Are You Ready to Build a Learning Culture? – Guest blog from Nigel Paine and Michelle Ockers
In his recent book ‘Workplace Learning: How to Build a Culture of Continuous Employee Development’ Nigel Paine argues that the only possible way organisations can navigate the complexities and disruptions of the current environment is to build a workforce that is confident in its ability to learn, wants to learn, and is proud of its agility and resilience.
This is something that many learning professionals aspire to. However, developing a high-performance learning culture is a long way off for most organisations. Many struggle to engage individuals and managers to ensure that learning is transferred from programs to create real business results. A learning culture could be thought of as a learning-transfer rich environment where people are empowered and enabled to learn and improve performance as they work.
Moving beyond a transactional learning environment to build a learning culture can be challenging – yet is entirely feasible. How can learning professionals take those first steps towards meaningful change while continuing with their day-to-day responsibilities?
Confront reality by getting out from behind closed doors and talking to people about what day-to-day work is really like. The goal is to explore the factors that block high performance. Look closely for behaviours that indicate a high or low trust environment.
Trust is a critical condition. An organisation where staff do not trust their managers, or even each other, is incapable of the generosity needed to share insights and build learning across the organisation. Encouraging people to admit mistakes, select appropriate roles at appropriate times in their career and build the skills necessary to progress are, in fact, building a base on top of which a learning culture eventually emerges.
Learning professionals cannot create such conditions alone. However, they can initiate discussions and orchestrate action, starting with engaging their leadership team.
Perhaps the most challenging step of all for the learning team is to get out of the way. The learning team cannot direct and control the learning culture. Its job is to enable and empower, largely handing over responsibility to individuals, their managers and operational units.
Let this be part of your journey towards developing a learning culture in your organisation.
If you are ready to take meaningful action to get started or continue on this journey join Nigel Paine and Michelle Ockers in their Building Learning Culture program running in early August 2019. Find ways you can enable and empower people across your organisation to learn. This is a practical session that will equip you to take action immediately. For further information and registration go to bit.ly/BLCAUNZ.
Nigel Paine works with companies around the world on leadership, creativity and innovation. He was Head of Learning and Development at the BBC where he built one of the most success L&D operations in the UK. He is the author,amongst other books, of Workplace Learning. How to build a culture of continuous employee development. www.nigelpaine.com
Michelle Ockers is a leading contemporary practitioner and contributor to the learning community in Australia and New Zealand. Her extensive experience includes building a learning culture at Coca-Cola Amatil and strategic leadership on learning transformation at Qantas. www.michelleockers.com