You probably know that I love quotes, I often attach them to emails, newsletters and I’m always posting good ones on facebook. I tend to get motivated and inspired by quotes so I put the best ones on my office wall!

Here is one I really like – by the founder of McDonald’s, Ray Kroc. “As long as you’re green, you’re growing. As soon as you’re ripe, you start to rot.” It’s a great quote that helps me reflect on whether I’m growing and learning or stagnating and decaying.

So can I ask you –
Do you feel as if you are growing each week in your knowledge, skills and practice?
Do you have mentors around you that support you to learn and stretch yourself?
Do you have a workplace culture that encourages you to learn, innovate and review your progress?

Learning at work is vital because it helps you to get better at your job and allows you to keep up to date with research and best practice. It even helps to motivate you and can improve your job satisfaction. Learning should therefore not be seen as an additional burden on top of your normal workload, but rather something to be welcomed as a means of improving and dealing effectively with your workload.

If you don’t feel there is learning culture at your workplace then here are some simple things you can do.

1. Make learning a daily event and part of everything you do. At the end of the week write a learning journal to document what you’ve learnt that week.
2. Read interesting blogs written by industry experts.
3. Ask your colleagues and clients for feedback regularly.
4. Make evaluation a continuous and honest dialogue not just a formal process.
5. Use team meetings to encourage people to share experiences about their achievements and challenges that week.
6. Organise a special meeting to discuss customer feedback and complaints. As a team discuss the feedback and brainstorm solutions to any negative feedback.
7. Ask for a performance appraisal and tell your manager your learning goals and interests.
8. Give people time (e.g. 3 hours) per month where they are allowed to study, read or attend professional development.
9. Find a supportive coach or mentor to meet with you every month to discuss your work.
10. Once every three months shadow a person in a different part of the organisation so you can learn more about each person’s work and responsibilities.

Developing a workplace-learning environment may mean that you have to work on changing the culture of your organisation. To achieve this, everyone has to realise how important learning is to the whole organisation. When people begin to see that workplace-learning is valued, enthusiasm will grow and people will start to take more responsibility for their own learning.

Have the best week!

P.S. I have been working on a new website and video this month! I am so excited about sharing it soon and showing you what I’ve been up to. 🙂 Stay tuned.

PPS. If you are facing any workplace challenges, please email me. I’d love to hear from you.