In the context of digital transformation it is important to understand the role of leaders as drivers for change and learning. They are expected to act as role models for use of new technologies and mind sets. They promote digital change with a participative leadership style, preferably guiding autonomous workers instead of instructing them.
They also give and receive feedback and act as the champion of the whole project of digital change, be it small or big changes. Listen to Charlene Li in this video to hear more about why leaders in a digital world should start giving up control.
It could be interesting to identify who has leading functions in your company. A talk with them could reveal how they perceive their role and which skills they think they need to facilitate digital change processes and the competence development of staff. This link on skills for digital leaders gives you some input for your discussion.
For a self-assessment you could look at the following conflict scenarios and decide how you would react.
After having talked about the qualities and skills of a leader in the digital economy, there is another skill worth mentioning: To see businesses as learning organisations.
This is all the more important in times of information as basis for progress and continuous digital transformation. Knowledge creation, acquisition and transfer require a supportive and open environment. The following video introduces the “learning organisation” idea.
Workplaces can be supportive learning environments at the same time. To check whether your workplace or those of your employees meet usual learning needs, you might want check the typical characteristics of learning here.
And right after if you want to start changing a few things, we advise to check the techniques for supporting learning in the workplace as described in this document.
Working and learning should go hand in hand and not be seen as distinct activities. As an introduction, you might find this video interesting, where Jane Hart, a learning expert, explains modern workplace learning.
These information will be helpful to you to translate the advantages of work-integrated learning to your colleagues and raise their responsibility for it.
Next to internet research, webinars and web-based trainings for micro-learning directly at the workplace, there are new forms of learning based on advances in technology. To get a quick overview about those you might want to inform yourself here.
To make yourself familiar with a concrete method of work-based learning, this article might be useful. It explains the method of on-the-job training. You will directly be convinced by the simple approach to use the existing environment, tools, and skill training available in the workplace to train employees.
Watch this video to get an idea about how technology can be used to promote learning. In this article you will find even more ways for utilizing technical applications in employee training.
Bridging the Gap, Part 2
Techniques for Supporting Learning in the Workplace
Abstract
Our organizations are not as good as they should be at supporting individual and team learning, but we can improve with some relatively simple steps. Those steps include learning new ways to have fruitful, safe conversations; mining areas of conflict and tension for all they can teach us; designing learning processes
into work activities; and supporting individuals as they grow and develop.
Use this self-test to find out what you remember from the training above.
Or you might need to go back and check again.
