By Christopher Stevenson
Rob Rutkowski, managing partner of the credit union department of Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co., L.P.A, last week shared a great post on his blog on the value of traveling to conferences and other educational events. He says:
The education is valuable in and of itself but [conferences] can also energize and motivate as well. Lots of the interaction that you get when you go to the conferences is priceless. How else can you meet people to collaborate with on new ideas? Everything I’ve done by way of marketing has been via meeting people at conferences.
So now that the economy seems to be improving, I recommend that credit unions beef up their travel budgets. Go out there and meet with people--talk about things that are happening with you or your credit union and share ideas and experiences. The credit union movement is an extremely collaborative industry. Really, it’s like no other that I know of. You’re in the position to share ideas and to learn from each other. It is a tremendous resource so get back out there and meet and discuss and collaborate.
My best professional development has always been face to face. In some cases, it's been at conferences with folks I'd consider my peers where we batted around ideas, lamented about the things that need to change, and shared insights based on our unique backgrounds, experiences, and education. Other experiences were in a formal degree program with a group of folks from diverse business industries--energy, healthcare, veterinary medicine, manufacturing, public sector--reading case studies and proposing solutions to perplexing business problems. I've also sat in exec ed classes and open forums with industry leaders where I knew I was out of my league, but could sit and learn, even if I contributed little.
Regardless of the format or with whom I was learning, one thing ties these educational experiences together--the opportunity to discuss challenges (often after formal sessions end) and seek out solutions by throwing out ideas, punching holes in them, refining them, and determining the next steps to take. In some cases, the proposed solutions stimulated other ideas that helped me improve other, unrelated areas in my work. I may be wrong, but I don't think I would have had the same experiences via conference call, video conference, or SecondLife.
Now there are some out there who say that the traditional professional development model is broken; traditional conferences are blase, professional speakers aren't needed or are detrimental to the learning experience, and that crowd-sourced content like BarCampBank is the best way to learn. They're wrong.
Well, not completely wrong. But wrong in all the important places.
The folks saying such things have a unique perspective. Often they are bloggers or active on Twitter. They are comfortable with crowdsourcing, expressing their own opinions (occasionally with a bit of piss and vinegar thrown in), and receiving feedback--good and bad--from strangers. They are, in large part, a unique audience with unique learning styles. A BarCampBank model is an excellent tool for them to learn and brainstorm ideas. In essence, it allows them to take what they love about blogging and Twitter and live it out in real life.
However, the assumption that a BarCamp-style meeting is suited for everyone is a huge leap. Learning styles, networking styles, personality traits like introversion or extroversion, and just plain likes and dislikes play a huge part in determining the kind of event that provides the best professional development for an individual. Also consider that our peers don't always have the best solutions or even good solutions, and often the folks who we most want to talk to only provide an echo of our own thoughts.
Dramatization--
It's also a faulty contention that professional speakers somehow dimish, rather than add to, a program's value. Paid speakers who are experts in a particular field (e.g. economics, strategy, leadership) often bring a different perspective from what we commonly hear and can prime the pump for conversation and networking.Guy 1:"You know, I think credit unions should drop the credit union name. Nobody knows what a credit union is."
Guy 2: "I've always hated the name. Everyone thinks you have to belong to a union to be a member."
Guy 1: "That's exactly my point."
Let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater. There are thousands of people who love and learn from traditional conferences with keynotes and breakout sessions. There are others that thrive on cross-industry perspectives, like those that will be provided by this year's CUES Annual Convention. Some folks can't get enough executive education and the peer-to-peer learning they get in small work groups, like those at CEO Institute. Some people are all about the networking; round-table discussions, workshops, and open forums work best for them.
I agree with Rob wholeheartedly. I've spent my entire career--20-some years--providing education, and I firmly believe there is no true replacement for person-to-person learning. It makes sense to figure out the kind of program that allows you to learn best and attend it. If it's a BarCamp Bank, do it. If it's a traditional conference, go. If it's a workshop, so be it. Education is key to your own professional development and the success of your organization. Don't minimize it.
Christopher Stevenson is director of professional development at CUES.
