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Creating a Learning Culture

• How I performed an Organizational Vulcan Mind
  Meld
• and
• Earned my never-big-enough Paycheck
• Sandra Smith, Training and Develoment Manager
• Denver Public Library
• 720.865.2071 ssmith_at_denver.lib.co.us

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• Learning is like rowing upstream
• not to advance is to drop back.
• Chinese
  proverb

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DENVER PUBLIC LIBRARY

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How To 1

• What does a Learning Culture currently
• look like in your organization?  
• WHAT kind of learning is happening?
• WHO is doing it?
• HOW is it being done?

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MY EXPERIENCE

• What DPL five years ago had no clear program
  only as needed, reactionary at best small number
  of classes
• Who Training Manager, occasional SME, no general
  staff involvement, no executive or manager
  awareness of ROI of training
• How classes by TM, occasional SME, no general
  staff involvement, periodic Training Calendar

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How To 2

• Who is the motivator? Why should it
• look differently?
• Who Who wants a Learning Culture? You? Others?
• Why Organizational Circumstances? Personal
  Motivation? Dictates from above? What is needed
  and why now? If not now, what consequences?

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MY EXPERIENCE

• Who me seeing an unmet need and being willing
  to tackle it
• Why my position exists for a reason!
• Why there are organizational needs and
• potential ROI to staff and and the community

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• DPL Organizational Needs
• DPL is changing org in changing library times
  tech, activities, customers, relevance
• Are a learning orgset example to staff
• Need to share expertise internally for better
  customer service (our mission)
• Need highly skilled, consistent staff
• Staff looking for development opportunities
  positive work environment, retention
• Foster a sense of personal responsibility and
  accountability for the defined topics
• An acknowledgement by executives of the
  importance of the role of staff via executives
  support, personal participation and exchange of
  mutual expectations

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• Provide a targeted, effective system of ongoing
  professional development for staff, including a
  cost-effective utilization of staff time and
  resources
• Introduce a framework for defined competencies,
  expectations
• and accountability
• Maintain awareness of DPL practices and
  perspectives including current policies,
  practices and services of all departments and
  branches
• Provide an opportunity for colleagues to network
  and develop and a sense of community
• Provide consistent knowledge and information for
  all staff
• Ensure excellent customer service

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How To 3

• Whaddaya Want?
• and
• Do a Reality Check
• What do you want it to look like?
• What can it look like?

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TIPS

• Use your skills, background, talent to identify
  what youd like to see
• Think what would be better around here
• Observe and Listen chat with others, get
  feedback in a casual way at first, get a sense of
  where peoples priorities, issues, problems are.
  Do walkabouts and observe.
• Define what is needed specifically do an
  inventory of what needs to happen now and
  later, doable and potential

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MY EXPERIENCE

• My identified goals in 2001
• to expand the types of classes offered database
  skills, supervisory techniques, wider numbers of
  skills classes, sharing opportunities about the
  activities of DPL
• to involve more staff in the attending of classes
  (ones that they feel are valuable to them in
  their work life) AND get the right butts in the
  right seats

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MY EXPERIENCE

• to involve more staff in the leading of classes,
  sharing their expertise and experience with
  others, developing presentation, people and
  organizational skills
• to introduce competency-based outcomes,
  evaluation and ROI to the learning program, what
  does it look like
• to create the mundane but necessary structure for
  tracking data and statistics on the learning
  program

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How To 4

• How do you
• ACTUALLY ACHIEVE
• How To 3?

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Oh nooooo..are we talking Culture Changes???

• Culture is People their beliefs, attitudes,
  values, behaviors
• Culture is the Organization rules and policies,
  customs and norms, ceremonies and events,
  management behaviors and trust, rewards and
  recognition, communications, physical
  environment, organization structure, goals and
  measurements

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YOU EXPECT ME TO CHANGE ALL THAT???
ARE YOU NUTS?
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DONT PANIC!!I ONLY EXPECT YOU TO DO
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A VULCAN MIND MELD ON YOUR ENTIRE ORGANIZATION
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Start the Conversation (in the Mind Meld
handout this is thegetting physical part)

• Get info on past training data, details
• Talk with those who have done the training
• Talk with staff/managers about past learning
  opportunities and current desires

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MY EXPERIENCE

• Informally chatted to multi-level staff I knew
  and didnt know via lunches, after-hours, when
  they would come to me with questions about
  anything
• Formally talked to key managers had list of
  questions
• Re-talked to people after gathering initial
  information clarify, summarize

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Plant the Seed (this is the Mind Meld
transference of ideas)

• Plant nuggets of what is possible to be done with
  training in a learning culture
• ROI to the bottom line
• fixing daily problems
• workforce satisfaction
• improving work environment

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MY EXPERIENCE

•  
• Kept conversations on-going but with intent to
  further my goals
• Article in newsletter about what I do
• Contribute useful nuggets to meetings
• Send articles to key staff/all staff
• Proactive in offering to help/fix issues

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Marshall your forces (in the Mind Meld handout
you and the recipient now have the same
knowledge, interests)

• Identify your key people soft or hard sell them
  on your resources, goals connect with their
  closest advisors
• Explore merging your resources, helping one
  another
• Support all who come for help or you reach out
  to, make connections with new staff
• Give positive reinforcement to those who get
  it, help you, do good deeds to the benefit of
  your goals

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AND DO NOT

• WAIT IN YOUR OFFICE FOR SOMETHING USEFUL TO
  HAPPEN FOR YOU
• IT
  WONT

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MY EXPERIENCE

•  
• Gained active support from key people initially
  two directors, five managers, five librarians
  (committee), three staff SME trainers
• Formed training committee used earlier
  connections capital to get permission if
  necessary

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S.W.O.T. (in the Mind Meld handout, all the
risks)

• Strengths, Weaknesses,
• Opportunities, Threats
• Identify these for the potential learning
  program
• both holistically and specifically
• Get input from others
• Dont operate with blinders. Dont ass-u-me!

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MY EXPERIENCE

• Identified, with key people, my SWOTs
• Data generation process Documented
• achievements for my supervisor and
• reviewing rater created tracking/statistic
• method

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Make a success happen. (in the Mind Meld you
have succeeded with one person)

• Do a training or development program for a work
  unit (one of your supporters?)
• Coach a staff person, manager
• Problem-solve a process
• Contribute to in-house publication how you can
  contribute, resources available to people, FYI
  articles and useful information
• Facilitate a meeting
• Make a new learning opportunity available to
  staff tutorial, offsite class, video

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MY EXPERIENCE

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• Asked key SME for librarians to do training in
  TC asked key group to do as well on any topic of
  interest
• Sent out request for staff to share expertise by
  conducting a class
• Did great teambuilding day for a manager who is
  influential
• Created/conducted several new classes in TC
  performance evaluations, NEO, discussion
  roundtables, time management
• Saw supervisors with staff problems offered and
  helped fix
• Found videos, tutorials

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Build on Success (in the Mind Meld mode, go for
more!)

• Follow up on any opportunities that result
• Continue making people connections
• Keep your program in the limelight
• Start working on bigger goals

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MY EXPERIENCE

•  
• Reinforced new presenters praise, help, how
  valuable to staff and library mission
• Heard about new SmartyPants service proactively
  asked and responded to needed training saw new
  skills needed as well as synchronicity from
  earlier efforts to connect with staff
• Led to BRAINCELLS series for librarians
• Led to Beyond Today series for senior librarians
• Led to Take the Lead series for Lead Clerks
• Led to new service styles training for all staff

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Level One Reaction

• Increase in class number and attendance
• 199954 classes 2001100 classes
• 2000200 attendees 20041140 attendees
• Increase in positive comments
• Staff asking for more classes, giving suggestions

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Level Two Learning

• More staff wanting to do classes
• Attendees asking for more information on a topic
• SmartyPants pre-and post-testing results
• BRAINCELLS self-assessment ratings on
• learning achieved
• Supervisors value classes

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Level Three Behavior

• Executives/managers/supervisors
• ask for training
• use me as resource
• Verify performance improvement in staff
• Are willing to participate in training

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Level Four Results

• CEO supports, is engaged
• Library Commission supports They Like!
• Cost-effective use of presenters and attendee
  time
• Quality consistent, more frequent and timely
  information to the Right Butts in the Right
  Seats
• Have two on-going Training Committees

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Personal Level One Reaction

• Satisfaction in my job
• goals identified and aimed for
• co-worker relationships
• accomplishments

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Personal Level Two Learning

• More knowledgeable about needs of organization
• Increased project management/ /strategic
  planning/training skills
• Increased awareness of training/learning
  challenges

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Personal Level Three Behavior

• More collaborative, team focused
• More proactive, focused on goals
• More seeking outside experiences/input/connections
  

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Personal Level FourResults

• ROI to career and self
• Experience
• Skills
• Contacts
• Community contribution

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• If you are going
• to take Vienna
• then Take Vienna.
• Napoleon I

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Discussion questions

• What others ideas do you have for creating a
  learning culture?
• What successes? Challenges? Failures?
• Why did they happen?
• What other resources are out there to help?