This Week in Learning Audrey: A Balancing Act Between 3 Viewpoints, and a Mountain of Courses to Launch

Now that she’s finished her onboarding, it’s time for Audrey to take off the training wheels and dive into her real job. With her coach Jonah still working remotely in the United States, Audrey is left to work out the first big challenges of her new role; establishing her main objectives, launching an ambitious number of onboarding programs, and remaining true to her personal ambitions throughout. 

How does it feel to strike out on her own? Will she be able to balance every stakeholder’s opinion? Can she keep up with the workload? 

Let’s find out.

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Staying focused on the most important projects

It’s usually a good sign if a new hire is eager to take on a mountain of work. Audrey is certainly showing a lot of motivation, and had planned an ambitious quarter full of projects she cares about. 

Unfortunately, Nicholas, 360Learning’s Chief People Officer, had to bring her down to earth—at 360Learning, setting focused Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) is fundamental, and her plan was just too full-on. “You have 10 first-line OKRs,” chides Nicholas, “I wanted no more than 5.”

How does Audrey feel about having to cut her plans in half? “I feel I’m losing control, because there’s so much we have to change” she sighs. Let’s see what projects she chooses to keep, and which she has to scrap—even if they’re dear to her heart.

‘Onboarding is over, let’s get started’

Audrey’s first big assignment is to lead the updating of 360Learning’s onboarding programs. They’re based on the company’s culture, Convexity—and it’s a topic everyone cares about deeply. 

Audrey’s excited to dive in, but she also realizes the immensity of the project. Convexity is made up of thirteen values, and each needs to be split into four levels. That’s a lot of programs to create! How will she manage to create all of these courses on a deadline?

“I’m compelled to make fast progress,” Audrey explains, “and I don’t have much time to think about what I’m doing.”

Finding the balance between 3 stakeholders

Not only does the onboarding need to be updated quickly—new hires are arriving every week—but it’s also a project that everyone at the company cares deeply about. This is especially true of her three key stakeholders. “Convexity is our DNA, it's who we are, it’s why new hires joined the company in the first place,” explains Audrey.

“Everyone has high expectations for this project,” she continues. “There’s a lot of pressure.” There’s of course Audrey’s coach, Jonah, and the Chief People Officer, Nicholas. But Nick, 360Learning’s CEO himself, also has very precise expectations. 

Audrey’s challenge will be finding a way to please all three stakeholders—even when they have conflicting ideas for the project—on a deadline. Will she be able to get the validation she needs for the project to launch on time? Or will she fall into the trap of trying to please everyone, and in the end, pleasing no one—including herself.

Can she find her inspiration? 

Audrey needs to feel inspired herself to do inspiring work—but there are a lot of obstacles in her path. Not only is she working with conflicting feedback and a tight deadline, but she also has to construct an onboarding program that includes human interaction in a completely remote environment—even as she feels a little lonely herself.

“What I thought I would find by doing this job in such an international, remote-first company, is learning about new cultures, people living in all these different places. And now, the job is shifting.”

How will she manage? 

Audrey has a lot on her plate. She needs to strike a balance between conflicting feedback, launch a mountain of courses, and stay on track with her personal ambitions. How will she cope?

Stay with us and find out in next week’s episode of Learning Audrey! 

Learning Audrey is 360Learning’s new weekly docu-series following the experience of Audrey Jarre,  our Senior Learning Manager, as she comes to grips with her new role. Subscribe now.