I was chatting with Helen Bailey last week and we were talking about mandated learning.

Notwithstanding the fact you can’t command a process of learning at an individual level, it does no favours to anyone involved:

• The sponsor can try and ‘command’ that people learn but if you have to resort to this route you’ve already lost the battle with keeping people onside with you.
• If you’re the person who the ‘learning’ is being delivered to you’re likely to not want to be there, nor engage.
• You can’t facilitate without consent and if people don’t want to be there, it can’t happen.

Helen and I were talking about what we call this work as a facilitator and her suggestion of craft is accurate. You can’t work in a vacuum which is what mandating creates; it suffocates and smothers.

If people are asking you to work in a mandated space try pushing back. It won’t make you popular with stakeholders, but will make you more effective.