If we’re looking at informal learning, as I’m focusing on, we need to look at two types of learning. There’s individual informal learning, and then there’s collective informal learning. For the latter, there are some important distinctions about what helps and what hinders. Let’s look at those factors.
I’ve written about social learning before, an overview of both formal and informal, and the underlying cognitive processes. Here I want to talk a bit about how informal social learning works, and the implications for L&D.
While we can and do learn alone, there’s more power from social learning. Also, of course, there’s a cost: coordinating time can be problematic. However, we can facilitate this in a variety of ways. If we create a social environment where people are naturally communicating, we’re part way there. This isn’t easy, and while there are good guidelines, it helps to have someone with some skills serve as the catalyst to get the community to self-sufficiency. We also should be actively facilitating the processes within the groups. Don’t assume people know how to communicate well: how to ask questions so someone will be willing to answer, and how to answer so that someone will listen!
The benefits from social interaction tend to stem from two things. For one, the ability to see things from a different perspective. Two people may see the same content/event/what have you, and parse it differently. This flows from the contextual nature of our experience. The second is the different knowledge we bring. So it can be the case that one person talking about something triggers a related thought in someone listening who can then provide the speaker with a new concept that has potentially related possibilities.
This plays out in two ways: one is where we’re looking at what others are doing, and can comment or answer their questions. This is more ‘communication’, and as my colleague Harold Jarche points out, requires the willingness to contribute regardless of any personal benefit. It also plays out in collaboration, where we get together (either at the behest of the org or out of some collective need to solve something, e.g. out of a Community of Practice).
Certain things facilitate the best outcomes. For one, it has to be ‘safe’ to contribute. You don’t want to be in a Miranda organization (where anything you say can and will be used against you). It helps to have an overall culture of learning where everyone’s learning alone and together. It also helps if they’re learning ‘aloud’ (ala Jane Bozarth’s Show Your Work), so everyone is disclosing not only their ongoing work, but the thinking behind it. This allows folks to better align and offer constructive feedback.
It also helps to have some serendipitous communication as well. I talk about fast and slow innovation, where the fast is when we assign teams to some specific learning need: problem-solving, research, design, etc. Slow is the ongoing percolation/fermentation/incubation (pick your metaphor) of ideas. Back in the days when we shared offices it was suggested to put the mail room and the coffee room together, fostering the ability for the ‘watercooler’ conversations that spark new innovation. Even virtually, however, we can create some opportunities for informal exchanges, such as opening meetings with a ‘take 1 minute to share the one thing you most want people to know about what you’re doing’, having regular internal sharing events, and of course the ongoing ‘show your work’.
We also know that allowing people time to think alone before they think together, particularly addressing specific problems, helps. If someone presents a solution before others have had time to generate their own, the others’ thinking may be constrained. I’ve previously mentioned this about brainstorming. Not only facilitating the conversations, but developing facilitation skills in others are concrete steps L&D can take.
As I’ve previously argued, informal learning is an opportunity for L&D to move to a more strategic position in the organization. By becoming the facilitators of innovation, L&D primes the pump for organizational thrival. Tapping into the power of people has been a dream that has real requirements, but also a host of potential. Being the catalyst for innovation is a useful (even enviable) place to be. So, are you going to seize it?
HPT Treasures - for Evidence Based Performance Improvement 