Organisational development

Be a lobster! On personal growth and learning organisations.

From Sabine Walter, Head of network management consulting | coaching

More and more companies are realising that they can only be successful in the long term if they develop themselves in general and their employees in particular. Employees should learn. Constantly. Everywhere. Self-driven. With fun. In our work, however, we experience time and again that the cultural framework conditions in companies often counteract this demand for learning employees.What does that mean? And above all: What can you do differently in your company?

To explain this in more detail, I would like to use an image that I "picked up" the other day during a team workshop. The lobster.

What do lobsters have in common with personal growth or learning?

Lobsters grow in phases. They can onlywhen they have their carapace file. In this Growth phase are lobsters therefore Open and vulnerable. Let's transfer the image to us humans: Our personal growth is also possible when we are open to change, when we allow ourselves to try things out and Making mistakes and are willing to accept feedback. Making mistakes and are willing to accept feedback.

For this process of growth and development in organisations and teams to succeed, a culture of leadership and error is needed that allows individuals to "take off their armour"that is, to show themselves in their imperfection and still be accepted.

And that is exactly what is missing in most companies.

What can you do to establish a culture of learning and personal growth in your company?

• Recognise that continuous learning is key element number 1to be competitive and successful as a company in the long term.
• Model continuous development, be open about your own strengths and weaknesses.
• Recognise that Learning needs time and space.
• Consider how learning can take place during daily work and how learning can take place outside of daily work.
• Promote interdisciplinary teamsto integrate different perspectives into the solution finding process.
• Give space to Trying things out. There are several ways to get to the destination.
• Welcome mistakes.
• Enter appreciative feedback and promote a constructive and appreciative feedback culture.
• Support knowledge transfer, because Knowledge is for everyone and not an instrument of power or a unique selling point.

Winston Churchill once said, "To succeed is to stand up once more than you have fallen down." - Part of growing is failing. And we only dare to do that when we have the Trust in our environment have failure seen as a step towards success and not held against us as failure.

Create this culture in your company and it will be teeming with "praise stars". And employees who are constantly learning, self-driven, having fun and aware that they have found a culture in your company that enables personal development, will contribute with their head and heart to the company's success.