For more than ten years I’ve been working intensively to support the development of effective learning with hundreds of organisations. Over time, I became increasingly fascinated about the impact leaders in these organisations were having on learning culture within their teams. Sometimes this was intentional and positive, but in many cases, it was the opposite. The question I pondered was, ‘what is it that leaders who’ve created an effective learning culture in their teams doing, that their less effective peers are not?’ And why wouldn’t, given the potential benefits that learning can bring, all leaders want to nurture this culture? After all, unless we are open to learning, with all that that brings, we are vulnerable to the ever-increasing pace of change. As Eric Hoffer wrote, ‘In a time of drastic change, it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.’[1]
As a result of my research, it became apparent that there are three major barriers that really undermine the growth of a learning culture in organisations. Not only this, but the presence of these barriers can also inhibit the impact of any formal learning programmes too.
What
I’ve found is that these barriers rarely are found in isolation. Where
processing overload is inhibiting learning, relational trust issues can often
be found too. Team members frequently attribute the causes of processing
overload to the perceived failings of their leaders. Similarly where there isn’t shared clarity
about what high performance represents, then there is a greater risk of
perception gaps opening.
[1] Eric Hoffer, Reflections on the Human Condition (New York: Harper & Row, 1972), p. 22.