Have you heard the parable about the blind men who all approach an elephant and each describes the small region of the elephant that he touches? One man describes feeling something “as thick as a snake,” (the trunk). Another describes a large thin “fan,” (the ear). Still another says he feels something “large like a pillar,” (a leg). Ultimately, the blind men, who were once good friends, come to blows because they believe the other men are lying.

I have seen this parable played out in law firms where training programs have become so departmentalized that people can’t see the big picture (the elephant) because they’ve only been shown small sections (the trunk, the leg, the ear).

Do you suspect that your law firm is creating knowledge gaps through training silos? Are your IT, HR and professional development departments conducting stand-alone training programs with no coordination among them?

If you’d like to hear examples of the difficulties that befall firms that maintain such training silos and learn steps to break down those silos to develop a collaborative learning program, I invite you to attend my panel discussion at ILTACON 2018 in National Harbor, MD.

The session is titled, “Deconstruct Training Silos and Build Learning Collaborations,” and it will be held Monday, August 20 from 2:30-3:30 in Woodrow Wilson rooms B, C and D.

Here is the session description: “Training silos – the overlap and division of responsibility for training and on-boarding between departments such as technology training, professional development and human resources – often leads to gaps in knowledge. In this session, you will learn to define the training silos, identify the barriers to ineffective inter-departmental relationships and develop strategies to deconstruct your silos and convert them into learning collaborations.”

My fellow panel members include: Jeanne Marie Boswell (Paul Hastings LLP), Bradelynn Boyce-Dendy (Nelson Mullins) and Michelle Spencer. Our goal is to provide you with immediately useful strategies to create a firm-wide training program that enables everyone to see and work efficiently toward the big picture.

If you’d like to chat with me prior to the session to share your ideas and questions about this topic, I’d love to hear from you. Jay@SavvyTraining.com, 303-800-4568

More About ILTACON 2018

ILTACON is the premier educational and networking event for the legal sector. Drawing on the personal and collective strength of law firm and law department professionals, ILTACON is the best place to learn what works, what doesn’t and what’s next in legal technology. Topic experts deliver examples, inspiration and takeaways through a variety of session formats that can be applied to the challenges and opportunities you face within your team, your organization and the industry. This four-day event features extensive networking opportunities and educational content inspired by and developed by peers, with a volunteer planning committee that works collaboratively with peers, business partners and experts to ensure each session provides value to a variety of professional roles.