Learning in Community

I have been pondering the role community plays in learning new skills. I think it’s one of the most effective (and fun!) ways to do so. Why?

"A community is a group of people who agree to grow together." - Simon Sinek

Adults learn best on the job or outside of work through informal learning opportunities. That’s why the World Economic Forum’s white paper Accelerating Workforce Reskilling for the Fourth Industrial Revolution calls for, among other steps, “peer-learning programs across diverse companies.”

Often, we don't share the failures associated with our work. This matters because it's possibly the most powerful learning of all. In peer communities, we can reflect on our failures in a safe space: Your biggest failures, how you coped, what you learned and what you'll be doing differently as a result.?

As Human Resources professionals, we tend to put the oxygen masks on our leaders and employees first, often forgetting to prioritize our own career growth and skill development.

But if we don’t start investing in ourselves now, we won’t be able to support our organizations effectively in the long run. Peer communities are a low cost/low effort way of learning, so why not start there?

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How do you identify the right community for you?

It depends on what you are looking for in a community. Connection? Skill building? Dipping in and out of communities to find out where you belong is totally ok. Can’t find a community that meets your needs? Build one!

I personally am a loyal member of these three groups and here is why:

1. Master’s in Learning and Organizational Change (MSLOC) at Northwestern University . This is the academic community I was “adopted” into by my mentor Jeff Merrell and that I have had the honor of serving for six years. I enjoy complimenting my practice of design thinking with the scientific rigor that this community affords me. Learning with and from our brilliant students (current and former) and fellow faculty is truly special to me. I love how we start basing our initial learning on the same resources, but then explore together how to apply science in real world contexts. It’s an intellectual and creative exercise that helps me hone my critical thinking skills.
2. Design Thinking Zeal. I was introduced to this community by my friend and colleague Stuti Dhandhania. It’s a bi-weekly Zoom exchange hosted by founders Andi Cuddington and Lee Kim . Every session starts and ends with a ritual that connects community members. In between, two guests share a brief, interactive presentation about a design thinking topic followed by small group breakouts. It’s a fun way to stay connected to others who are passionate about design thinking and learn about different applications of the method.
3. HR.Hackathon Alliance . I founded this community in 2017 because there was no community that is dedicated to the application of design thinking in the field of Human Resources. We have grown to 1,700+ community members globally and HR.Hackathons are hosted in many cities. Jeff wrote an article about one of our early HR.Hackathons and described the experience as an example of practical inquiry : “Practical inquiry as defined in the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework is a way of understanding the process of learning as including a triggering event, exploration, integration (combining ideas and converging) and resolution.” [Note: You can read more stories here .]

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Want to dip into the HR.Hackathon Alliance community? Join us on September 29, 2023 for a virtual Q&A about Design Thinking in HR.

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I am curious: What helps you prioritize your skill development? How do you curate your communities? What matters to you in external peer communities?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Design Thinking for HR is a biweekly LinkedIn newsletter that aims to inspire HR professionals to experiment with the human-centered design framework. The newsletter is curated by?Nicole Dessain who is a talent management and employee experience leader, founder of the HR.Hackathon Alliance , and a Northwestern University instructor. Nicole is currently writing her first book about Design Thinking for HR. Join the Early Readers’ Community here .