Learning Playbook for Organisations (Atomic Essay Day 15)
I have been fortunate enough to work with organisations who have contributed greatly to my learning journey. Here are 4 simple ways in which organisations can be more learning centric -
Provide infrastructure: Infrastructure can mean equipment like DSLR cameras, mikes or even a good internet connection and an inspiring studio space. Organisations can afford infrastructure that is hard for individuals to access. And for certain kinds of learning, infrastructure is the best kind of fuel. I remember my time at Quicksand and my interest in photography really peaked because I had access to the studio's Canon 5D - something I'd take out for a spin quite often.
Gather resources: Books, magazines, newspapers, reports, online courses. Any inspiring material to read, watch, listen can come back in multifold. I remember spending hours at the college library and reading about everything from psychology to art.
Organise learning sessions: workshops, webinars, show and tell, masterclass, conferences, reflections. Sessions organised for the team or organization around learning. These require high effort and planning but go a really long way in building that learning culture in your organization. My friends at Lumiere have Learning Mondays - an hour they spend every Monday to learn something new as a team. I remember Quest Alliance used to have a similar monthly cadence for learning Mondays during my time there.
Assign a learning budget: from conferences to books to workshops providing a learning budget to employees helps them hone skills which directly add value their work but also pursue interests outside of work. At Openhouse I have used this to fund personal training sessions and my tablet weaving workshop among other things. I came across a tweet on something similar by Obvious.
Maybe time to build a longer playbook - what’s say? Have some ideas or want to talk about it?
Holler at me!