goal setting

learning culture -part 2

I came across some good self check questioner to evaluate organization culture promotes/demotes learning.
This i got from different source ,not sure from where i picked this up.

Learning Culture Self-Audit
Pro-learning culture	Anti-learning culture
People at all levels ask questions and share stories about successes, failures, and what they have learned.	Managers share information on a need-to-know basis. People keep secrets and don’t describe how events really happened.
Everyone creates, keeps, and propagates stories of individuals who have improved their own processes.	Everyone believes they know what to do, and they proceed on this assumption.
People take at least some time to reflect on what has happened and what may happen.	Little time or attention is given to understanding lessons learned from projects.
People are treated as complex individuals.	People are treated like objects or resources without attention to their individuality.
Managers encourage continuous experimentation.	Employees proceed with work only when they feel certain of the outcome.
People are hired and promoted on the basis of their capacity for learning and adapting to new situations.	People are hired and promoted on the basis of their technical expertise as demonstrated by credentials.
Performance reviews include and pay attention to what people have learned.	Performance reviews focus almost exclusively on what people have done.
Senior managers participate in training programs designed for new or high-potential employees.	Senior managers appear only to “kick off” management training programs.
Senior managers are willing to explore their underlying values, assumptions, beliefs, and expectations.	Senior managers are defensive and unwilling to explore their underlying values, assumptions, beliefs, and expectations.
Conversations in management meetings constantly explore the values, assumptions, beliefs, and expectations underlying proposals and problems.	Conversations tend to move quickly to blaming and scapegoat with little attention to the process that led to a problem or how to avoid it in the future.
Customer feedback is solicited, actively examined, and included in the next operational or planning cycle.	Customer feedback is not solicited and is often ignored when it comes in over the transom.
Managers presume that energy comes in large part from learning and growing.	Managers presume that energy comes from “corporate success,” meaning profits and senior management bonuses.
Managers think about their learning quotient, that is, their interest in and capacity for learning new things, and the learning quotient of their employees.	Managers think that they know all they need to know and that their employees do not have the capacity to learn much.

learning - self virtue or can it be imparted?

On job learning. while discussing about learning management systems,one of my colleague stated that 'learning  should a self initiative . I agree to that to some extent ,but i believe that's part of organizations culture.
How to create that Learning organization? Is it needed? should organizations spend on learning and development of employees?   How do you make your team develop and how do you make your team to embrace learning.

Learning is a constant process. we learn everyday ,and that's how we grow. As a leaders you have to question your self ,how much time I'm spending on learning? Are we creating right environment for the team . Are we encouraging people who are constantly improving their skills. Many times mangers think ,ok this person is doing his job right,i don't see he requires any more training . Or some times they may get request for trainings which they feel will not be needed for that particular position that person is holding.

How to develop a Training strategy for your team?
I feel that we should focus training strategies on personal development plans + creating a meaning full alignment with your company's /projects interest.

1.Talk to people.. Higher management and  your team. Understand what  your business priorities are. Innovation , development of new products/services    , embracing new trends in industry are needed for every industry and this requires people with new /upgraded skills.
Talk to people to understand their personal development plans. Some employees may not be clear on what they want to be down the time. have mentors to guide them or guide them to explore and understand what their core strengths are ,how they can enhance them.

2.Sharing is good: organize informal trainings. Let people speak about their best practices they are following.
creating Technology focus groups ,and arranging group meet ups regularly ,sharing lessons learned will be beneficial . This will help in employees focusing and coming up with innovative solutions on common problems they are facing.

3.Arrange meet the business folks : I mean here real end users,who uses your products are services.This sounds crazy. But it works. Technology folks live in their silos. And sometimes business folks does not know that some small problems they are facing can be solved easily . allowing a interaction will work wonders.

4. Motivate: motivation is key. Motivate your team to learn. How can they be motivated? use awards /rewards/perks etc.  Recognize their efforts.

5.Get  time : Largely heard complaint is that 'we are interested,but you know what we don't have time' .Take a look at your team utilizations . See how many hours can be spent on training per quarter. Plan your training schedules accordingly . If it is not possible to spend at least few hours on training ,then it  must be time for you to do a risk assessment and planning.



Happy learning!