Companies want their employees to refine their skills, adapt, and offer up valuable new ideas. With ‘career growth opportunities’ cited as the number one reason employees leave a company according to a 2024 Gallup study, strong workplace cultures showcase learning and growth as the norm. While many organizations rely on formal training programs, these often become ‘check the box’ activities rather than knowledge building. In reality, subtle everyday practices can change a culture and generate a growth mindset within a company ecosystem. Here’s five practical ways for leaders to cultivate a culture of learning at work.
Prioritize Autonomy
Taking on a new role requires formal and structured training and guidance. But once employees find their footing, it is important to give space for employees to self-direct. Real learning occurs at the cusp of knowledge and the unknown. Organizations need to create an environment where both ambiguity and comfortability can coexist. Leaders should give the framework, tools, and permission to take steps on an unchartered path. Openness creates growth and learning opportunities for individuals to autonomously grow and develop as a professional.
Create Psychological Safe Spaces To Be Wrong
Employees should not feel fear of making a mistake or repercussions of trying something new at work. Great leaders should not dismiss what they feel are ‘bad ideas’ at the onset. Instead, replace “No, that won’t work” with, “Interesting – tell me more about that.” Creating these psychological safe environments will build patterns of critical thinking and in-depth analysis skills that are key components of success for any role. Employees will not take on chances to learn something new if they fear judgement. Learning emphasizes iteration and growth over perfection. Successful companies applaud when employees try new approaches, even if the results are not immediate. Great leaders celebrate progress, not just the end product.
Encourage External Connections
Building strong work relationships within your immediate team and department is important to being a successful employee. However, leaders should actively encourage and support their employees connecting with those outside their primary department. Managers typically have a larger network than their direct reports. They have a responsibility to create opportunities to foster networking opportunities. Normalizing cross-department interactions yields opportunities to share knowledge, think differently, and develop new skills. Successful organizations celebrate employees that share resources, mentor peers, and document new lessons learned across the company.
Demonstrate Self-Awareness And Curiosity
Leaders set the tone for their teams. Modeling curiosity by asking questions, admitting when they do not know something, and exploring new avenues will encourage employees to do the same. When curiosity and learning are valued, it permeates throughout an organization. Don’t forgo this for the sake of time, encourage employees to holistically understand versus just completing a task. Leaders are not perfect. Articulating your own development areas lets other teammates consider skills they want to develop as well. Vulnerability fosters trust and growth.
Connect The Dots
Understanding the big picture and how the pieces fit together is an important part of the knowledge and learning process. Even if an employee is only working on a specific part of an endeavor, it is important that they understand how their work impacts team and within the organization. Great managers continuously connect the dots between small details and the bigger picture. Integrating information
Learning does not need to be solely formal training programs. It can occur in daily workflows. Leaders can encourage micro-learning through reiterating the big picture, demonstrating curiosity, and creating psychologically safe spaces to test new methods. Consistent signals that testing, knowledge-sharing, and incremental progress are valued will yield a learning culture at work. Leaders that embed these subtle, yet impactful, practices will see more engaged employees, faster adaptation, and long-term innovation.