I was searching something on my blog site last week and came across a post I wrote almost 15 years ago. This was when I was still working out what ‘good’ learning was like and how we could move beyond the smoke and mirrors of traditional command and control, sage on a stage learning.

It was about certificates and the approach people took then to having a bit of paper, email, confirmation of CPD points etc. I set a few challenges:

• Make the certificate available after a challenge
• Make the certificate more than the piece of paper
• Issue the certificate after a review of learning
• Send a copy to the manager, rather than the learner
• Keep it light

I’ve realised that some of these are still necessary – keep challenges, recognise the manager to offer it as a performance activity, review learning.

But. A piece of paper can be important for some people. To you it’s a bit of paper, to them it’s a totem representing their effort and endeavour. Dismiss the paper and you might be dismissing the effort. Some certification isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on or the pixels it burns. Make sure that yours is truly meaningful – not to you but the people you’re supporting.