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."

Building a company where employees are truly engaged becomes less of a mystery when you knock down the psychological and physical barriers that prevent people from collaborating, and learning becomes transparent when the lines of communication are always open.