Getting it Right: Top 5 Learning Organizations

I have spent the last week scouring the Fortune 500 roster, the Non-profit Hall of Fame, and People’s “Sexiest Small Business Alive” list. (I have done no such thing, but roll with me here.) I have been in search of the cream-of-the-crop, elite handful of organizations who are showing the world what “learning organization” really means.

I now present to you my scientifically-validated findings.

1. Deloitte: This consulting giant is so dedicated to learning that they built a learning mecca to it. Deloitte University is a 700,000 square foot facility located on 100+ acres in Texas. It’s like a professional development ranch, minus the cowboys and cattle. Deloitte sends employees on all-expenses paid learning retreats. Excuse me while I go apply for a job at Deloitte.

2. Google: You knew it was going to be on here. Google is ubiquitous on “best-of” lists, and this one is no exception. Google makes the list of top learning organizations because of its 20% time policy, which allows for Google employees to spend 20% of their time on any creative or innovate project they think will benefit Google. 20% time (called 120% time by some – LOL) birthed Google News, Gmail, and other products.

3. The Nerdery: This software development company in Bloomington, MN builds learning right into the foundation of their culture. One of The Nerdery’s Core Values is “Constantly Push Boundaries” – it’s how they innovate and stay at the cutting edge of their industry. Here’s one way that value comes to life through collaborative learning, according to the company blog: "Nerds are encouraged to push boundaries with an online quiz game, DoDat, which challenges participants to identify departments and contributions that keep The Nerdery running smoothly. Nerds are encouraged to seek answers from other teams and departments as they complete their challenges."

4. US Army: General Petraeus wrote “The Army/Marine Field Manual on Counterinsurgency”, in which he speaks to why the military must be a learning organization. “The side that learns faster and adapts more rapidly—the better learning organization—usually wins. Counterinsurgencies have been called learning competitions.” He goes on to share seven suggestions for becoming a learning organization: (1) establish training centers; (2) regularly challenge your assumptions, both formally and informally; (3) Learn about the broader world outside of the organization; (4) Promote suggestions from the field; (5) Foster open communication between senior officers and their subordinates; (6) establish rapid avenues of disseminating lessons learned; (7) Be open to soliciting and evaluating feedback from others. Read more here.

5. Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP): This non-profit national network of charter schools serves 27,000 students through 1,900 teachers. KIPP wanted to empower its teachers to build on one another’s lesson plans rather than working from scratch and duplicating efforts. They created KIPP Share, a knowledge sharing online system that showcases exemplary work from great teachers available to all. Interested in learning more about non-profit learning organizations? Keep reading.

At this point, you are undoubtedly dying to know whether your organization qualifies as a learning one. HBR has already answered that question for you. Who knows…maybe you’ll make next year’s Top 5 list. I’ll be rigorously researching until then.

Happy learning!

Beyond Chit-chat: How to Make Team Conversations Matter

Let's start with a quiz. Which of the following sounds most like your team conversations?

A. Silence....we don't talk to each other much.
B. We talk to each other, but mostly about celebrity gossip.
C. We do a round-robin check-in every team meeting, where everyone provides project updates. 
D. Drama, drama...there's always a conflict on my team. Can't we all just get along?
E. We are like cheerleaders, always celebrating a job well done.
F. We genuinely enjoy talking to each other, and we are always having meaty discussions about our work, with plenty of healthy debate.

If your answer was anything but F, this post is for you. 

Let me be clear: your team does not need to be best friends, you do not need to hang out on the weekends, and you do not have to hug each other unless you want to. 

Ew, don't be like that. However, you do need to look forward to coming to work every day alongside these people. If you don't enjoy working together, your work will suffer. 

When you talk about your work as a team, make it matter. Don't just share one-sided updates - discuss and debate in a way that multiplies the value of the work. Here are a few tips to get there:

• Go to Happy Hour! I know, I know, I just said you don't have to be friends outside of work. But happy hour (or another off-campus gathering of your choice, even lunch during the work day) breaks people out of their norms, lets in a little fun, and can truly go a long way in building relationships across your team. And relationships are the springboard for great conversations. Seriously, Happy Hour - just try it! (Bonus tip: Keep it optional. Forced socializing is a drag.)

• Make each other better. My former boss told us in her first week of leading us that she had an expectation that we make each other better. Setting this expectation built a foundation of assumed positive intent and unleashed us to truly invest in each others' success. This led to deep trust, meaningful dialogue, and amazing growth in the quality of our work and our abilities.

• Ban Minnesota Nice. Say what you mean, and mean what you say. Don't leave people guessing. 'Nuff said. 

• Don't work in silos. Sometimes, a body of work is a one-person job, and that can absolutely be most effective and efficient. I'm not in favor of over-complicating work in the name of collaboration. Yet it's critical that you find ways to "get in each others' business" a little bit to expand perspectives, challenge assumptions, and open up new possibilities in the work. Invite a couple of peers to review your work along the way and poke holes in it. Share a project update in a team meeting and have 3 provocative questions ready to invite some debate and dialogue from your team. Choose a few people to join you in a brainstorming session at a critical point in a project, and make it clear you're happy to return the favor. 

• Embrace productive conflict. Show me a team that can have a respectful but heated debate (and thank each other afterwards), and I will show you a team that kicks butt at what they do. Conflict that produces new outcomes (and 'leaving the meeting in tears' doesn't qualify as a new outcome) is the hallmark of high-performing teams. 

• Ask questions for the team's learning, not your own. Many of us ask curious questions because we are genuinely curious (I am guilty as charged on this one). However, before you ask a question in a team setting, pause and examine why you are asking it. Is it to help you learn something? If so, can the question wait for another context besides a group setting? And instead, what question might you ask that leads to learning for the whole team - one that challenges an assumption, snaps the team out of a rut, or stirs up some of that productive conflict I was just talking about?

Thanks for reading. Now, go schedule that Happy Hour. :)