Your Team’s Success May Very Well Depend on This Key Skill

We’ve all heard the well-worn phrase, “If you’re not learning, you’re stagnating.” Yet, the most successful professionals understand that stagnating is the least of the consequences; by failing to learn, an organization is likely to make the same mistakes over and over. Effective leaders realize that to achieve their goals, they need to pause from the busyness of the day to day, reflect on what’s going well and what isn’t, draw key learnings from their experiences, and apply those learnings to move forward effectively. Because rarely does success take a smooth, straight-line path.  

One example of a company that made a mistake, learned from it, and transformed into a highly successful enterprise is Netflix. In 2011, Netflix tried to change its business model by splitting into two separate entities and introducing pricing changes. This move was met with significant backlash, and Netflix quickly recognized the negative impact of their decision, including damage to their brand. Realizing their misstep, Netflix acknowledged their mistake, abandoned the plan to split the services, and restored the unified Netflix brand. Moreover, they used the situation as a catalyst for change and shifted focus and investment to its streaming platform. By learning from the initial debacle and adapting their strategy, Netflix became a pioneer in the streaming industry. They recognized the changing preferences of consumers and positioned themselves at the forefront of the digital entertainment revolution. Today, Netflix is one of the most popular and successful streaming services globally, with a vast subscriber base and a wide array of critically acclaimed original content. 

Learning: A Discipline That Needs Tending  

Like anyone who strives to succeed, High Value-Creating Teams are never content with where they are today. They recognize that a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world demands more than just a commitment to understand and meet their stakeholders’ needs. In a world of constant change—where markets come and go, black swan events occur, and new stakeholders emerge—it takes a culture of learning to keep an organization continually in sync with what stakeholders need and equipped to deliver it. 

Effective leadership teams often follow Peter Hawkins’ model for High-Value Creating Teams: They define their purpose, agree on their chief endeavor, work together to co-create value, and engage effectively with stakeholders. But while those disciplines might sound like linear steps, they’re actually part of a continuous loop that revolves around Core Learning, the fifth element in the Five Disciplines model.  

Core learning is a central tenet of the continuous improvement frameworks that have propelled many organizations to greatness. Just like a manufacturing company needs to continuously apply learnings to improve its processes and deliver the highest quality products, a High Value-Creating Team needs to continuously apply lessons learned to improve how it works together, engages with stakeholders, and delivers value that aligns with their needs and expectations.  

Embedding Core Learning into the Organization 

The idea of creating a “lessons learned” environment certainly isn’t new, but it’s more vital than ever as organizations grapple with unprecedented change and uncertainty. The ability to learn from past experiences—both successes and failures—is critical for organizations that want to gain a competitive advantage, fuel continued innovation, and operate with agility. However, moving from the concept of a learning environment to actual execution can prove challenging.  

Learning isn’t a discreet activity that you engage in periodically. It’s a mindset that’s embedded in the organization, becoming part of the fabric of its culture. And it can only take hold when there is both high self-awareness on the part of individuals and teams and a feeling of psychological safety. The latter comes from an environment where people feel safe to share concerns, discuss mistakes, and ask for suggestions and support, without fear of blame or reprisal.  

Because it can be difficult to develop a true lessons-learned environment, many teams struggle to put the concept into action. However, the repercussions can prove detrimental to individuals and the organization. When people fear making a mistake, rather than viewing it as an opportunity to learn and grow, they avoid trying new approaches or suggesting new ideas, limiting innovation. And when teams move from one initiative to the next without pausing to reflect and learn, they risk repeating the same errors or overlooking ripe opportunities. 

How Systemic Team Coaching Can Enhance Core Learning 

Organizations that are committed to building High Value-Creating Teams often turn to a Systemic Team Coach to help strengthen every element of the Five Disciplines Model, including core learning. An experienced coach can help leadership teams build learning opportunities into every other discipline, develop a contract that articulates and solidifies their commitment to building a lessons-learned culture, and apply various techniques for documenting and applying lessons learned for the purpose of creating greater value for their stakeholders. 

As with most improvement opportunities, the discipline of learning demands asking the right questions. Whether they’re part of a structured debrief or action review following a major initiative, or a less-formal check-in, questions like these can help High Value-Creating Teams take the critical steps of pausing, reflecting, assessing, and learning: 

• What happened, and how does that compare with what we expected to happen? 
• What did we do (individually or collectively) that worked well, and why? 
• What would we do differently, and why? 

• What resources would we need to do things differently, in a way that ensures long-lasting change? 
• Is there anything that could get in the way of our team acting on the lessons we’ve learned? 
• What would we encourage our fellow teammates to do more of the next time or focus on as an area for improvement?  
• Are there any behaviors getting in the way of our ability to deliver greater value?  
• What are we doing that’s helpful, or harmful, in delivering value for our stakeholders? 

• What would our stakeholders say to us and about us right now? 

At a time when change, volatility, and uncertainty have become the norm, teams can’t create value for all the stakeholders across their ecosystem unless they make core learning an essential part of both their team and organizational culture. While it might seem like we don’t have the luxury to pause and reflect in a world that’s moving ever faster, taking the time to learn is precisely what High Value-Creating Teams need to do if they hope to attain their goals.    

The Leadership Advisory Practice at Odgers Berndtson helps organizations discover and develop leaders, strengthen value-creating teams, and prepare for what’s next. Learn how our highly experienced team of assessors and coaches uses a holistic approach to help your organization achieve more.