A recent news article states that NAPLAN analysis shows the writing of skills of Australian children are at all time low after what has been described as a 30 year policy failure in schools
Where are the children who have been failed for these last 30 years?
They are in the workforce – in mid-career. They are the people who are now writing policy, letters, procedures, briefing notes, reports. If the NAPLAN analysis is correct, then these workers missed some basic education in their formative years in primary school. They did not master the skill of writing at that time. And some may have been struggling ever since.
Of course, school is not the only place where you can learn writing. I’m sure many who attended school during these years are now fine writers. They may have learned writing from good guidance during their tertiary studies, or maybe they’ve learned write well on the job. But it’s possible some of this cohort may still be struggling as they perform the writing tasks required of modern government and business employees.
And I hear senior managers talk about this weakness frequently. They are frustrated about the internal review process – it often takes far longer than it should. And reviewers waste time correcting writing rather than interacting and building on ideas.
Writing is a critical capability.
Failing to develop writing skills is a career disadvantage for individuals. But it also means organisations are also suffering. Ideas may not be expressed clearly; logic and thinking may not be rigorously tested. Information leaflets, letters and other documents do not have the clarity that the users of these products rightly expect.
Writing and thinking are closely connected.
We cannot write well until we can think well. But equally, cannot think well unless we can write well. Writing helps people shape ideas, taking vague and fuzzy notions into concrete words and sentence. Writing makes implicit ideas explicit so that they can be examined and tested by both the writer and by others. Not having a sound writing capability within an organisation puts it at risk of underperforming, of not achieving its objectives as well as it should.
Do you manage people with inadequate writing skills?
Some thoughts if you are in a position of managing people whose writing skills have not yet developed to the level we expect:
- Recognise there may have been a gap in learning and development at an early stage. Poor performance may not be related to a lack of intelligence or lack of effort.
- Consider enrolling workers in a writer training program. A day of training isn’t going to change the habits of a lifetime immediately. But a well design program will provide direction for participants to practice and follow.
- Provide access to helpful tools. Programs like Grammarly and Hemingway can be helpful in getting the basics correct.
- Be kind and gentle during the review process. Use document reviews as an opportunity to develop skills. Take the time to explore alternative ways of organising and structuring documents, and explain how to improve sentences and paragraphs.
Developing the writing skills of your people will make documents more effective and efficient.