Imagine you’re a professional clown for a minute.…

Imagine you’re a professional clown for a minute.  You’ve perfected your makeup.  Your face is your work of art.  It’s what makes your clown you.

How do you protect your clown face from someone else copying it?  And what the heck does this have to do with learning?

Hang with me. When I discovered how clowns protect their faces, my brain lit up with delight and surprise, and I started writing this blog post for you in my head.

I was on the last leg of a loooong flight up to Northern Sweden to take part in a Sami festival when I came across an article about this very thing. Luke Stephenson has documented the very peculiar, very cool process clowns have for protecting their art.  He’s even written a book about it. 

Even though clowns have an unwritten rule not to copy another clown’s makeup they still need a way to document it.  Here’s where eggs come in. Ceramic eggs to be precise.  Clowns International, the oldest clown society, records clown faces by having them painted on ceramic eggs.  The eggs can include the clown’s hat, hair etc. from their actual costume (I find that oddly moving).

All of which made me think about learning; how we curate it, records it (can we record learning on eggs?!), encourage it, share it etc.  And about learning culture; how we create a culture that celebrates, prioritizes and reinforces learning.

Kate McBride, Chief, ICT Services, UNON (United Nations Office at Nairobi) will give a workshop on learning culture for the next Learning and Development Roundtable, April 26th.  I know Kate, so I know it’s going to be a fun one.  Seriously it’s going to be a good one. For more information how to participate in person or online click here.

In the meantime what does a culture of learning look like?  What do we need to do to value learning in this fast-paced culture of ours? If you work with humans you need to be into learning. 

Learning helps us reset, refresh and rejuvenate.

Long term commitment to new earning and new philosophy is required of any management that seeks transformation.  The timid and the fainthearted, and the people that expect quick results, are doomed to disappointment. W. Edwards Demin

A culture of learning:

• values learning. 
• promotes time and resources for learning.
• has various ways of curating and sharing learning.
• promotes learning across functions, departments, staff levels etc.
• links learning to organizational goals.
• supports diverse ways of learning (audio, visual, doing)
• supports various platforms for learning (books, podcasts, videos, courses, conferences, micro learning, online learning, roundtables, etc.)
• gets results

Workplace learning needs to be woven into the fabric of an organization and not viewed as an after-thought.  If done right, it helps the organization retain knowledge and stay ahead of change impacting our field. Ian Clark, CEO, Genentech (quoted in Learning to Succeed, Jason Wingard)

What are the results of encouraging a culture of learning?

None other than:

• innovation
• staff retention
• embracing diversity
• organizational memory
• resilience
• ability to manage change
• a dynamic workplace that keeps up and surpasses and
• flow (that sweet spot when you’re in your zone of genius)

Want to learn more about how Kate encourages a culture of learning at the UN with her team?  Remember to click here to register for the roundtable, which you can attend in person at the UN or online.

And in the meantime, keep on learning.

Long term commitment to new earning and new philosophy is required of any management that seeks transformation.  The timid and the fainthearted, and the people that expect quick results, are doomed to disappointment. W. Edwards Demin