Tips for Collaborating in Learning and Development Teams

This week, I facilitated a manager workshop on how to grow and develop people and teams. One question sparked a great conversation: “How do you develop your people outside of formal programs?” It’s a great question. IMO, one of the highest leverage actions a leader can take is making small, but consistent actions to develop their people. While formal learning experiences absolutely a role, there are far more opportunities for growth outside of structured settings from an hours in the day perspective. Helping leaders recognize and embrace this is a major opportunity. I introduced the idea of Practices of Development (PODs) aka small, intentional activities integrated into everyday work that help employees build skills, flex new muscles, and increase their impact. Here are a few examples we discussed: 🌟 Paired Programming: Borrowed from software engineering, this involves pairing an employee with a peer to take on a new task—helping them ramp up quickly, cross-train, or learn by doing. 🌟 Learning Logs: Have team members track what they’re working on, learning, and questioning to encourage reflection. 🌟 Bullpen Sessions: Bring similar roles together for feedback, idea sharing, and collaborative problem-solving, where everyone both A) shares a deliverable they are working on, and B) gets feedback and suggestions for improvement 🌟 Each 1 Teach 1:  Give everyone a chance to teach one work-related skill or insight to the team. 🌟 I Do, We Do, You Do:Adapted from education, this scaffolding approach lets you model a task, then do it together, then hand it off. A simple and effective way to build confidence and skill. 🌟 Back Pocket Ideas:  During strategy/scoping work sessions, ask employees to submit ideas for initiatives tied to a customer problem or personal interest. Select the strongest ones and incorporate them into their role. These are a few examples that have worked well. If you’ve found creative ways to build development opportunities into your employees day to day work, I’d love to hear what’s worked for you!

🌟 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡 – 𝐀 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲🌟 In many organizations, 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 is celebrated as a month dedicated to learning and growth. But here’s the truth — learning doesn’t always need formal training programs, big budgets, or e-learning modules. As managers, you already hold the most powerful lever for team development: creating everyday opportunities to learn. Sometimes it’s as simple as nudging curiosity, opening up conversations, or letting team members share their strengths. Here are some ideas you can try this October: 🔹 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐨-𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠- Block 30 minutes a week for team members to share tools, hacks, or new ideas. Quick, engaging, and immediately useful. 🔹 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠- Pair a senior leader with a younger team member. One learns digital trends; the other learns leadership wisdom. A win-win exchange. 🔹𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 -Invite colleagues to shadow each other for a few hours. It builds empathy, cross-functional understanding, and fresh perspectives. 🔹𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 / 𝐏𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐛- Pick a leadership book or an insightful podcast episode. Discuss it as a team and explore how to apply the ideas in your context. 🔹𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞 → 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬- Encourage sharing not just successes but mistakes and what they taught us. This builds psychological safety and normalizes growth. 🔹 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐒𝐰𝐚𝐩 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬- Let team members teach each other — from presentation skills to Excel shortcuts, even personal hacks on productivity or storytelling. The message to your team is clear: “Learning is part of how we work, not just an extra task.” ✨𝐌𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬: This October, create your own Learning Lab. Pick one or two of these ideas, experiment with them, and see the ripple effect it creates. Because when teams learn together, they don’t just grow skills — they grow trust, confidence, and ownership. 👉 What learning ritual are you planning for your team this October? #MeetaMeraki #LearningAndDevelopment #LearningCulture

5 Easy Ways to Build a Learning Culture What if the biggest shifts in your organization’s learning culture aren’t hiding in a new platform, framework, or leadership mandate… but in the small, everyday behaviors happening inside your team right now? After years building capability programs and learning ecosystems, I’ve learned something simple but powerful: learning culture isn’t built in a classroom. It’s built in the moments between the work. And those moments belong to everyone, not just leaders, and certainly not just L&D. Here are five easy ways you can help your organization learn faster, adapt sooner, and compete smarter: 1) Ask better questions. Curiosity is a performance accelerant. “What are we trying to learn here?” can shift a meeting more than any agenda ever will. Use inviting openers, “Tell me more…”, “Help me understand…”, “How might we use this?”—to spark dialogue instead of shutting it down. 2) Share what you’re learning in real time. A quick takeaway in chat. A link with one sentence of context. A moment of reflection in a meeting. When learning becomes visible, it becomes cultural. Organizations with strong learning cultures are 42% more likely to achieve positive business results (LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2025). In today’s marketplace, learning isn’t a perk, it’s a competitive advantage. 3) Turn mistakes into data, not blame. Progress accelerates when teams stop hunting for culprits and start hunting for insight. That’s where psychological safety begins. It’s the foundation of a learning culture. Research shows it significantly reduces burnout and turnover, making employees more resilient and far more likely to stay and grow. 4) Learn together. Co‑review an article. Co‑teach a skill. Co‑experiment on a process. Learning sticks when it’s social, not solo. A 2018 OECD report found that collaborative learning (discussion, group work, peer interaction) boosts retention by 70% compared to individual study. When the stakes are high, learning together simply works better. 5) Celebrate progress, not perfection. Recognize the person who tried something new, not just the person who mastered it. Growth is a behavior before it’s a result. And remember Ebbinghaus’ Forgetting Curve: without reinforcement, adults lose 50% of new knowledge within an hour and up to 90% within a week. Practice fuels performance. Celebrating progress fuels practice. None of these require a title, a budget, or permission. And while none of them are revolutionary on their own, together they create the conditions where people grow and organizations grow with them. Which of these five actions would make the biggest difference in your organization right now? What small behaviors have you seen shift a culture in a meaningful way? Share your thoughts in the comments below. Your insight might spark someone else’s next move. #talentdevelopment #leadership #learninganddevelopment #learningorganization #HR

The thing no one warns you about high performers... The more talented your team, the harder it is to work together. Individually, they excel at performing. But as a team, they struggle with alignment, defining clear ownership, and forming unbreakable trust. The execs that build high-performing teams often use frameworks to help bridge that gap. With the right frameworks, you can create a shared language that helps your team understand how to collaborate effectively. Here are a few that I've found helpful: 1️⃣ The Johari Window ↳ A simple model for feedback and self-awareness. Open Area → Known to self and others Blind Spot → Unknown to self, known to others Hidden Area → Known to self, unknown to others Unknown Area → Unknown to both 2️⃣ The 70-20-10 Learning Principle ↳ This is the most effective way for people to develop. 70% through hands-on experience 20% through mentoring or coaching 10% through formal training 3️⃣ The RAPID Decision-Making Framework ↳ Identifying clear ownership prevents confusion and delays. Recommend → Propose a clear plan Agree → Secure essential buy-in Perform → Execute the decision Input → Provide expertise to inform the choice Decide → Make the final call 4️⃣ The Energy vs. Impact Matrix ↳ Map each person by their engagement and contribution. High Energy + High Impact → Promote and empower High Energy + Low Impact → Coach or redirect Low Energy + High Impact → Reignite motivation Low Energy + Low Impact → Reassess role or exit 5️⃣ The Five Stages of Team Development ↳ Understanding how high-performing teams are formed removes unnecessary worries. Nearly every strong team goes through these stages: Forming → People meet, roles are unclear Storming → Friction shows up as styles collide Norming → Shared habits form and collaboration clicks Performing → The team operates with speed and ownership Adjourning → The project wraps or shifts into something new 6️⃣ The Trust Triangle ↳ Trust grows when three things are consistently true. Authenticity → Are you genuine and consistent? Empathy → Do people feel understood and cared for? Logic → Do your decisions and reasoning hold up? You don't need to throw all six at your team at once. Pick the ones that address your biggest challenges right now. Use them as a starting point to help your team work better together. (And save this post to come back to it later!) For more posts on leadership, follow Clif Mathews. ---- 📨 Every week, 17,000+ execs learn how to define their own success via socials and in my newsletter, Second Summit Brief. Sign up here so you don't miss out: bit.ly/SecondSummitBrief 🔁 Repost to help another exec build a high-performing team.

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 🌐 Feeling like your learning initiatives are isolated and disconnected from real-world application? You’re not alone. Traditional learning methods often fall short when it comes to practical application, leaving employees struggling to effectively use new skills and knowledge in their roles. 📌 The cost of inaction? Employees may fail to apply what they’ve learned, leading to wasted training resources and a workforce that isn’t fully equipped to meet the challenges of their roles. Here’s how you can revolutionize your L&D strategy by integrating social learning: 🎯 Collaborative Platforms: Utilize tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Yammer to create spaces where employees can share insights, ask questions, and collaborate on projects. These platforms facilitate real-time communication and foster a culture of continuous learning. 🎯 Peer Discussions: Encourage regular peer-to-peer discussions and knowledge sharing sessions. This could be through lunch-and-learn events, study groups, or online forums. When employees discuss what they’ve learned with peers, it reinforces their understanding and highlights practical applications. 🎯 Real-World Problem-Solving Activities: Incorporate case studies, role-playing scenarios, and group projects into your training programs. These activities provide employees with opportunities to apply new skills in a controlled, yet realistic, environment, bridging the gap between learning and application. 🎯 Mentorship Programs: Pair less experienced employees with seasoned mentors. This not only helps in skill transfer but also fosters a supportive learning environment where employees feel comfortable seeking guidance and feedback. 🎯 User-Generated Content: Encourage employees to create and share their own training materials, such as how-to videos, blog posts, or presentations. This not only democratizes the learning process but also allows for diverse perspectives and insights. 🎯 Social Media Integration: Leverage social media platforms to enhance learning. Create private groups on LinkedIn or Facebook where employees can share articles, insights, and experiences related to their roles. By integrating social learning into your L&D strategy, you’ll create a more dynamic, interactive, and practical learning environment. This approach not only boosts engagement but also ensures that employees can effectively apply their new skills and knowledge in real-world scenarios. What innovative strategies have you implemented to integrate social learning in your organization? Share your experiences in the comments! ⬇️ #LearningAndDevelopment #SocialLearning #EmployeeTraining #ContinuousLearning #Collaboration #WorkplaceInnovation