make a game plan for how that employee can best tackle the issue. Once that issue is sorted, move on to the next one and, of course, be sure to let the employee know how happy you are with their progress. 

By working down the list in order of priority, you may even find that other items get fixed as an automatic and very convenient knock-on effect! 

Feedback fatigue can quickly become a slippery slope. However, if recognised early on, it’ll simply be a bump in the road. 

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter and stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.   

Let’s take a look at feedback fatigue in the workplace. What is it? What are the signs? What are some impacts? And what can you do to stop it in its tracks?

How to avoid feedback fatigue

Project management can be a long, complex, and stressful process. There are often many different people involved in a project, all contributing to different aspects and all constrained to a tight budget - and that makes project management a tricky juggling act.

That’s where training your team on the benefits of agile project management skills can help. But what are agile project management skills, and how does such a change contribute toward how your team works and how it meets KPIs?

In this post, we’ll explore the benefits of agile, how it works, and look at what skills are required by a project manager.

An agile workplace focuses on flexibility, allowing employees to choose when, where, and how they work. It creates a happier and more relaxed work environment, which results in greater productivity and better results.

However, this isn’t the same as agile project management, which is an iterative method of software development. In this context, agile focuses on collaboration and working in short, achievable “sprints”. By splitting tasks into smaller chunks that can be distributed throughout a team it enables priorities to be set and projects to continuously move forward.

Agile also encourages the customer to be involved throughout the process so they can monitor progress. It enables them to offer feedback and request amendments during a time in which these changes may be faster and easier to implement.

An agile project manager works with a team, rather than leads it. As a result, some traditional project management responsibilities may be shared by various colleagues across the team.

According to the Agile Manifesto, there are twelves principles of agile project management. These are:

Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.

Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer's competitive advantage.

Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.

Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.

Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.

The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.

Working software is the primary measure of progress.

Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.

Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.

Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of work not done--is essential.

The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.

At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

Advantages of agile in project management

Agile is a commonly adopted method to project management thanks to how it encourages collaboration and flexibility. Below are seven benefits of agile project management:

A stronger product - agile encourages constant testing, which helps identify and fix issues quickly. Because the customer is involved throughout development it also enables changes to be made at any stage. Due to agile being an iterative process, teams learn and grow throughout. Each of these contributes to a better product.

Customer satisfaction - because the customer is involved throughout development the customer feels valued, and their input enables them to have more say, which leads to a product that best suits their needs. This also leads to better customer retention.

Saves time - with the customer providing feedback continuously time is saved by avoiding unnecessary blockers and last-minute changes.

More transparency - because agile breaks projects into smaller, easier-to-manage chunks, it allows for better transparency.

Fewer risks - continuous delivery reduces risks because sprints are short and issues can be identified quickly.

Better morale - the flexibility of a self-directed team, together with fewer issues and more collaboration, increases team morale  - which in turn also leads to a better product.

Accurate reporting - agile benefits reporting and forecasting by offering improved and more accurate metrics for time, cost, KPIs, and more.

While agile has a number of advantages that work wonders for certain teams, others may find it difficult to make that switch. Certain aspects that some may struggle to adopt include:

Having no clear set goal - due to the flexibility of agile project management there may not be a clearly defined target for how the project will progress. This can lead to concerns over time and budget, particularly for larger projects.

Fragmentation - because continuous delivery means the team may be working on different aspects of the project at the same time, and delivery is continuous, output can, at times, be fragmented.

Scope creep - with projects often starting with no in-depth plan or KPIs, teams risk getting sidetracked or the scope of work unexpectedly grows.

Understanding if your team is ready for agile adoption

Making that switch to agile delivery is one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It requires dedication and commitment, and there will likely be challenges along the way. However, with a thorough agile adoption strategy, you should start seeing the advantages quickly.

In order to understand whether your team is ready to embrace agile project management, ask yourself the following questions and carefully consider your answers:

Is your team prepared or equipped to deal with full-time delivery?

Are you willing to shape your team so the right people work in the right roles?

Is your team disciplined enough and have strong self-direction?

Is your team open to change and do they see the benefits of agile?

Will your team increase their communication and transparency?

Is your team prepared to learn and develop?

Is your team open to more involvement from your customers?

You need to ensure you answer “yes” to the above, otherwise, your team may not be in a position to make that switch. While agile works for many teams, if there is opposition or stumbling blocks it can disrupt continuous delivery and make the process challenging for all involved.

For more information, check out our blog post on how agile and adaptable are your team?

Agile methodology is a modern and flexible approach to project management that can maximize a business’ overall success. Learn its many benefits here.