This is the continuation of previous post “Building Learning Communities”.
As we move into the mechanism of how learning could be further improved, using some techniques, that would challenge the learners, as well as, the coach; we find that one thing that binds these two at the coaching crucial stage is “trust”.
Trust.
Trust is often not easily obtainable, and neither can it be forced upon to it. Especially within those organizations where focus is more on people and individuals rather than on processes and methodologies, there within those organizations it becomes a critical success factor. In my experience, I’ve seen teams at times being disintegrated from their immediate focus due to lack of trust between team members, and thus creating a mindset gap in learning for not only within the team itself but within themselves. This has a recursive effect on the organization that is trying to move forward. It hampers any success for the group as a whole.
So how do we encourage ‘trust’ based learning?
This is an important question, and mostly missed by a big margin by a lot of individuals. This stems from the simple fact that the organization, which is looking to be structured, and learned wants to learn are actually structured. Whether that learning organization promotes such a healthy culture and builds on that sort of environment. Whether there are tools and people available, who would fuel and enhance that learning experience. There are different ways to look at such a problem. Mostly organizations try to accommodate with what’s available to them or simply put what’s within their reach as they tend to maximize on their existing resources. In the end, all matters come back to the fact of trust. Organizations go with people whom they believe in and have their trust on, and someone who’s the person would have their best interest; therefore, it is always recommended having that person from within the team. So essentially, this needs to come from the organization within, and usually should be top down. Why? Cause then everyone pays attention to what the management has to say. Sounds crass, but that’s the reality of the world we operate in today. Doesn’t matter how less of a hierarchical your organization is.
Next, I’ll talk about Learning Communities & Organizational Preview.
