Training vs Learning Organisation
28 December 2021, Companies, Employer, Advocates, Barristers, Creative Industries, Sole Traders, General
Alterledger is a learning organisation. Our clients choose us for the insight that we provide. The value we bring is that business owners don’t need to divert their attention to accounts and filing deadlines. Alterledger exists to allow our clients to get with what they do best – their business.
Comparison of training and learning
We have all been to a training event where we feel that we haven’t learned anything, whether this is a team meeting, webinar or any other formal training. If you failed to learn anything then that was your fault!
No-one can make you learn. You are the only person who can increase your learning. Training is a necessary but not sufficient condition for learning.
Every setting is an opportunity for learning even if it is how not to do something. A learning approach is closely related to a growth mindset.
| Training | Learning |
|---|---|
| Passive | Active |
| Bookkeeper - do what you are told | Accountant - understand what is required |
| Bookkeeper - perpetuate errors and poor systems | Accountant - engineer solutions |
| Poor design prevents me from learning - it's not my fault | Poor design gives me an opportunity to examine how I would do it better and offer ideas |
| Tick box exercise | Share ideas with others |
Benefits of a learning organisation
A learning approach encourages innovation and personal development. Learning is an active approach and is empowering.
If all you need to do is what you are told, then you don’t understand your craft. As your requirement and ability to make decisions increases, you need technical knowledge on which to base those decisions. It can be argued that at work we don’t have problems, just consequences of our actions. Our actions only become problems when we decide that what happened wasn’t what we wanted.
- Learning leads to competence and competence allows control.
- Control without competence is chaos
Knowledge is the only thing that increases when it is shared in the workplace. Everyone benefits when we experience a learning organisation.
Where can I find out more?
An interview with Bradley Staats for mindtools.com describes four essential features of dynamic learning as the four Fs. I have listed the four Fs below with my own summary of their connection to learning.
Focus
Be clear about your targets. When you try and do everything you achieve nothing.
Fast
Inaction doesn’t get you anywhere. The image of a thinker frozen in time is not useful to your learning. To accelerate your learning, decide what you need to do and get on with it!
Frequent
We can’t be learning all the time. Some of your day has to be devoted to getting on with the day job. Set yourself a rhythm and repeat your efforts to help you achieve your learning goals.
Flexible
Our priorities change over time and circumstances may present different learning needs. To (mis)quote John Maynard Keynes “When the facts change, I change my mind”.
