This Week in Learning Audrey: 15 Different Stakeholders, One Learning Manager

“I expected to have more time. It’s not going to be very easy.” 

This was where we left Audrey in last week’s season premiere of Learning Audrey, 360Learning’s new L&D docu-series. She’d just been introduced to the full scale and scope of her new challenge: delivering our new Convexity training in just 10 short weeks. 

Even trickier? She’s doing it alone, because our Head of Learning Jonah is off to the US for a long-overdue family visit. So, how is Audrey coping this week? Is being an L&D Manager still her dream? Or has some of the shine started to wear off?

Let’s find out.

Don’t forget to subscribe to Learning Audrey for future episodes! 

Dreams are great–but what about when reality kicks in?

Whenever you start a new job, there’s always that first jolt of energy. Everything is fresh and exciting, and there’s no task too big to take on right away. But what about when the full scale of the challenge starts to sink in? 

“It’s a lot to take in,” says Audrey. “Now, I have to do my own onboarding, work remotely with Jonah, and then take over his job when he’ll be away. And I have to start his training plan on top of improving human interactions in our onboarding and refining our product training.”

This sobering feeling will be familiar to many readers from their first days and weeks in a role. So, how is Audrey going to keep her spirits up?

Related: How to Establish Yourself as an Incoming L&D Leader

‘I wanted a more connected role’

To keep moving forward, Audrey is taking a breath and remembering why she made the move into this role in the first place.

“COVID-19 and the whole global crisis made me want a more connected role where I would interact with a lot of people,” she says. “Whenever I’ve joined a new position, this has been my big dream.”

So, is this finally Audrey’s chance to connect with people and make an impact? She’s not so sure.

“Things are a bit blurry right now,” she says. One thing causing this uncertainty? The number of stakeholders with a direct interest in our new Convexity training.

Satisfying 15 different stakeholders

Previously, Audrey had wished for a more socially connected role. But she might have bitten off more than she can chew, because now she has 15 different stakeholders for her Convexity training project.

“The first thing I had to do on day one was schedule 15 discovery meetings with every single stakeholder I’ll be working with,” she says. “In that same week, I had to do some performance reporting in front of the whole HR team, as well as onboarding some newcomers.”

One stakeholder with a particularly detailed vision for the Convexity training? Our CEO, Nick Hernandez. “I know exactly what I want down to the pixel,” he says.

One unexpected upside of onboarding new people while Audrey is starting a new role herself? She can see things from their perspective. “It’s great, because they’re onboarding, and I’m onboarding at the same time. In the end, I’m in their shoes too.”

Related: PwC’s 4-Step Approach to Handling Complex L&D Demands

The scariest thing of all: too much feedback

For Audrey, starting this new role and collecting feedback from her many stakeholders has been a chance to define the challenge for our new Convexity training and dig deeper into what she needs to do to succeed. At the same time, it’s also scary.

“That’s what I’m most scared about, I guess,” she says. “To receive such a huge amount of feedback, especially when this isn’t always heading in the same direction.”

And to cap off this week’s episode, there’s one big challenge she didn’t see coming. As it turns out, things are more complicated than they seem, and not everyone is on the same page.

“I feel like I’m losing control,” says Audrey. 

How will Audrey cope with this new challenge?

Will Audrey cope with this new challenge? Will she find inspiration in her new colleagues, or will things fall flat? No matter what, we’ll be there every step of the way.

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.