Activate the culture, don’t create the event

I remember it clearly. I had a group of 16 enthusiastic managers who had just completed a 3 day manager education class in Sofia, Bulgaria. They were a great class. I still have the Bulgarian cow bell that they gifted me with when they noticed how much energy it took for me to get their attention in their talkative class! As they were saying goodbye, one of their upline managers was lurking outside and as soon as his team member walked out, he confronted him about a client emergency, questioned where he had been and pulled him away from the learning environment and back into the real world. I could almost see the motivation, energy, new learning and enthusiasm leaking out from behind him as he integrated back into the real world of work.

It was because of this experience that at Inspired Leadership, we work so intentionally to engage the upline managers when managers are on their Manager to Leader 12-month journey. And it is because the “real world” is so different from a training room, that we focus on integrating learning into work as it happens.? Together we focus on building a learning culture, rather than a learning intervention.

In today's world, a once off 3 day training event just doesn't work. I am not sure it ever did. I know because I have done them, a lot. I have grave doubts about what gets applied as a result of the 24 hours of face to face learning. Companies need a workforce, both inside and outside the classroom, that's adaptable, innovative, and constantly learning. That's where the concept of a learning culture comes in.

At Inspired Leadership, our core methodology, which is at the heart of our learning journeys activates and embeds a learning culture. We can’t do it alone so we work with committed HR leaders and teams to move the needle on creating a culture where according to Bersin by Deloitte research:

• The likelihood of innovation increases by 92%
• Being first to market increases by 32%
• And employees are 37% more productive

We have multiple intentional approaches embedded in Inspired Leadership that will seem obvious when you see them working, but are unconventional. We would love to explore how we can help you move the needle on creating more than an event!

Author: Angela de Longchamps for Inspired Leadership