{"id":18181,"date":"2023-11-08T03:39:08","date_gmt":"2023-11-08T03:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clearpathlearninggroup.com\/?page_id=18181"},"modified":"2025-07-14T21:14:30","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T21:14:30","slug":"article-design-thinking-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms.clearpathlearninggroup.com\/index.php\/2023\/11\/08\/article-design-thinking-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Design Thinking for Thought Leaders: Methodologies and Learning & Development"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Design Thinking for Thought Leaders<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Methodologies and Learning & Development<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

By Jenn Kammerdiener<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Design Thinking has become a leading innovation process that seeks to deeply understand users\u2014in other words, people. As L&D professionals, people are at the core of all we do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The methodology works by breaking down preconditioned responses and assumptions. It deconstructs and redefines problems, guiding us toward those pioneering solutions we wished we\u2019d \u2018thought of first\u2019. It is non-linear and iterative. And as practice, it can generate a great deal of enthusiasm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is the focus on understanding human needs and delivering solutions via human-centric means that sets the method apart. Let\u2019s break that down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Design thinking puts human emotion first. This is a bold contradiction to the adage that it\u2019s just business, don\u2019t take it personally.<\/em>  Here, we approach solutions to problems by focusing on and involving the human perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learning and Development initiatives empower a business’s people. Understanding their point of view is a necessary starting point. Tethering to this truth is a Clearpath tenet and Design Thinking is naturally one of our most widely used methodologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are five basic steps. Some say seven. But you\u2019ve got things to do, so let\u2019s talk about five.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step One.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Design thinking starts with empathy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We know\u2014how novel! It asks that we always begin here. All steps forward must be taken from the perspective of an organization\u2019s users\u2014its people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A decade or so ago a reality TV show Undercover Boss<\/em> followed executives on \u201cundercover missions to examine the inner workings of their companies.\u201d What reality TV does best (or worst, depending on perspective) is to shine a pleasant white light on human achievement and a blinding fluorescent light on human strife. You can guess the endings of every episode before they begin. After a week in the trenches, the boss came away with a new understanding and perspective. He or she came away with empathy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What would happen if our industry professionals all took a beat and actively got to understand, and not just know, our clients and their people? And what if this all happened before we entertained offering suggestions and strategic paths forward? Insight. Insight would happen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It seems obvious. But it\u2019s a step too often skipped. We owe it to our clients to discover the hidden complications and inefficiencies that they most need to solve. These are generally not<\/em> those that our clients, or even we, think<\/em> are the problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Businesses often ask for a resource when what\u2019s really needed is analysis and a solution for a business problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This means we must ask a lot of questions. It means focused observation. And it means setting aside everything that we ‘think’ we know for a bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step Two.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once we understand the problem, we need to define it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we frame a problem with a tangible question, we articulate the answer we\u2019re trying to find. Once the question becomes part of an equation, we start to think of that problem as solvable. And when an answer is positioned as a sum of the parts it becomes a reasonable and accessible exercise. We know what we need to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further, still, if we define the problem from the user\u2019s\u2014the people\u2019s\u2014point of view we boost our empathy. And that\u2019s the name of the game. This is where we start if we\u2019re to motivate, and subsequently empower, our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step Three.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since our equations are filled with variables, here\u2019s where we ideate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you\u2019re requesting a type of guide let\u2019s first look at where you\u2019re looking to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We have, as a whole, become preconditioned to look for fast paths. And sometimes the ready path is <\/em>the best. But more often than not\u2014it\u2019s not. This is where ideation wakes us up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s the energizing point in the process where design thinking asks\u2014with a glint in its eye\u2014that we step back and rethink. It asks us to throw out old ideas in favor of new ways forward. And it reminds us that trodden paths are flat for a reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we pause to determine with certainty what solution is indeed the best solution it might likely be a short moment spent on a complete shift in outcome. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step Four.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fresh thinking requires fresh form and so\u2014we prototype. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating quick, preliminary devices to apply our ideation lets us test our ideas. If all goes according to plan, we\u2019re assured that we are indeed headed in the right direction early on and without a large investment in time and money. An efficient L&D professional will be able to easily identify good (and bad) signs along the road as ideas become tangible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is when we dip our toes in the water. It\u2019s that cautious, initial step forward before we dive in. And still, we must remember to base our findings on what works for others. We\u2019re building for them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step Five.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally\u2014we test. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not the type of test we all recall from school. This step, too, is iterative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We gather feedback from the client and their people. We adjust. And we refine. Here\u2019s where we start to see it all make perfect sense. If we\u2019ve put in the work, we\u2019ll have arrived at the best answer, design, and solution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What began as a journey to understand people ends by proving we do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Design Thinking is a multi-functional instrument in the L&D toolbox and one we at Clearpath use often. There are, of course, many methods. But each, if used well, promotes one common goal: We help organizations succeed by setting their people up for success. 
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jenn Kammerdiener, Founder and CEO, Clearpath Learning Group<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jenn is a Global Learning & Performance Architect with more than 20 years of business strategy and executive consulting experience. She\u2019s led vital initiatives for Fortune 1000 to 100 organizations across industries with a systematic approach to org design, change management, and learning path objectives. In 2009, Jenn launched Clearpath to provide world-class performance solutions and services with a team approach. Under her leadership, Clearpath\u2019s reach has grown to extend beyond 250,000 learners globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Design Thinking for Thought Leaders Methodologies and Learning & Development By Jenn Kammerdiener Design Thinking has become a leading innovation process that seeks to deeply understand users\u2014in other words, people. As L&D professionals, people are at the core of all we do. The methodology works by breaking down preconditioned responses and assumptions. It deconstructs and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19026,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms.clearpathlearninggroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms.clearpathlearninggroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms.clearpathlearninggroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms.clearpathlearninggroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms.clearpathlearninggroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18181"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/cms.clearpathlearninggroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18181\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19097,"href":"https:\/\/cms.clearpathlearninggroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18181\/revisions\/19097"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms.clearpathlearninggroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms.clearpathlearninggroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms.clearpathlearninggroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms.clearpathlearninggroup.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}