The Secret to a Culture of Continuous Learning: Intent

I like to stop at McDonald’s on long road trips. Two cheeseburgers and a large black coffee are exactly what I need to keep alert behind the wheel. I’ve done it for a long time, but in recent years the experience has changed. Instead of a line of teenagers behind the counter, I walk up to a touch screen, tap in my order, swipe my card, and wait until the lone person behind the counter calls my number.

When I worked in fast food in high school, I never would have guessed that someday the scores of teen employees would be replaced by a computer.

No industry is static and safe—Insurance, banking, hospitality, manufacturing, healthcare. All are ripe for disruption and the rate of change is accelerating every year.

In this environment, cultivating a culture of continuous learning should become one of the most important strategies for remaining competitive and positioning your organization for future success.

However, if we’re truthful, managers often allow the tyranny of the urgent to trump developing a culture of learning. We don’t think we have time to address the issues listed above AND develop our people.

But if you’re asking yourself how you’re going to find time, you’re asking the wrong question. It’s not a question of time, but intent.

Lay the Foundation for Continuous Learning

There is often a misunderstanding about what it takes to develop a culture of continuous learning. It doesn’t require a large investment in time or money, nor does it necessarily mean sending your people to conferences or classes.

In fact most engaged managers have the building blocks in place to get started. If you know how to communicate with intention, ask questions of employees, set goals, and coach employees during your one-on-ones, you have all the skills you need.

Employee development opportunities can cost little to nothing. Most growth happens on the job through stretch assignments—those projects that are challenging enough to make your team members a little uncomfortable but not so difficult that you are setting them up for failure.

These projects become even more powerful when the employee receives coaching or mentorship from more seasoned employees, including yourself.

5 Components of a Learning Culture

The foundations of a culture of continuous learning are simple. The trick is to continue to use them consistently, even when project loads feel high and calendars are packed. Remember that teams that are consistently learning are more innovative and better able to address challenging business issues.

1. Communicate

Communication is often the most overlooked component of developing a learning culture. We think that if we assign a business book to read or an online class to take, our staff will understand that ongoing development is important. They won’t.

Managers must convey verbally and in writing that ongoing professional development is critical and part-and-parcel with employees’ job responsibilities. Provide context by expressing that staff learning goals will help them to achieve individual, department, and organizational goals and will prepare them for future responsibilities.

Take advantage of department meetings and one-on-ones with your direct reports to regularly reinforce the power of learning.

2. Ask Questions

Asking open-ended questions is one of the best ways to determine the areas staff members need development. Ask about both needs and wants.

• “What skills do you need to develop to do your job better?”

• “What resources do you need that you don’t already have to accomplish your goals?”

• “What do you want your career to look like three years from now?”

3. Set and Document Development Goals

Many managers set and monitor performance goals with their staff, whether sales, project, efficiency, or other goals. Managers who cultivate a culture of learning also set formal development goals.

Collaborate with your staff members to set individual goals. Prioritize stretch assignments. They may be as simple as asking a team member to practice giving constructive feedback to peers or as challenging as leading a cross-functional team.

Personalize the goals to the unique development needs of the team member. Once you and your team member agree on one or two goals, write them down and assign deadlines. Initially, focus your attention on shorter-term development goals—those that employees can complete in the next 12 months.

4. Coach

Use a portion of every one-on-one meeting with your direct reports to ask about their progress on development goals. (If you don’t have a regularly scheduled one-on-one with every direct report, now is the time to start.)

Ask questions like:

• “What’s working well and what isn’t?”

• “What has been most useful for you?”

• “What was most challenging?”

Also provide constructive feedback on what you have observed. What is working well and what are areas for improvement? Provide specific guidance on any adjustments the employee might make to enhance their performance.

You may also use this time to provide additional resources, such as articles, blog posts, or additional learning you think might be helpful, and to set new goals as appropriate.

5. Model

Managers can’t build a culture of continuous learning if they are not learners themselves. Work with your manager to develop your own goals. Share what you’re learning with your team members.

If you read an article that you found helpful, distribute it to your team and discuss what was useful. Read a relevant book with your team and facilitate a lunchtime dialogue about it. Learning begets learning.

If you are a manager of managers, make sure your direct reports also set goals with and coach their employees. As you get started, you may find that your managers need to learn how to coach better or set better goals with their staff, so focus on these areas for their development goals.

Developing a culture of continuous learning is not difficult, but it takes intent and consistency. Start by communicating the importance of ongoing learning, setting goals, and regularly coaching your employees.

Before long, you and your team will make a habit of learning and, regardless of the shifting winds of your industry, you and your team will be better prepared to navigate them.