Accelerating Learning in a Human System (Part II)

Photo by Fiona Art

In part I, I wrote about individual and collective learning and the broader aspects of accelerating learning in a human system. Here I focus on the seven core elements.

So what might an organizational learning infrastructure look like?

Imagine a food recipe that lists the ingredients, but does not provide concrete directions for how to actually prepare the dish. Some may find such a recipe insufficient or confusing, while others may enjoy the freedom and flexibility. My purpose is to provide essential ingredients for a learning infrastructure without resorting to biased prescriptions because I believe that the approach (taste, flavor, smell, texture) you opt for should depend entirely on your organizational context and goals.

Think not linearly, but in terms of continuous learning loops because individual learning happens in loops. For example, a learning loop could look like this:

1. someone decides to learn / develop / change X
2. learns about X from a peer or an expert
3. practices what was learned in a safe container
4. applies this to a real challenge within the organization
5. gets feedback, reflects on the experience, and generates tangible insights
6. integrates insights and possible emotional, intellectual, or behavioral shifts, which leads to
7. charting a new path (i.e. another learning loop)

Now what happens when 100 (or 100,000) individuals travel through 100 (or 100,000) learning loops within an organization all the while bumping into, interacting with, and partaking in one another’s loops? Magic, criss-crossing of loops and journeys, cross-pollination, serendipitous encounters, conflict, wild discoveries, grandiose mishaps, accidental joy, chaos… This interweaving of individual learning loops seamlessly re-shapes the organizational tapestry. Individual AND collective capacities expand, and the Whole adapts and evolves unpredictably, imperceptibly.

So kickstart these learning loops and accelerate learning in your organization by mixing and matching these seven essential elements.

Seven Essential Elements

Peer learning

Learning from others is perhaps the most powerful type of learning. Design ways for people in your organization to connect to, share with, and learn from one another. For example:

• Learning pods (4–6 people): take inspiration from Enspiral and make it possible for people to form small learning and support groups.
• Pairs: partner people (who want to) with ‘accountability buddies’, or ‘peer coaches’ to provide an intimate layer of support as well as a sense of connectedness. Switch pairs every quarter or so.

For a more robust process and program, review the Huddlecraft model.

Communities of practice

Communities of practice (CoPs) mean different things to different people, and in fact some of the elements mentioned here are frequently found within a CoP framework (for example, a CoP frequently enables peer learning). I mention them separately because you could conceptualize your entire learning infrastructure as a community of practice with sub-domains, or as multiple nestled CoPs.

To get a flavor of how CoPs might work, check out the Communications Dojo, Intentional Society, or Building Belonging. And for a network of CoPs, take a look at the Presencing Institute hubs, or the Art of Hosting global community with multiple regional sub-groups.

Individual intentionality and reflection

Corporate HR departments use “career plans” and “individual development plans”, and other similar gimmicks that are tied to compensation and performance management, which ultimately misfire because they are fundamentally paternalistic and punitive in nature.

Toss them, and let people take charge of their own learning and development. Anchor individual intention setting, learning, and reflection in Boyatzis’ Intentional Change Theory model. Create space for people to do their own exploration (having ‘peer coaches’ could be really helpful here), then link that up with the other elements in easy and practical ways so that they can design and wander across different learning loops.

On-the-job learning

Many organizations quote, but very few actually follow, the 70–20–10 framework, according to which 10% of learning comes from courses or formal training (i.e. learning from experts outlined below), 20% of learning comes from other people (i.e. peer learning), and 70% of learning comes from addressing and then reflecting on actual challenges in our everyday work. In other words, learning doesn’t stick until applied and tested in a real-world situation. For example, let’s imagine that people within your organization enroll in courses and participate in a community of practice on interpersonal conflict, and yet, when actual conflict arises in their team, which is inevitable, it remains unaddressed and simmers below the surface. That’s a missed opportunity.

On-the-job learning (also known as learning in the flow of work) is so basic that it gets ignored. You need to be intentional, and mix it appropriately with the other elements. An Everyone Culture provides a multitude of examples from “deliberately developmental organizations” (organizations that have a deep focus on their employees’ growth) such as “daily case” — a practice at Bridgewater where staff come together to discuss, debrief, and learn from something that actually happened on the job that week.

Online platform

Too many organizations turn to technology as a solution to any challenge; however, technology is only ONE element. You can have the best platform, with the best content, and yet, that won’t accelerate learning in your organization if it’s not coupled with the other elements.

An online platform serves three essential functions:

1. Provides a venue for asynchronous learning and knowledge sharing (i.e. supports peer learning)
2. Stores and makes easily searchable and accessible any / all learning resources.
3. Supplements some of the other elements (i.e. think of Slack or Discord that’s used by course participants during a multi-week workshop)

The Sutra platform is especially designed to power deep, transformational learning.

Learning from experts

Organizations tend to overemphasize ‘expertise’ and over rely on bringing ‘experts’ from the outside to teach people how to do things. Expert talks shouldn’t be the main vehicle for organizational learning, but they can certainly add value, when mixed with the other elements:

• Byte-size & micro learning: provide resources such as MindTools where people can read an article, or watch a short video that explains a concept and offers a simple way to practice and apply it in real-time, on the job.
• Workshops: NOT your traditional one-off workshops (which really don’t work because we forget everything in three weeks or less), but multi-week participatory workshops that scaffold learning, allow for continuous practice and application, and combine some of these other elements. Take a look at LeadIN Core as an example.
• Podcasts & TED talk style videos: curate effectively, make widely available and easily searchable, and pair them with other elements, especially peer learning.

Whole-system sensing

So you have some or all of these elements in place, and the wheels are turning. How do you know what works and what doesn’t, on an individual and collective level? Where do you go from here?

You need to allow for continuous interaction, effective input, and feedback loops between the individual and the collective experiences and perspectives. In other words, you need to hold space and create opportunities for the whole system to see and sense itself. You may turn to Theory U and Warm Data for ideas.

What, So What, Now What?

Learning in a human system happens at the intersection of the individual and the collective. If you want your organization to evolve and respond to the ever-changing landscape, you can focus on accelerating the organizational learning within that system by designing a responsive learning infrastructure that stands on seven core elements.

So what are you going to do? What’s exciting? What’s causing anxiety? Where do you need help?

Zarko strives to activate the potential of human systems — a small team, an organization, or a community — by unlocking individual and collective learning and transformation.