Sharpening the Saw—What Educators Wish We All Knew

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By Patrick Malone
November 24, 2025

With all of the pressures on our local, state and federal governments nowadays it comes as no surprise that one of the first casualties of our times tends to be the resources we invest in education, training and talent development. It’s a bitter truth that in tough times leaders will resort to the faulty argument that the direct benefits of training aren’t easy to identify and that there’s little measurable return on investment. This makes education and development activities easy budgetary targets but doing so comes with risks.

Training and education are not only fundamental for the daily work our governments perform but they are also a direct indicator of our willingness to invest in the growth of our most valuable organizational asset, our people. A failure to make resources available for these vital efforts can result in an apathetic workforce who feel unsupported. Gaps in critical skills become apparent, the provision of services suffer and lower productivity and engagement are sure to follow. Younger employees especially place a great premium on whether their employer will commit to their growth. According to Deloitte’s 2025 Gen Z and Millennial Survey, Gen Zs with their impressive digital fluency arrive in our agencies eager to learn and make a difference. They are hungry for knowledge. It only makes sense that we as leaders should place meeting that need at the top of our to-do list.

But being responsible for education and development is no easy task. Public organizations today depend on a myriad of learning officers, trainers and educators for everything from training to leadership development to succession planning. When organizational culture surveys indicate a problem the learning officer is often the first person that leadership turns to in order to resolve the issues. New initiatives often require new development and education for personnel at all levels of the organization. New laws must be interpreted and integrated into service delivery. It’s a never-ending need.

Educators know all too well the investment necessary to meet these challenges. They effectively infuse the tenets of concepts such as adult learning theory with the latest pedagogy to create a workforce for an organization that will perform effectively and nurture a culture of engagement and trust. Or at least they try to.

You read that correctly, they try to. All too often learning officers find their budgets to be the first ones cut when the financial hammer falls. Training quickly becomes a list of courses that people can simply sign up for with no coherent strategy or integration. Training officials are left with precious few resources to dedicate to the most daunting challenge that any organization faces, the care of its people. One reason for this sadly is that organizational leadership outside of training and development professionals have a distorted view of what is required for education and training. Learning officers on the other hand know the answers. They know what works and doesn’t. They know how to get the most out of the resources they have in order to develop those we depend on.

Here is what they wish everyone knew about their work:

• It requires a deliberate focus.
• Integrated designs are a must.
• Soft skills are the priority.
• A flashy or famous guest speaker is never the answer.
• Rethinking is more important than reskilling.
• Connection trumps direction.
• An a la carte menu approach doesn’t work.

In practice we know that senior leaders in our organizations can be a barrier to these efforts. But to be fair, much of this is because they have responsibilities that draw their attention away from items their human talent professionals find most pressing. This is not to excuse poor decision-making or poor planning but it does create an opportunity for a talent development expert to educate senior leaders on why training and development should take priority. Educators are well advised to capture the imagination of senior leadership by pointing to the data. Research proves beyond any doubt that when our workplaces are diverse, rich in psychological safety, have clear missions, operate by their values and care for their human resources a competitive advantage emerges. Introduce leaders to the data that addresses talent flow (entry, learning, development, compensation, analysis and evaluation and exit). The numbers won’t lie.

Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.” Training professionals know this passage well. They also know the value of preparation and learning. And it’s true that there’s never been a more important time to focus on talent development than today. We are facing a landscape that five years ago seemed impossible. But it’s not. With a modest but firm commitment to our education and training efforts our agencies meet the crucial need of retaining a talented human workforce.

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Author: Patrick S. Malone is the Director, Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University. He is a frequent guest lecturer and author on leadership and organizational dynamics in the public service. His co-authored book Leading with Love and Laughter – A Practical Guide to Letting Go and Getting Real was released in Spring 2021. His new co-authored book Little BIG Decisions – A Leader Imperative for Lasting Impact will be available in Winter 2025. Follow him at sutchmalone.com

 

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