In a world rife with comfort and the acceptance of mediocrity, it’s hard sometimes to find your allies when you think and behave differently. People are designed to protect themselves, and by virtue of that, their careers and livelihoods as well. So speaking out and trying something new in many corporate environments is not only frowned upon but punishable. 

But most people who get into the learning and development field do it almost entirely to help others, so a major paradox ensues: 

I deeply want to help others, but lack the capacity or support to do so.

Unfortunately, we see this throughout society and often in some of the most vulnerable and undervalued systems. Think about the lack of resources and support that teachers get in the K12 space, and how that’s caused a huge problem with retention (and demotivates  people to teach in the future). Right now, my daughter (who’s 8) always puts “teacher” when asked what she wants to do when she grows up. But I worry: will that always be the case with children her age? In teaching and in corporate L&D, something has to give! 

Because it’s the very same people who self-select to help others that are often the most diminished in their capacity to innovate, to stretch the imagination and create a better environment for work and whole person development. They are often there to check compliance boxes - oh, we got Linkedin Learning so we are a learning organization. No offense to the big gorilla in the room, but that does not make you a learning organization. They may provide a massive amount of content and resources that can certainly complement high quality training and coaching experiences, but there’s a reason why the engagement for platforms like that are so low. People need motivation, human support, shared ideas, and opportunities to reflect and flex their social emotional muscles. Flat videos and PDFs are not known to engender any of these qualities. Again, great for complementary resources, but not as the solution. 

Ok, no soap box intended here, but it is important to spell out some of the common problems we face in the corporate world if we are ever gonna have a chance to fix them. So how do we empower our Senior Leaders in organizations to gain the people development power they seek, while enabling L&D folks to move themselves and their organizations beyond their comfort zones and norms? It requires finding the right allies, and it’s super hard to do! We are currently on a mission to find people across the industry with aligned visions so that we can work together to unlock new ways to develop our future leaders, and we often struggle. People are too busy to respond, or have heard that spiel before and don’t believe it. When you walk the walk, you are often trailing many people that talk the talk, but do not deliver. Who can blame a learning and development leader for having distrust for technology companies, for example, with all of the lies they’ve been told and frustrations they’ve had once they get their hands on the tech.

So where do we find our allies? I speak with people about these topics everyday, and trust me, there are plenty of people that see eye to eye with me, so those folks are out there. Here are a few suggestions you can try:

• The 0’s and 10’s story: When I spoke with a thought partner years ago, she said one of the most poignant things I’ve ever heard when I was seeking allies in our business. She said, “Jeremy, look for the 0’s and the 10’s. The Zeros are those who are completely status quo and will not ‘get it’. They will want to sit with comfort at all costs, and be unwilling to push the boundaries of what’s possible with you. The tens however, well they will be walking with you stride for stride in your joint desire to make an impact on the world. To shape shift what’s possible with human development in the workplace.” 

DSD TIP: The more cues you take for these types of folks in your meetings, calls, and encounters, the sharper you will become at identifying your Zeros and Tens. And then you’ll be able to very swiftly move on from the Zeros, and focus entirely on forging relationships with the Tens.

• Old School Events: The absolute best way to find allies is to meet them in person. You can quickly read body language when you are together, and of course event types magnetize like-minded individuals.

DSD TIP: So the key here is to thoughtfully focus on the type of events that will be best to meet your allies. I have found that smaller, more intimate events suit me as it’s easier to strike up conversations with folks, and these events are often more refined in focus. Larger conferences can be great for learning, however it’s much harder to cut through the noise of all of the people there, and the sheer volume of themes - it’s just not as focused as a smaller event. We have found that there is a place and time for these larger events too, especially if you can be on a panel which then starts to hone the focus of your approach, and increase the likelihood of meeting some allies.

• Leverage Linkedin:  Now that I’ve mentioned Linkedin earlier for having a certain type of volume oriented, flat, and passive learning modality for its Learning Platform, I also want to remind people that it’s likely the best place to find allies outside of an actual event.

DSD TIP: There are a vast array of amazing hubs and communities on Linkedin. Identify and join the ones that you actively seek to engage in and you can learn a ton. Most of these hubs have fabulous online webinars and events. You can also search for people with similar visions and write them an honest, short, and sweet note about why you want to connect. You’ll be surprised how many people will connect and want to become allies. From there, you can start conversations and see where it goes. From personal experience, I can share that it can lead to a partnership, a client, or a mastermind ally.

We need to find people with the same curiosity and experimental spirit as ours. Folks who not only are willing, but who have carved their path by taking risks and showing others a Robert Frost-like courage in their lives. For me, I have been on a deliberate and thoughtful journey to find like-minded senior leaders who stake their careers on creating safe environments for their teams, and truly focus their leadership craft on whole person development.