How to Support and Challenge Learning in a Meaningful Way

I am sure we have all been in the situation when we shared something that we learned and were super excited about with someone and their reaction was not what you were expecting. Not to say that everyone should agree with you and do things your way, but there is a way to make people listen to new ideas and opposing view points. When we talk about learning, this is very important because we are all here to improve ourselves and our organizations - what's the point if you can't get them to buy into what you are selling? Good leaders should be able to actively listen to new ideas, challenge and question these ideas, give feedback to help push further, and model the behaviors/skill set/talent you are looking to promote. 

Active Listening > Challenge/Question

I am linking these two together because it is really impossible to ask the right questions without active listening. I have had the pleasure of working with some great listeners but have also worked with some not so great listeners. From my experience, active listening in planning stages leads to much better implementation. While you cannot foresee every issue, active listening allows people to ask thoughtful questions and challenge any assumptions that may cause problems down the road.

Constructive  Criticism/Feedback

When critically evaluating a new process, it is normal - and I would argue better - to disagree on things. If groups come together and all have the same thoughts, outlook, ideas, etc. you have to imagine they are forgetting something! The more important thing is to challenge and discuss in a manner that if effective for the group. If you irritate people, they are less likely to listen to the huge point you made - that's not good for anyone. 

I love this blog post on how to give constructive feedback to colleagues!

                                 

Modeling Behavior

How frustrating  is it when a new process is announced and most people are doing it but some are not or maybe everyone must change but management is exempt? It is really important that leadership is modeling whatever changes are taking place - it will help others see value in the change. If leadership is not modeling behavior, lasting change is going to be harder to achieve. While buy-in from the whole group is an unrealistic expectation, it will be important for those who believe in the change to model behavior, this will help to create buy-in.  Recognizing that this is a process, and it may be a very slow process depending on your organization's resistance to change, is important. The people that are most inspiring (to me at least) are the ones who are doing something I want to achieve - if you can pull on that feeling to inspire workers you will tap into inspiring people to become a part of your change! 

'Best in Class' Learning Organization Charcteristics

A clear definition of a learning organization doesn't really exist - however most scholars agree the organizational learning is 'a process that unfolds over time and [linked] with knowledge acquisition and improved performance.'

After reading 'Building a Learning Organization' - these are the five activities they list that learning organizations do:

1. Systematic Problem Solving - Using scientific method, getting data, using statistical tools to organize data
2. Experimentation - Search and test new knowledge, use with systematic problem solving
3. Learn from Past Experience - Review past failures AND SUCCESSES, review systematically, record discoveries in a form that will be informative to company employees
4. Learning from Others - Being able to look outside your organization and learn from where others are excelling 
5. Transferring Knowledge - Spread knowledge quickly and efficiently throughout your organization, Ideas carry more weight this way

While I love this list, I think the following items could be added/included as well:

• Adaptability - The way things change in our world, you need to be able to change and you need to be able to do so fast
• Generational/Global Awareness -  Today we work in a time where more generations are working together than ever before and globalization is happening faster than ever, this means that we are working with more different types of norms/behaviors than ever before - being aware of this and knowing how to bridge gaps is an awesome tool
• Tying Learning into Incentive Programs -  If a company provides incentives to those who truly excel in the workplace, it sends a strong message that they value learning, this can help reinforce learning into organizational culture

1. Building a Learning Organization

Fostering Meaningful Conversations in Teams

We have all been part of a team where one person drives the conversation and you can't get your two cents in or maybe a boss who dismisses your idea right after you shared it - what can we as leaders and facilitators do to create an environment where meaningful conversation happens? 

    To successfully communicate with your team - you first need to be able to listen to your team.

Listening is one if those things people don't really think about as a skill - we spend A LOT of time everyday listening to things - how can you possibly be bad at it? There are different degrees of listening and to foster meaningful conversations in teams - active listening is paramount.

To effectively facilitate meaningful conversation in a group - good leaders and facilitators need to have good listening skills. These skills allow you to observe and direct conversation as needed. If people know you are listening to them (really listening to them) that creates an open work environment that encourages the sharing of information.

All of this leads to another important thing in facilitating meaningful conversations - asking the right questions! If you aren't listening, you won't know the right questions to ask to direct the conversation. Focus on open-ended questions that will continue your conversation - why did you.... what caused.... etc.

Meaningful conversations don't happen when one person does all the talking - it comes from collaboration with everyone involved.

Are Organizations Approaching Learning All Wrong?

I am sure we have all attended work place training that is either Stage One or Two - maybe Stage Three...

Stages One through Three all seem to be the typical things you think of when you hear that you are going to 'Training' at work. Lucky for me, I get to go to some stage one training tonight (not)!

Tonight I am looking forward to two hours of someone talking to me about Christmas products to make sure we are all prepared for the holiday season. After the meeting, some flyers will go up in our back room as a reinforcement of what is talked about tonight. Besides the flyers, the material tonight will rarely be revisited and employees will be expected to retain the knowledge and pass it on to customers. The problem with our training tonight is that we are shoving 20+ people into a small space who want to catch up with those they haven't seen in awhile and have to work tomorrow. Most of our training meetings usually go the same way - people visiting while the trainer is presenting, people shhhh-ing each other, people trying to leave early because they are thinking about work tomorrow. All of this results in the same thing - people thinking about other things and not focusing on the material. We do not have culture/environment that inspires/promotes learning. Much of the material at work that I have learned and retained has not been taught at these monthly meetings - but rather from chatting with co-workers, asking questions when I had them, and experience with the product.

While I recognize that a more traditional training (Stages One - Three), can be effective in the workplace - I think it's really important to consider a company's culture when building training programs. 'Stage 5' might not always be the most effective approach to teaching materials - and that's OK, but this needs to be considered when you are dealing with learning in the workplace. If you do have more traditional training sessions - How can you reinforce that training so people don't lose it? How can you make it interesting? How can you make it relate-able?

I love the above diagram because it incorporates the value of learning! I am not excited about the training that I have to go to shortly because I know there is going to be little information that I will take-away from it due to the challenges listed above. Even though I am not excited - I am still expected to know the information as part of my job - it will be up to me to ask questions, reference flyers, etc. to get any information that I don't take away tonight. Since I am seeking out that information myself, I will place a higher value on it - I am taking the time and energy to learn something myself after all! I have been sharing tidbits from my St. Thomas classes with the lady who doing the training tonight so it will be interesting to see if tonight is any different from past meetings - but she can't change the culture of our shop alone.

For me, the takeaway is that training and learning in the workplace are a necessary thing - some people might love it and be excited for it and others will hate it - but there are things that can be done to make learning fun and feel less like traditional training that we all dread. Are organizations approaching training all wrong? Clearly, some of them are since I am going to a training session tonight that I will (most likely) take away little information from. The bright side is that 'training' is evolving - maybe faster in some places and slower in others. Either way, some progress is better than none!

Is learning in the workplace important?

Why is learning important in the workplace? This answer is probably a little different for everyone - some people may love it, some people may even feel it is more of a 'chore' - but either way learning is something that happens everywhere no matter where you work. We are in an age of technology where things are changing faster than ever - the need to adapt with those changes are more important than ever. Your favorite app could change over night and the fact that you have to learn something new things is scary for people.

All these changes in technology affect people both in their personal life and in the workplace. Learning in the workplace could mean learning a new work flow or learning a new computer program - there are tons of ways that learning comes into play at work - even if it is just learning how your new boss likes their coffee ;). I feel that the more you are willing to learn, the more adaptable you are - and being adaptable in this day and age is a major advantage!

My Top Five Reasons Why Learning in the Workplace is Important:


1. Improving Performance/Building Self-Esteem: When people learn in the workplace, it not only improves or creates a new skill set, it makes people feel more secure in their own knowledge base. The feeling of the unknown or being unable to to complete daily task is a very bad feeling and creates uncertainty. If learning can be incorporated to help reduce uncertainty and build self-esteem it's a win-win!

2. Keeping-up:  Today it is important to keep up with the latest and greatest - whether that's computer programs, laws, regulations, trends, etc. If you aren't meeting your current customer's needs, there is someone who is looking to. Even individually, the fast paced change we live with now has given people more agility with their personal careers. With all the job websites, there is always places to look for new opportunities - of course this can be a double-edge sword if you aren't keeping up with things - it's just as easy to find someone new to do the job.

3.  Employee Satisfaction: Happy workers are the best workers - people who like their job, feel confident, and want to come to work makes for a better product. Especially for those who are providing customer service as a job - employee satisfaction is so important. Employees who are representing a company with customers become the 'face' of the company - making sure those employees are happy is vital - if people feel unsure or uneasy, that will show in the interactions with customers!

4. Building/Retaining Talent: If you are taking the time to train/mentor employees - you want to have retention for all the time that time/effort you put into shaping them. What is the point in spending resources (time, money, etc.) into building someone's career only for them to take their talents and the lessons you taught to another company? It is important to offer incentives - but also to remember that incentives can be intangibles like happiness or employee satisfaction.

5. Improving Those Around You:  Co-workers can offer a wealth of knowledge that can be shared and used to improve those around you. It's important to share knowledge to help your peers - if you co-worker knows how to complete a task 20 minutes faster than you, if you learn their process, you are gaining time and knowledge. It is also important to share ideas with those around you to prevent duplicate work - if you have already done something, there is no reason for someone else to re-create the wheel.