Continuous Learning
Continuous learning is the third and final behavior identified in our model of high performing teams. It refers to the ability to grow individually and collectively from each success and failure. Teams who are adept at continuous learning view failure as an opportunity for improvement. They dare to give and receive feedback, no matter how hard. They challenge themselves and their teams to learn a new skill, consider a new perspective, and step outside of their comfort zone for the sake of continuous improvement.
What continuous learning does:
promotes greater innovation and collaboration
instills a stronger sense of ownership and commitment to company
improves resilience and enables individuals to better manage and navigate change
Trouble signs:
stagnation and boredom; mindlessness; lack of ambition
alternatively, the feeling of always building the plane mid-air — never having the chance to pause, reflect, and plan thoughtfully after a major milestone
Conduct after action reviews
After Action Reviews were invented by the military to encourage rapid learning from events and have been adopted by many top organizations. The key is to start with non-judgmental observations of an event or an experience, and then move through to individual interpretations and a shared set of learnings. Learn more
Ask better questions
Asking questions is a great way to encourage reflection and generate discussion. But not all questions are created equal. To inspire more expansive thinking, creativity, and growth, avoid asking questions that push people into problem solving mode or which signal some underlying judgment or assumption. For instance, asking, “How do we overcome this moment?” assumes that the moment is inherently bad and that the goal is to come up with a way to get out of it and move on. Instead, try asking, “What can we learn from this moment to emerge even stronger?” This question opens the conversation to the possibility that the current moment is not all bad; that it presents an opportunity for growth and learning. Learn more
Brave the difficult conversations
Giving and receiving feedback is a skill cultivated through many hours of practice. Unfortunately, the fear of hurting someone else’s feelings or having one’s own feelings hurt can prevent leaders from engaging in these conversations at all. One way to overcome that fear is to reframe traditional positive or negative feedback into “feedforward” recommendations. Rather than focusing on criticizing a past behavior, suggest alternate future behaviors to try. For instance, if you aren’t happy with how a team meeting went, don’t just rattle off observations of what went wrong; come up with suggestions for how to improve going forward. What behaviors can you and your teammates try in your next meeting? Learn more