Why joy is vital to a learning organization

Why should organizations care about learning? Because, the level of performance and improvement needed in today's ever-changing environment requires learning... lots of learning.

Organizations with the best chance to succeed and thrive in today’s business climate are learning organizations. In his landmark book The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization, scientist and organizational-theory expert Peter Senge describes a learning organization as a place "where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together."

You can easily see why it’s so important to encourage a learning organizations. Senge's book, and the many articles and books about the learning organization that have followed, do a great job of helping leaders understand what a learning organization needs to help its members become communities of practice where people are continually learning how to learn together.

Yet, in all the articles, books, and seminars about learning organizations there is one vital element that is easily ignored, and yet is vital for facilitating learning:

Joy in Learning

What does “joy in learning” have to do with work and the learning organization, you might ask?  Have you ever watched a small child engaged in learning something? Have you seen the face of pure joy when they are discovering how something works, or how to master a task they could not do before? The joy of learning keeps small children motivated to keep trying, even when something seems difficult, until they "get it."

Unfortunately, many times in the process of getting an “education” learning becomes “work” and “boring.” Years ago Dr. W. Edwards Deming, guru of quality management, wrote in his book The New Economics that we must have a transformation in government, industry and education to encourage joy in learning and joy in work.

Dr. Deming proposed that encouraging joy in learning would increase intrinsic motivation as well as cooperation on problems of common interest between people, divisions, companies, competitors, governments, countries. He predicted joy in learning could bring many favorable results:

“The result will in time be greater innovation, applied science, technology, expansion of market, greater service, greater material reward for everyone.  There will be joy in work, joy in learning.  Anyone that enjoys his work is a pleasure to work with.  Everyone will win; no losers.”

How can you encourage joy in learning

Ask your team what will bring more joy into their learning and work. Then listen and implement! Some ideas to get you started:

• Start with those closest to you. Present new learning in attractive ways.
• Encourage and reward discovery and innovation.
• Open space and time for sharing the excitement of learning something new
• Make a point to praise and point out new accomplishments and learning
• Remind your people that we learn the best the same way we dance the best – not by expecting others to make it enjoyable, but by injecting our own joy to it first.
• Think of learning as discovery. Learning sounds like a responsibility or an obligation. Discovery sounds like an adventure or an opportunity, more fun!
• Use more creative ways for learning: more images than words, more stories than training, more characters than labels, more challenge than tasks.

Remember. . .

Take up the challenge to transform the workplace environment so that all can dance, learn, and discover. With more joy in the learning there's a greater possibility of creating a learning organization that thrives and is fun to work in.

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Photo by: Ant1_G