Every company aspires to have a strong learning culture – one where curiosity is contagious, ideas flow freely, and people learn because they want to, not because they have to.
But even the most promising learning initiatives fade without something to keep them alive. A new platform, a learning campaign, a leadership message about growth – can be a great start, but there may need to be more to obtain genuine engagement.
The shift can happen when learning becomes an invitation instead of an instruction. And this is where communities of practice can come into play. Coined and defined by Etienne and Beverly Wegner-Trayner, communities of practice are formed by “people who engage in a process of collective learning in a shared domain of human endeavor…who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.”
Terms such as ‘team,’ or ‘group,’ are sometimes used synonymously with communities. But where groups and teams are connected by communication and tasks, a community of practice is more about autonomous and joint learning by it’s members. They have a shared domain of interest, and by pursuing that interest through activities and discussions, sharing resources, experiences and tools, they learn and grow together.
Start Here
You may have communities of practice already sprouting up in your organization – when your team starts a monthly “share what you learned” lunch or your managers start a Teams channel to swap best practices on supporting employee engagement, these are organic communities developing and growing.
Recently in our own company, we’ve been intentional in setting aside time to meet within our core functional teams. The goal of these set times is to work together to formulate new ideas, strategies, or processes to continue to support our company’s overall mission, vision, and values. While more formal, it’s becoming part of our overall learning and development strategy to achieve desired and shared outcomes.
Take a moment and consider your own team, department, or company. Are there already active communities of practice? Are there some formal, and some that are simply happening? There could be an opportunity to nurture those communities and start to name them and make them part of your learning ecosystem!
Expand: Cross-Functional Learning
As communities gain traction, they start to connect people who might never cross paths otherwise. We host a once-a-month, company-wide meeting to share the experiences and learning of our core teams. This allows us time to surface patterns, talk through opportunities, and spark innovation in ways that traditional learning doesn’t always create the space for.
At a time where the half-life of developing a skill is shrinking – and keeps shrinking due to gains in digital technology and artificial intelligence, communities of practice are an effective way for organizations to upskill and reskill workers, and bridge the gap between individual knowledge and organizational learning.
Evolve: Creating Growth
Even the strongest communities can lose momentum. The energy fades when discussions go quiet, leadership changes, or priorities shift. But as with any learning, having a plan on how to evolve and continue to create connection is where a strong learning culture begins to thrive.
One way that our leadership continues to steer our communities is tying our goals and actions back to the beliefs, attitudes and values that make up the shared vision of the company. This refresh on our purpose helps us stay aligned with evolving business goals, and also creates an opportunity to dialogue with other teams and spark fresh ideas.
In your communities of practice, take time to rotate leadership so new voices can shape the conversation or focus. And don’t forget to celebrate outcomes! Highlight what the community has influenced or improved, recognizing patterns of behavior and new areas of learning or knowledge sharing.
Part of establishing a learning culture may be noticing what’s already there and connecting it with more intention. Recognizing naturally occurring communities of practice, or recognizing the need to establish them, can be a small shift that helps build a more cohesive, responsive learning environment.
Reflection Software’s approach to learning and development centers on designing learning ecosystems that connect people, technology, and content in ways that create adaptive communities. Where can we help you identify where learning is already happening in communities, or where it could happen, and what would it look like to support that as part of your learning culture?
