How to Build a Culture of Learning (Even Without the Support of Your Org)
Intro | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5
In a healthy organization, learning is a priority. There is time and space allocated for personal development. There is budget for employees to participate in courses and conferences of their choosing. Leaders sponsor skill development and model learning for learning’s sake. And these organizations retain their employees because they recognize the whole person and help them grow and reach their career goals.
When these conditions are not in place — which is often the case, for one reason or another — employees don’t get that confidence boost from knowing their employer cares about their development and is invested in them. They don’t get a much-needed break from the daily grind to focus on themselves and learn something new. They don’t get that validation of their manager being aware of and supporting their growth. And they may worry about being replaced because they are not building skills needed to meet their organization’s priorities.
Photo by Mikael Kristenson on Unsplash
We’ve seen organizations all along this spectrum and know that L&D leaders can sometimes feel paralyzed by conditions that are out of their control. And yet, there are some things we can do — actions that can spark positive feelings about learning and behaviors that are contagious. Here are the five strategies we recommend.
We will elaborate on each strategy in the coming weeks. We find that these techniques make a dramatic difference in how employees perceive learning and the impact L&D can have in the organization, even in the absence of leadership support or additional funding.