Over the last two years of the pandemic, companies have had to rapidly evolve their leadership processes and business models to try to keep pace with change. And, let’s face it, it’s change cranked up to 11. Changes in how people work, disruption in the market, and a complete rethink of organizational culture. The old adage “The only constant is change” has never been more apt.
This has driven the need for organizational agility to the top of the agenda. (Our latest L&D report citing 2022 trends notes the need to create resilient, adaptable organizations on Page 15.) So, it’s not surprising that learning and development professionals are being tasked with creating a vibrant learning culture within their organizations. Study after study has shown a direct connection between continuous learning and a company that’s able to act nimbly and stay ahead of the curve.
In our experience, companies that engage in group coaching are able to create learning hubs throughout their organization, resulting in a strong learning culture. And, here are three simple reasons why.
1. It’s Part of the Flow
Off-sites and day-long training sessions take people away from their already busy workdays. Your leaders return to the office, face the deluge and promptly forget what they learned. For learning to be sustainable, it’s got to be within the flow of their work. Learning needs to balance enough meaty content for aha-moments with bite-sized sessions that allow your people to slot it into their busy day.
When learning becomes an active part of a work-life routine, it helps bubble new ideas, new behaviours and new skills to the top on a regular basis, something that it is so essential to organizational agility.
2. It Offers Contextual Learning & Leadership
For learning to stick, it’s got to be relevant. Leadership models and theories are great, but people need to connect the dots between what they are learning, their role in the company, and how it plays into the bigger strategy and company culture. When leaders have input into the skills and knowledge they want to develop, it becomes germane to the task at hand.
Understanding how to apply what we’ve learned to move the needle on organizational objectives is a huge eye-opener for line leaders as well as senior execs. Agility depends on this connection.
3. It Smashes Hierarchies
The difference between laggard organizations and leading orgs? Collaboration. One of the reasons our programs bring together leaders from across functions is to build new networks and break down departmental silos. Each cohort of leaders learns to learn collectively and solve challenges collaboratively. And, then they bring that knowledge back to their teams. Developing the capacity for people across the organization to work together to share ideas and make decisions faster is the underpinning of organizational agility.
Need Help Creating a Learning Culture?
If you’re curious about how The Roundtable can help your organization develop a learning culture where leaders can support each other through group coaching and mentoring, let’s start a conversation. And, be sure to download our 2022 L&D Trends Report for more insights into the issues affecting L&D professionals in the year ahead.
