Now more than ever, businesses are quickly becoming affected by fast-paced changes in industry trends, advances in technology, and the amount of people entering the workforce. With these changes, it’s crucial that businesses practice adaptability and make changes within their own team culture to protect their long-term success and sustainability within their industries. Traditionally, business teams have been made up of like-minded people with high-performing skill sets and clearly defined roles. However, the idea of a successful team is changing. Now, there is a large emphasis on building teams that embrace change, rely on creativity, and are always looking for ways to learn more about their strengths, while addressing their weaknesses. Creating a learning culture isn’t always easy, but it helps businesses achieve long-term goals while staying competitive within their specific industry.
When you’re ready to make steps towards a culture of learning with your team, here are some tips to keep in mind:
Incentivize Opportunities for Learning. Selling a team on a new idea or change requires buy-in from the majority of team members. People need to know that their time, effort, and subsequent output will be recognized and rewarded. Rewriting your team culture can be difficult, that’s why it’s important to offer opportunities of learning—workshops, collaboration, etc. to the entire team and rewarding them for their efforts.
Give Clear and Concise Feedback. Learning doesn’t always end in a successful product or award-winning idea. In fact, some companies even see a drop in sales numbers or revenue when their teams focus on learning. But, that’s okay. In fact, that’s pretty normal. Part of learning is accepting small failures or ideas that just won’t work. As a team leader, it’s crucial that you give feedback to your team, while encouraging them to give helpful feedback to each other. While you may see a negative results at first, teams who value learning are more likely to keep up with trends and create innovative solutions quickly.
Walk the Walk. If you’re going to ask your team to practice curiosity, as leader, you have to practice this yourself. Whether it feels like it or not, employees are quick to pick up on the behaviors of top management. And, a lot of times, team members will begin to mimic the behaviors that they see. If you want to establish a culture of continuous learning, your team needs to see you unleash your own curiosity.
At Quadrivium-Advisors, we know how difficult it can be to change your business and team culture. But, if done the right way, these small changes can make all the difference. If you’re ready to make some changes, let us know, we can help you get where you want to be.
