Mark my words, employee engagement through social learning is not
just a hot media topic for 2010, it will be the next big idea in
leadership, and some companies are already there. Just a few weeks into
the new year and we have already covered the topic several times from
several different angles on Logipi. Last week, I came across another
blog, titled 'Where Social Learning Thrives,' written by Marcia Conner
and Steve LeBlanc, who explain that "social learning combines social
media tools with a shift in the corporate culture, a shift that
encourages ongoing knowledge transfer and connects people in ways that
make learning a joy."
The concept is far from new. The world's most
successful companies have already harnessed the power of fostering
cultures where people expect continuous feedback to help them grow
personally and professionally -- environments where executive level
personnel are approachable and engaged in the feedback process, and
everyone is encouraged to connect with individuals and groups who have
specific insights and knowledge.
Making connections is what social learning is
all about, and social media tools make it possible breakdown
organizational silos, and to tap into expertise across the hall and
across the world. Innovation flourishes when people bounce ideas off of
one another without, as Conner and LeBlanc put it, "burden, without
coercion, without fear."
Conner and LeBlanc also say, "A social learning culture requires
design, training, guidance, leadership, monitoring and celebrating
successes, large and small. People need to know where the organization
is headed and why it matters. It's not easy for people to make the
shift from a culture where they fear they are not good enough and need
to improve, to one where they feel safe enough to want to improve for
the enjoyment of it."
