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During the past 40 years, Michael Covert served as president and CEO of four major healthcare organizations, with a proven track record in planning for future needs and creating strong operating platforms to support growth and development. He has been recognized by Modern Healthcare for his leadership of health systems in the US for his ability to influence employee engagement and patient experience; grow operations and financial performance; and lead organizations successfully through challenging situations such as the pandemic, 9/11, and anthrax. Covert has extensive board experience, both internal to the organizations he has served and leadership service to boards of numerous national and state organizations such as the American Hospital Association and hospital associations in Texas, California, and Florida. He has a consistent track record of meeting revenue and operating margin targets, is frequently engaged as a keynote speaker at healthcare industry events, and has been a speaker for the American College of Healthcare Executives at more than 10 congress sessions. Covert is an American College of Healthcare Executives Fellow and holds a master’s degree in health administration and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Michael Covert

July 2023 - TD Magazine

Amid crisis and uncertainty, this healthcare system prioritized leadership development.

Engagement and Leadership Take the Lead

There’s a high cost to the status quo. Formal learning is not meeting the demands of the modern learner, and legacy learning management system tools aren’t enough. What learners want today is the ability to quickly find content when and where they need it.
In part 2 of our four-part series, David Wentworth will moderate the conversation between Michael Rochelle and Tim Donahue as they cover:

why learner satisfaction scores are low and the cost of content development is high
why organizations struggle to deliver relevant content
practical solutions to close skills gaps, including IHRDC’s real-world experiences in a highly regulated industry.


5 Reasons You’re Not Meeting the Needs of the Modern Learner

An understanding of the need for better online accessibility has grown markedly in recent years, perhaps accelerated by the digital shift during the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020. Legislation in different parts of the world has also been a driver of awareness and action.Accessible learning is good for everyone.As an online activity, e-learning falls squarely within the scope of accessibility requirements. But whether you’re responding to a compliance deadline, pressure from customers, or a corporate commitment to diversity and inclusion, it’s well worth noting that designing training with accessibility in mind can enrich the learning experience for everyone, not just those with a defined disability. So, accessibility should be a priority for any L&D professional who wants to optimize the learning experience.Where to start?Unless your strategy is to invest in your own in-house accessibility expertise, the natural first step is to find the right partner to advise and assist you.First, they should understand the requirements of any legislation you need to comply with. Second, if you’re interested in more than compliance—because, let’s face it, ticking compliance boxes is not always the same as taking a best-practice approach— they’ll be able to explain different standards and what you could be doing to transform learning through accessibility improvements. There’s a difference, for example, between a basic screen reader experience, which may be good enough for compliance, and a great screen reader experience, which makes a real difference for usability.Third, they should be able to help you develop a roadmap and a plan to achieve your e-learning accessibility objectives.Consider remediation from the start.Every respectable accessibility improvement plan starts with an audit against the relevant standards to establish what accessibility gaps exist. Once these are identified, the next step is remediation—fixing the identified accessibility issues—so it’s worth considering from the start whether you want your accessibility partner to help you with this.If you’re happy to handle remediation in-house or through a different partner, then it won’t matter if the accessibility specialist you choose doesn’t have specific expertise with e-learning platforms, hosted assets, and content formats. But if you do expect to need their remediation support, it can be a big advantage if they are also e-learning specialists. Consider this carefully before making your choice—and don’t forget that accessibility covers both your e-learning platform and the training content that it holds.Consider the impact of localization.Hopefully, localization is part of your e-learning strategy, since L&D has a greater chance of success when it happens in the learner’s native language. But this means that accessibility testing must cover all the languages you localize into. Even if you’re applying the same accessibility standards across countries and languages (legislative differences may mean this isn’t the case), it simply doesn’t follow that if your e-learning is accessible in one language, it will automatically be accessible in any other.For example, what if your e-learning platform doesn’t accept voice commands in all of the languages you cater to? Or, what if the way you’ve handled forced line breaks for certain Asian languages causes real trouble for screen readers?When you’re choosing an accessibility partner, make sure that they cover all of the languages you need. If they’re helping you with remediation, they also need to know coding best practices that address the user experience from both a localization and accessibility point of view—not compromising one for the sake of the other.Another way that localization and accessibility can go hand in hand is that the right localization partner can make a big difference to your accessibility journey. For example, video accessibility might feel like a big hurdle to clear, but it isn’t if your localization partner also offers (multilingual) accessible content services such as closed captions, signed videos, audio descriptions, and descriptive transcripts.It's an ongoing process.E-learning accessibility isn’t a one-off project that you complete and forget. It takes continuing vigilance and an accessibility-first approach to platform and content development. Otherwise, improvements you make will be undone over time.If you use a third-party e-learning platform or rely on e-learning vendors for course design and development, you’ll need to engage with them to achieve your accessibility objectives. If you do any of this in-house, you’ll need to update your own software standards, guidelines, and checklists, and educate your software engineers and learning designers to put accessibility front and center.There’s certainly a lot to get right when it comes to e-learning accessibility. But that doesn’t mean it needs to be painful. Help exists to make the complex more controllable and achievable. I hope I’ve inspired you to get started.

E-Learning for Everyone: How to Address Accessibility

Join bestselling author Mike Song in this dynamic and engaging webinar as he demonstrates how to harness AI tools like ChatGPT and Copilot to revolutionize content creation. When an unexpected challenge arises, watch as Mike uses AI to craft a class, workbooks, and even a song live! Master great prompts and discover incredibly useful shortcuts that save L&D professionals up to two hours a day while boosting content quality. Transform your workflow and ignite creativity in this unforgettable session.
During this event, you will:

Discover advanced AI applications tailored to enhance L&D workflows and elevate training outcomes.
Master techniques for creating and storing precise prompts to streamline content creation and save valuable time.
Unlock innovative ways to expand creativity and deliver meaningful learning experiences using AI-powered tools.

Primary Capability Covered: Technology Application
Participation in this event, either live or recorded, can be reported for one (1) professional development point toward initial certification or recertification requirements for the APTD or CPTD credential.

7 ChatGPT & Copilot Hacks Every L&D Pro Must Know

As the shift toward hybrid continues and Gen Z makes up a larger percentage of the workforce, traditional training programs no longer meet the complex needs of an increasingly diverse workforce. L&D professionals must re-think their existing upskilling and reskilling programs for this new reality and empower their organizations to successfully navigate the next few years.
Hear from our panel of experts as they share their unique perspectives on what makes upskilling and reskilling programs effective and relevant for their organizations.
In this conversation, we will:

Identify the key elements of an inclusive training program that address the unique needs of a diverse workforce.
Explore practical strategies for customizing learning content and delivery methods to suit different employee profiles.
Understand how to measure the effectiveness of personalized training initiatives in achieving organizational goals.

Primary Capability Covered: Instructional Design
Participation in this event, either live or recorded, can be reported for one (1) professional development point toward initial certification or recertification requirements for the APTD or CPTD credential.

The Future of L&D: Crafting Impactful Upskilling & Reskilling Programs for a Diverse Workforce

Join us for a webinar on how to ensure that all learners—including those with auditory, visual, mobility, or learning issues—can engage fully with your e-learning content. You’ll learn from the unique perspective of of an RWS expert who is herself blind, and from DDI, a global leadership consulting firm actively making their courses more accessible.
Join us to discover:
• Why accessible courses are good for all learners
• What happens when courses aren’t accessible
• Practical ways to design inclusive e-learning
Primary Capability Covered: Instructional Design
Participation in this event, either live or recorded, can be reported for one (1) professional development point toward initial certification or recertification requirements for the APTD or CPTD credential.
 
 

Inclusive eLearning: Designing for Accessibility

The last few years have seen a paradigm shift in how we work: first with the rise of remote work, and now with the rapid integration of AI. The next three years will bring more change than the last 30. These changes are even harder to grapple with for high-stakes industries, where compliance is mission-critical.
Join us as we explore how L&D leaders in regulated sectors are navigating the challenges and opportunities presented by remote work and AI.
Our expert panel will discuss three key themes shaping the future of L&D in high-stakes industries:

The Gen Z Learner: High-stakes industries are one of the largest employers of fresh college graduates. The graduating class of 2025 will be the first class where remote learning and AI are central to their academic learning journey. We will discuss how this new reality influences L&D planning at the highest levels of organizations.
Is Personalized Learning Finally Here? Remote work and AI have opened doors for more tailored learning experiences across all learning cohorts, from new graduates to senior executives. We will discuss what types of L&D investments are appropriate to make in-person versus remotely, and where organizations have found early success incorporating AI.
Ensuring Compliance in the Age of Remote Work and AI: In highly regulated industries, compliance is non-negotiable. Our panel will explore the frameworks and specific strategies organizations employ to ensure compliance when delivering L&D remotely and with AI tools. 

Primary Capability Covered: Future Readiness
Participation in this event, either live or recorded, can be reported for one (1) professional development point toward initial certification or recertification requirements for the APTD or CPTD credential.
 

The Future of L&D: Navigating AI, Personalized Learning, and the Gen Z Learner

ATD Blog

While facilitating leadership development workshops at Emerson (a Fortune 125 company with 90,000 employees in 140 countries), there is an interesting comment I frequently hear: “I did not realize how much time you would give me in this workshop to think!”Is that a compliment or a complaint? I believe most people mean it as a compliment because they are surprised. Most of them haven’t had enough time to think in prior trainings.I’ve heard this comment many times, and it never takes me by surprise. In fact, I would be disappointed if I did not hear it. Most learners aren’t given adequate time to think and reflect when they attend training sessions.Far too many training programs rely on content rather than application and do not offer learners time for intentional reflection. In my 28-year learning and development career, I’ve seen too many programs approach learning by telling learners as much as possible in the time provided. Many of us in L&D call that strategy “ten pounds of training in a five-pound sack.”Fred Harburg, former chief learning officer at Fidelity Investments, sums it up well: “If there is no time for reflection, there is almost no chance for improvement.”L&D professionals want to create value for learners. One of the most valuable activities we can build into the design and delivery of our courses is intentional reflection and implementation planning. To improve our training programs, we must stop talking and pushing content, and let learners think.This represents a paradigm shift for many L&D practitioners. Spend less time on content and more time on intentional thinking and reflection.L&D thought leaders Roy Pollock, Cal Wick, and Andy Jefferson (authors of The Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning) popularized the term “learning scrap.” Learning scrap refers to content covered in a workshop that is never applied. Most L&D programs have a typical learning scrap rate of 85 percent. At best, most learners apply 15 percent of what’s taught in a workshop on the job. If you want to decrease learning scrap and increase learning transfer, build more deliberate thinking and reflection activities into your courses.In his classic book, Learning and Memory, Donald A. Norman writes, “To remember is to have managed three things successfully: the acquisition, the retention, and the retrieval of information. Failure to remember means failure at managing one of these three things.” I argue failure usually occurs at the retention level. If there is no reflection, there is no retrieval. If there is no reflection and retention, do not expect retrieval to follow.This issue is well-documented by Ruth C. Clark, Frank Nguyen, and John Sweller in another classic book, Efficiency in Learning. They refer to this concept as “information fatigue.” We need to give learners more time to process during a training program. The authors’ research shows a lack of time for reflection leads to cognitive overload. Overload implies a malfunction; learning is short-circuited. If a person attends a program to learn, and we cram it full of content without giving them time to think, it’s no wonder learning scrap occurs.Several years ago, I codeveloped a workshop with Michael Watkins (a former faculty member at Harvard Business School and founder of Genesis Advisers) to create a workshop based on his bestselling book, The First 90 Days. Our workshop designed intentional thinking activities that asked participants a series of questions at the end of each module. The reflection activities took between 20 and 30 minutes to complete and consisted of five or six questions. These were not simply recall or comprehension questions, but rather synthesis and evaluation questions (the higher levels of cognitive thinking).Some of the top executives who attended this workshop told me that if I had not built in deliberate time to think, their goal would have been to rush through the course so they could move on to the next thing on their list.Here are some ways to build time for reflection into your programs:
Build thinking time into the design and delivery of every learning program you create, no matter the delivery method (in person or virtual).Resist the temptation to add more content to your courses. Do not fall prey to the “myth of more.” More content at the expense of intentional time for reflection will not improve learner performance. It will diminish it.Remember, the goal is not to give the content. The goal is for learners to get it, which will only happen through the discipline of quiet reflection.If trainers are given the option to talk or let their learners think, many would choose to fill the silence with their own voices, but the greatest value trainers bring to a workshop is knowing when to stop speaking and give learners time to reflect.

Want Them to Learn? Give Them Time to Think

The UCLA neuroscientist Matthew Lieberman calls human connection a superpower that makes people smarter, happier, and more productive. It’s also a superpower for organizations, because greater human connection in an organization’s culture boosts employee engagement, tightens strategic alignment, improves the quality of decisions, and increases innovation. Research has also found that people with greater human connections were associated with a 50 percent reduction in the risk of early death.
The opposite of human connection is loneliness and social isolation, which research has found is on par with a risk of early death from smoking 15 cigarettes a day and more lethal than obesity. Loneliness can cause employees to feel exhausted and burned out, decreasing productivity and overall morale. A national research report in May showed nearly half of Americans feel lonely, and two in five Americans feel they are isolated from others. America is experiencing an epidemic of loneliness.
In this webcast, you will learn:

why human connection is a superpower for individuals and organizations
why loneliness and social isolation combined with stress have a devastating effect on the health of individuals and organizations
how connection converts toxic stress into challenge stress that improves performance
how to create a culture of connection in your workplace, home, and community
actions you can take to boost connections in your life that will help you thrive at work and outside of work.


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