It is not for the first time that I am meeting someone who discounts professional development and learning. When I chose the Institute of Capital Markets over teaching at a prestigious management institute, my peers dismissed my choice. Executive development programs in finance, as these were called at management institutes, were stuck in the 1980s at the lowest comment denominator of “Finance for Non-Finance Executives” and run only for the revenue they brought. It was infra-dig to choose that as a career. But I persisted for my love of the uncommon choice. I don’t regret it one bit, and whatever I know today comes from my training working professionals all my life. There is merit in figuring what matters to the those who must fold up their sleeves and get a task done. Theory alone won’t help such matters.
In my early days at the Institute, cynics said that those not needed at work were deputed to a training program. Little did they know that those were the days when policy makers wanted to know how stock market scams were engineered; PSU bank treasurers wanted to learn how government bonds were traded; and hundreds learned to write a research report, set up an investment policy, and run a mutual fund in compliance with the newly introduced regulations.
In the late 1990s when the equity markets were in a depressing bear phase, leaders of the investment industry chose to educate their distributors and introduce them to equity funds as a choice. Those were the times when assured return ideas ruled popular thinking. In the 25 years since then, I can name many hundreds of independent financial professionals who have steered thousands of households into equity investing. Learning holds that power to change lives. The firm I set up is devoted to this cause, not because there is merit in formally learning on the job; but because there are immense benefits in the group setting in which it is achieved.
First, we can be lost trying to figure what to learn. If that was tough earlier, the Internet only made it tougher. As a firm that offers online learning, we have keenly followed developments in the self-learning space. People chose better when structured programs were prescribed for them, than being left to make their own choices. Research also shows that many people discontinue their online lessons, even before making any significant progress. Enrolments may be higher, but completion status remains poor. The primary causes are relevance and choice. People gave up when they find they chose the wrong course; or they chose badly as there was too much on offer. However, those that persisted and completed their courses, offer an overwhelmingly encouraging response. They achieved better career and professional progression, changed jobs or professions easily, and negotiated a better income for themselves.
Second, it is not the rigour of the learning program that engages the learner; relevance tops that list. My argument with my dismissive relative was that he had stuffed himself with too many diverse pieces of information. For every topic of mastery that he boasted about, I patiently had him list and describe what he studied and how. Every single area of his “expertise” remained incomplete, not because he was not earnest; but because he received no peer guidance on what was relevant. Since he did not have clarity on the questions he had to ask, his answers remained confused. He disliked this portion of our argument, but I had enough ammunition to point out that he had missed more important books, courses, lessons, or experts, as he liked to call them. Formal on the job learning offers great advantages of relevance. The course content is driven by the needs of the role as defined by business heads, and several minds work at every level, including at the classroom, to ensure it is relevant. Those that do not know must try speaking to an audience of working professionals about things that hold little application value.
Third, a group setting enables peer interaction and discussion that is invaluable to the learner and the teacher. Synchronous and asynchronous learning are much debated topics in the modern technologically interconnected world. It is easy to look up, verify, read, learn, and consume content on an ongoing basis. But research on learning establishes that asynchronous learning, where the learner engages at his convenience, can be ineffective. Learners lose motivation, may erroneously interpret the principles, or may draw incomplete conclusions. Even in the online world, engagement with fellow learners, and with the teacher, enhance the quality of learning by many notches. Physical classrooms and online learning co-existed to facilitate such interaction before covid hit; in the post-covid era video conferencing and problem solving in a group continue to hold the key to learner engagement. There is little evidence, despite my relative’s insistence, that learning can remain a solitary pursuit and be effective.
Fourth, rewards drive effort. When formal learning is combined with identifiable benefits, it keeps the learner motivated to compete, compare, and complete the exercise. From ranks and prizes in schools to incentives and promotions on the job, evidence shows that learners are motivated by the goals they have set for themselves. When the mutual fund industry introduced a mandatory certification for all distributors, may suspected it would not work. With the decision to link commissions to the completion of the certification, the demand for training, learning and completion of the examinations surged.
My relative argued that these rules are easily bent in India. I recall my experience in Patna in 2003. A large group of over a hundred distributors was in my classroom. Abuzz was the news that the exam that day had been cancelled for cheating. I told my class that I would train them only if they promised to write the exam honestly when their turn came. I would teach them what they needed to know. That class not only learned, but over 90% of them cleared the exam, without cheating. It is an experience neither me nor my trainees at Patna have since forgotten. My relative simply doesn’t know the power of a community that chooses to learn.
(The writer is Chairperson, Centre for Investment Education and Learning)
