Learning is the new way of looking at productivity. To promote a thriving learning culture means that we must look beyond the availability of information and assess how we can get individuals and businesses to grow from it. Investing in learning and development initiatives can result in 11% profit for businesses. We know that where learning happens growth follows. A learning mind is always growing. Then why is it so challenging for so many companies to incorporate and facilitate learning in their culture? Well, other than for the obvious reasons of cost/budget restrictions and risk factors of investing in wrong subjects or people, there are deeper reasons as to why businesses are not able to see the value in learning.
First, many business owners of this day and age are still functioning with a 1990’s mindset. Sounds harsh, but it’s quite reasonable. Read on, as I explain it further when we dive deeper. Even though technology is advancing at a rapid speed, our “way of thinking” is still at the state it was 20 years ago. We’re yet to learn how to upgrade our minds. The fear of change and ambiguity plays a major role in adopting new procedures.
Second, even if business owners/employers have the financial stability or sponsorship support to incorporate learning into their program, they’re often hit with the roadblock of lack of knowledge facilitation expertise. You see, even though people working on the job have lot of knowledge, they’re not the best at teaching others. If anything, training initiatives become more of a burden than an opportunity to grow. This creates a barrier of demotivation for those interested in learning about the job functions.
Third, it all boils down to not having enough self-awareness. We generally tend to blame our surroundings for the reasons for our problems. We must first learn to take a shared responsibility in being more self-aware and look within to find solutions for any existing problems. The more self-awareness we have about our own capabilities and areas of improvement the easier it’ll be to collaborate with others and work together towards solutions. The more aware we become of ourselves, the more mindful we are and open ourselves up to understanding others and look beyond our current space. We become more optimistic and thus open doors to new possibilities.
On the positive note, with technology taking a whole new hike, with the transformations brought forth by AI, enterprises are beginning to realize the value of learning. Technologically advanced companies like Microsoft promote learning of AI through community engagement initiatives where learning happens for all involved – from business users to technical SMEs (Your home for Microsoft AI Tour). Others are working on implementing strategic or experimental learning platforms to promote learning and development. And so, there is certainly a possibility that the idea will spread across other industries as we begin to see the growth and ROI in businesses through incorporation of learning; as long as we see learning not as some mandatory training that employees have to fulfill, rather as an opportunity for growth where we push ourselves beyond our comfort zone and learn something new that is going to add value.
With that great news, let’s be optimistic and work towards finding solutions for our three underlying challenges briefly described above:
1. Fear of change
2. Knowledge transfer strategy
3. Self-awareness and social awareness
Let’s dive deeper!
1. Fear of Change
Adapting to change is a big part of technological transformation. Program managers and change managers play a huge role in ensuring that organizations and people adapt to new changes quickly and efficiently all while mitigating unanticipated risks and impediments. But what about the change of mindset? How do we shift our ways of thinking? Not a whole lot of support is available within organizations to facilitate this, unless directors and transformational leaders informally take initiative in promoting this philosophy while strategically working on improving the culture of workplace. Here is an idea – how about implementing a program to open job opportunities for professionals with liberal arts, psychology and education backgrounds. People with these backgrounds naturally hold a diverse perspective as well as an innate desire to make an impact. Organizational change through learning and development initiatives can be dedicated solely to these experts. And perhaps think about selecting these experts not by the degree they have earned, rather the work they have performed. Because ironically, most of the learning happens through hands-on practical experience, outside of classroom. This will not only serve the business owners or the employers but also will be beneficial for ensuring employees’ well-being and productivity. This level of inclusivity will be a game changer in holistic transformation!
2. Knowledge Transfer Strategy
With larger organizations starting to integrate learning programs within their teams, we are in high demand of training and coaching professionals that have the “know-how” of teaching and knowledge transfer. Seems like professionals with educational backgrounds are going to be in high demand if we continue to move forward with these transformations; or is it? Professions in education, as we know it, are limited to higher education (college/university). But here are some questions to ponder upon. Do you need to have specific skills to be able to teach? Can only those with teaching or coaching backgrounds be considered learning experts? Or can these skills be transferred to other subject matter experts, so that no matter which SME collaborates with which rookie, knowledge transfer is happening naturally? This brings us back to the initial agenda – how do we continue the culture of learning or education beyond college/university, or better yet, as a replacement for college/university? So that learning becomes an ongoing part of human development, where teaching others becomes a shared responsibility rather than dedicated responsibility. This may seem like a far-fetched idea, but if we can accomplish this, industries will thrive in an ever-learning environment. Because guess what? Change is constant and will always be part of our lives, but if we embrace change as a learning opportunity, we will always be ready for anything.
3. Self-awareness and Social Awareness
A nexus that connects us to the first two challenges – self-awareness and social awareness. It’s easy to assess others based on what we believe is right or wrong about that individual. We tend to make judgments about others and the world around us solely based on our past experiences. This is how our brains have been hard-wired to function. This is our built-in survival mechanism installed in the blueprint of our genes. This mechanism keeps us protected but also creates friction with others while feeding our ego. So, while we feel that we stand our grounds being “right” most of the time it damages our spirits because it disconnects us with others. Hence, having social awareness is super-important, especially in the workplace. BUT, before we start building and improving the world around us, it is even more critical to be fully aware of ourselves. The subject of self-awareness is not only limited to psychology. In today’s day and age, having self-awareness is most critical above all. Quite interestingly, the more we learn about our own self, the deeper it gets and the hidden facts we end up discovering become eye-openers. The closer we get to our true self, the happier we become. And that happy energy begins to reflect onto those around us creating a ripple effect. But to get to that state of connecting with our true self requires a lot of effort, dedication and perseverance. It requires us to re-program your mind by erasing the memory of pre-conditioned learning from within our cells. And while changing the genetic structure is not possible, what is possible is to refine the blueprint of epigenetics. We can train our brain to un-learn and re-learn. So, if you think you have learned all there is in grad-school, think again – There is always more to learn. But it starts (or restarts) with investing in personal growth.
To sum it up, in what ways can you promote a learning culture within your organization to help your business grow? Before you start working on a plan, it important to first have a vision for what you’re aiming to accomplish – The clearer the picture the better the plan will be. And while contemplating problems and possible solutions, it’s important to follow a bottom-up approach – find the root cause and work on addressing it before building a foundation or planning a strategy. When we clearly understand the root cause, we begin to connect the dots and open ourselves up to learning more. And lastly, whatever you plan or decide upon, do it with an open mind. Because with an open mind lessons are absorbed easily leading to guaranteed success. A business success is the success for its people and all affiliates. It’s a win-win for all!
Action items:
Use this article as a resource tool and strike up a conversation within your leadership team.
Always remember to celebrate the mini wins every step of the way.
If you have any feedback on this article, please get in touch: rakhishastri@thoughtsandlife.com.
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