We have to talk about learning at work. As I've learned about the function of L&D (Learning and Development), and how noble and necessary a pursuit it is, I've realized four things:
a) I've always performed L&D-style work without knowing it was called that. I'm sure many of us have. Point A: Leaders of all types are probably performing L&D work at some level (or at least they should be).
b) As an offshoot of Point A, the reason I always naturally created and implemented L&D strategies was that I always saw a need for them, regardless of the title or function of employee I was managing. Point B: L&D is vital for professional development at any stage.
c) I could always easily tell that L&D was the best way to help employees connect strategy to execution. Employees with L&D programs far outperform employees without them. Businesses are better off when their employees are working on professional development and growing their skill set, versus when they are not. Point C: L&D has enormous business impact.
d) L&D doesn't always get the spotlight it deserves, which means it is often underutilized or it doesn't have enough resources dedicated to its strategies. It also may get pushed to the back-burner because companies don't realize how impactful it be on revenue. Or some executives think the people who execute L&D programs are order takers rather than strategic advisors. All of these thoughts are erroneous and harmful to the business; alas, they are evident at companies all over the globe. Point D: Companies do not prioritize L&D as much as they should.
I think a key part of the misalignment between the importance of L&D and its prominence in corporate structures (or lack thereof) is a lack of education or understanding around what L&D is - and how it can make literally everything better.
Let's start at the beginning.
What is learning?
Learning does not end once we finish our formal education. The last day of school isn't the line in the sand where learning ends and real life begins. Real life is learning. If you aren't learning, you aren't growing. If you aren't learning, you aren't improving. If you aren't learning, you're staying still while the world continues moving forward. Learning is a lifelong pursuit. There is no beginning and no end to learning - it's a constant, continual process with new goals that pop up as soon as the last one was achieved. Learning is inspiring. It's exciting. It's a way to connect with others and the world around us. And it's an absolute necessity. Thankfully, it can happen in any moment. Opportunities for learning are everywhere. And learning can deeply impact your life - if you embrace it.
Learning is the way employees better understand your solution, embody your brand identity, align their efforts to your strategy, and enhance their skill set to be more productive and effective.
At a company, learning is the way employees better understand your solution, embody your brand identity, align their efforts to your strategy, and enhance their skill set to be more productive and effective. What else could you want?
Who owns "learning" at a company?
There are a few different ways to look at this:
Learning is up to each of us. You could try to teach me something, but if I don't understand it, or if I don't apply those insights in the future, have I really learned it? (No.)
Learning is up to leaders. Leaders need to develop their employees - to understand the company (environment), to fulfill the expectations of their roles (current state), and to grow in their careers (future state).
Learning is up to the company. A positive attitude toward learning needs to be fostered and exhibited by the company at all levels - particularly beginning at the top. If a company prioritizes learning, learning becomes ingrained into the fiber of the work culture. Every day, learning is a part of the lexicon, a part of everyone's job, and a part of what it means to thrive at your company.
Within these pillars, learning can also be owned by a particular group. Where the function of L&D lives in the hierarchy of an org chart is debatable (and a constant topic of discussion in the L&D Slack community I'm a part of!). People have various experiences, from L&D being the responsibility of HR or People Ops, to L&D being its own division. Bigger companies might have the resources to set up an entire department devoted to L&D, while smaller companies might not even know what it is or know that it needs its own strategy and resources. I've always worked with small- to mid-sized companies, so L&D unfortunately never had its own department. (I am happy to see this changing and hope to see L&D stand on its own even more in the future.) I've seen it owned by HR and People Ops, but I've also owned it myself as head of communications. The thing is: I've done L&D-related work at every managerial stint I've held, simply because I knew it was important and necessary - not because it was part of my job description. And while L&D as a formal function might be owned by another team, the execution of, attention to, and care for L&D needs to be owned by everyone in the organization.
What does learning look like at work?
Learning will look different at each organization. In some cases you may have formal L&D programs implemented, whereas in others you (as a leader) simply want to monitor your employees' growth and attribute their improvement to their ability to learn.
Here are some examples of what learning might look like at work.
Formally...
Standardized performance review structures
Documented career pathing
Company-wide training sessions
Formal OKR-setting and conversations
Scheduled conversations around skills and competencies
A robust learning management system (LMS), a tool for upskilling
Regular employee surveys, and maybe even client surveys
Informally...
Requiring progressively fewer edits on subsequent deliverables
Producing increasingly more strategically aligned output
Earning more trust and responsibility from your boss
Being able to take part in more strategic conversations
Obtaining promotions and other accolades that recognize growth and achievement
Sharing resources and stories freely across the company
Holding debriefs after projects and reflecting on various experiences
Implementing feedback and insights for future success
When done well, learning is a part of many conversations - not just formal reviews. The company values learning and organizes resources around it. Learning becomes a way of life. A way of doing work. It becomes essential to the work you're doing. How can we work if we don't learn? In this ideal scenario, there is no other way.
When done well, learning becomes a way of life. A way of doing work. It becomes essential to the work you're doing. How can we work if we don't learn? There is no other way.
How can we improve learning opportunities at work?
Opportunities are all around us. They exist in formal structures as well as in casual interactions. We can learn from anything - if we take the time to reflect on it, understand it, name an action item, and implement that action item thereafter.
Here are some ways to improve learning opportunities at work:
At the company level - Ingrain learning into your work culture. Make learning, growth, or innovation a corporate value. Run company-wide trainings promoting the skills you wish to enhance, such as communication, leadership, conflict negotiation, and emotional intelligence. Reward the behaviors you want to reinforce (where learning is happening!) and teach your employees how to be lifelong learners.
Among leaders - Embrace teachable moments. When a team member shows growth, celebrate it. When you see an opportunity for growth, give it attention and care. Be a role model by being vulnerable as you grow yourself. Create an environment where it's okay to take chances and fail because there is a lesson in everything. When an employee does something wrong, ask what they learned and what they'll do differently next time. Frame your conversations constructively about growth so your employees know you care - not just about work getting done but also about their professional development and their ability to learn and grow.
You - When conflict arises, don't get furious - get curious. Seek to understand situations and empathize with people. Work to appreciate diverse perspectives. Look at your work as objectively as possible so you can take a step back and embrace learning when the chance arises, rather than letting defensiveness or personal attachment stunt your growth. Embrace learning and find the joy in achieving small gains each day.
Learning can be formalized, but it can't be forced. It is an intrinsic process that has extrinsic value - when insights are put into action. Learning isn't something that we stopped doing when we finished school - it's a lifelong pursuit to be even a little bit better at something than we were yesterday. And it's up to all of us to embrace learning, to cultivate a culture where learning is encouraged and celebrated and enjoyed, to lean into teachable moments, and to humble ourselves in the face of valuable life lessons.

Comments