Handbook of Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management, Second Edition

Guiding Learning Portfolios: The Role of the Chief Learning Officer

After a company allocates its learning investments, patterns of learning activity are created which culminate in the establishment of the company’s learning portfolio. As an organization’s learning portfolio takes shape, a learning architecture is created with the hope that what gets learned adds value. Many firms have come to recognize the need to take a systems view of learning and to proactively shape their learning architecture. Many firms have created corporate universities to oversee all learning activities, while others have developed roles for learning strategists and chief learning officers (CLOs).

Companies that are oriented towards the use of computers or information technology to promote learning have created the role of the chief knowledge officer. In some cases the transition to this role merely involved re-labeling previous job titles such as chief information officer or director of management information systems. In general, their focus is on managing and utilizing existing, computerized databases through data mining rather than learning portfolio management.

The role of the CLO is, however, to oversee a company’s learning architecture and ensure that what’s in the portfolio actually matches the architecture. Doing so involves several activities to design, develop, and maintain learning. First is the task of designing the learning architecture in the light of the organization’s culture and learning ...