How do you create an organizational culture that supports and drives learning? Bernhard Stieger, Partner at Kincentric, describes the three key levers for a sustainable learning culture: leadership, employee experience and infrastructure.
Change means challenge. Change requires courage. Change thrives on curiosity and experimentation. And: change is necessary for a successful corporate future – especially in the current fast-moving times, which are characterized by globalization, innovative technologies and new competitors.
For many companies, it is clear that something has to change. After all, values such as continuity and security are no longer enough in the long term to keep up with competitors who have innovation, agility and growth in their DNA. But how can the transformation to an innovative, experimental company succeed? The most important prerequisite for this is continuous, organizational learning at all levels. Establishing this requires an organizational culture that supports and drives learning: a learning culture.
What characterizes a learning culture?
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But what is hidden behind the buzzword learning culture and what does it take not only to create a culture of continuous learning, but above all to establish it sustainably? A learning culture is characterized by openness to new ideas, creativity and a mentality of growth and change. It also enables innovation, agility and continuous organizational learning.
It is important to note that cultural change does not happen overnight. It begins with the formulation of a vision and the definition of priorities and behaviors that are essential for the desired culture and the achievement of this vision. Only then can the actual transformation in the company take place by involving not only the individual employees, but in particular the managers at all levels – starting with top management. A fundamental mindset shift from “we must” to “we want” is therefore required. A shift towards a culture that promotes curiosity and growth and is in line with the business strategy and, above all, with people.
Inspiring managers to embrace a learning culture
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One thing is certain: change means leadership. Therefore, if you succeed in gaining both the commitment and the active support of managers, you will also win over the most important multipliers and accelerators of change. This is the first decisive lever, as managers act as role models through their day-to-day actions and not only exemplify behaviors, but also reinforce them.
But how do you win over the management team? One way is to involve the management level in shaping the change right from the start. This gives managers the chance to better understand why growth-oriented thinking and a management style that supports learning and experimentation are important for the organization. It also makes it clear what goals are being pursued and what steps are necessary to achieve them.
If managers actively live out the necessary behaviours and spread them throughout the organization, this will lead to sustainable change. Because learning, curiosity and experimentation are not learned through traditional webinars or training, but through trial and error, mutual constructive feedback and in an environment of trust and psychological safety.
Useful reflective questions – What culture does your management team represent?
To what extent does your management team promote or hinder a learning culture?
Are you and your managers clear about the behaviors and skills that promote a culture of learning?
How can you specifically support your management team in adapting their management style to the new culture?
Employee experience: anchoring the learning culture in everyday life
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The second decisive lever that promotes the establishment of a learning culture is the consistent and conscious anchoring of the learning culture in the everyday lives of employees. The employee experience, i.e. the day-to-day experiences of employees, should therefore embody the desired learning culture from start to finish: from the first moment when new applicants find out about the company, through onboarding, further development, performance reviews, rewards and promotions, to the day they leave the company.
An employee’s entire time with the company should be characterized by learning. This change is particularly important in the course of generational change, as young talents in particular see continuous learning, personal growth and long-term development opportunities as a basic requirement for potential employers.
Methods such as reverse mentoring or the establishment of an ambassador network not only reinforce the desired learning culture, but also enable young talent and newcomers to be directly involved in the change process.
Useful reflective questions – What is the employee experience in terms of learning culture in your company?
To what extent is learning part of employer branding and the recruiting and onboarding strategy?
What skills are reflected in existing performance management and are learning and innovation part of this?
What development and learning opportunities are available to employees to enable them to continuously develop their skills?
The right infrastructure
The third decisive lever lies in the existing infrastructure, i.e. the organizational structure, the tools available and the company’s office space. A critical examination of these three elements provides insights into the extent to which they support – or hinder – learning, experimentation and innovation. An organizational structure that promotes collaboration and quick decision-making is therefore often less pyramid-shaped and more circular.
The democratization of learning through easily accessible training and learning platforms also supports the learning journey of the individual. Finally, the premises often reveal a lot about the corporate culture, from parallel silent work to collaboration and exchange in creative spaces.
Useful reflective questions – To what extent does the existing infrastructure in your company facilitate learning and change?
What cultural aspects come to mind when you look at your organizational chart? What would an applicant think?
Do all employees have access to regular and inspiring training and learning opportunities?
What kind of work do your offices encourage – quiet parallel work or creative exchange?
Implementing these levers will not transform an organization into a company with a continuous learning culture in a matter of days. However, if it is clear where an organization stands on each of these three levers, a holistic change strategy can be developed on this basis. An initial analysis of the current ACTUAL culture also makes it possible to measure change and manage future success.
Bernhard Stieger is a Partner at HR consultancy Kincentric and Practice Leader for Leadership Assessment & Development in the EMEA region. He is an expert in the design of effective learning and development programmes as well as holistic organizational and leadership development. Photo: Heidi Breuer
