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5 Must-Read Books for L&D Professionals

Learning and Development (L&D) programs involve a lot of challenges and obstacles. But when you have the right kind of knowledge and direction, your tasks become simpler. And what happens then? You get to have more time on your hands to make training more impactful! So, let me present to you 5 interesting reads that can make your L&D team knowledgeable and impactful. However, before you get engrossed with these books, download and save this creative guide on designing eLearning for the right brain for reading on a rainy day.

5 Books on Learning and Development

1. 75 Ways for Managers to Hire, Develop, and Keep Great Employees – by Paul Falcone

5 Ways for Managers to Hire, Develop, and Keep Great Employees

Your organization’s success depends on your employees. This means you need to select the right people, manage them well, and motivate them toward success – both theirs and the organization’s. This book ‘75 Ways for Managers to Hire, Develop, and Keep Great Employees’ by Paul Falcone is a comprehensive guide that helps you do just that. It’s full of tips and tricks you need to know about maintaining a successful work performance through learning and development.

You can utilize these practical tools at work daily. This book:

  • Identifies uncomfortable workplace situations and helps create an environment conducive for success
  • Addresses issues and finds ways to avoid pitfalls that can impact workplace culture negatively
  • Helps L&D managers implement strategies for high-performance
  • Provides a field manual for managers to become effective leaders through constructive communication

Read this book for best practices to enable effective operations and retain top performers. Click here.

2. LMS Success: A Step-by-Step Guide to Learning Management System Administration by Katrina Baker

LMS Success A Step-by-Step Guide to Learning Management System Administration

Overseeing LMS implementation and administration can be a painful task if you don’t have the necessary knowledge or talent for it. If this is true with you, worry no more. Even if it isn’t the case with you and you’ve been doing this for some time now, reading this book will ensure you don’t overlook anything in the implementation and administration of your LMS.

This is the second edition of this book, and it organizes the different steps in LMS administration wonderfully. This book:

  • Provides templates which will be very helpful, regardless of your level of experience with LMS
  • Offers insights into the pros and cons of administering an LMS
  • Suggests software you can use to increase work performance through training
  • Poses key questions to ask yourself before selecting and managing an LMS

If you are part of the decision-making team for a learning management system, and you enjoy a bit of humor, then this book is for you. Click this link to access the book.

3. The Toyota Engagement Equation – by Tracy Richardson and Ernie Richardson

The Toyota Engagement Equation

This book from Toyota veterans takes us through their journey of discovery in Toyota. This fascinating read focuses on many things, from building cars really fast, to solving problems at the workplace. But most importantly, it focuses on learning processes, critical thinking, and how to think! It reminds us that the power to improve rests in the hands of the organization’s leaders and its training framework.

This authoritative guide based on Toyota’s phenomenal success offers:

  • Personal experiences that will change how you perceive your employees’ potential
  • Insights into how employees were taught to identify and define problems and solve them through standardization
  • An understanding of how employees were encouraged to improve their thinking as they moved forward
  • An overall management system to achieve amazing business results through training and work performance

To access this book and unleash the power of thinking, click here.

4. Minds at Work: Managing for Success in the Knowledge Economy – by David Grebow and Stephen J. Gill

Minds at Work Managing for Success in the Knowledge Economy

To get ahead of today’s competition, you need to able to learn and adapt faster than everyone else. It also means you need to adapt to the up-and-coming management methods of the present world. This book discusses the roles a manager has to play to achieve success. It talks about their need to move from command and control to communication and collaboration. This read provides:

  • Success stories from forward-looking companies with ever-changing technology and processes
  • A compelling case for the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of continuous learning
  • How to plan for infrastructure and activities needed to further learning
  • Actionable strategies and behaviors for managers and employees

To review what should be followed at the workplace and what shouldn’t, access the link here.

5. Play to Learn: Everything You Need to Know About Designing Effective Learning Games – by Sharon Boller and Karl M. Kapp

Play to Learn Everything You Need to Know About Designing Effective Learning Games

Including games in learning teaches collaboration, communication, and problem-solving. With recent advances in technology, the potential for using game-based learning for varied topics has increased exponentially. Using game-based design will grab your employees’ attention and help them explore and acquire new skills. This read provides you a solid foundation for the process of creating compelling games in learning and deploying it to your learners by offering insights into:

  • Linking game design to business needs and learning objectives
  • Bridging the gap between instructional design and game design
  • Growing your game literacy and strengthening crucial game design skills
  • Examples of online games, testing your prototype and refining your design

This read is as enjoyable as any game, so click this link to access it.

Wrapping it Up!

If you want to transform yourself into training managers delivering exceptional learning, read these books – maybe while traveling, while on a break from work, or even during this holiday. Access these reads to make yourself a good leader, and of course, help take your organization to newer heights.

In case you have other favorite reads, please leave a comment below. But if you want to increase your knowledge of eLearning, we have a free eBook for you! It highlights the trends in eLearning you should be adopting in 2020. Click the link below to download it.

eLearning Trends 2023 – The View from the Trenches