Over the last month, I’ve been working in a number of different states with senior leaders as they come together in their networks to learn and support each other around leadership and culture. I’ve worked with professional networks for many years now and seen a huge amount of variation in commitment, outcomes, trust and learning. These recent networks events and programs have yet again highlighted for me the impact the learning leader has on their own and others’ learning, and what it takes for an environment of open to learning to be created between high performing individuals.
Learning networks are fascinating organisms. Sometimes these are created by a system – say a group of school principals, linked geographically and therefore ‘put into the room together’ to address similar challenges, and capacity building. Other networks are professional associations, designed to support members who are undertaking similar roles in different organisations. These organisations support the learning and collegiately without the system expectation and accountability that the first group often has.
There is a seemingly unquantifiable energy in a network room where people work away feeling much richer for the time they have spent in the room. Recently I have seen the high quality learning and support in the room that has gone on in these networks recently and it has led me to ponder some of the difference I notice.
Here are some of the things that I see affect the chance of deep learning and connection in these instances:
Context Matters – (and be willing to see the possibility)
While we might all have similar roles, our individual environment will always have differing elements that need to be taken into account. Context is an important factor when it comes to applying new learning to our own place of work, and to explore how it might work in our own next of the woods.
A warning on the label though – don’t let your context become your blindspot.
Thoughts such as ‘that would never work for us’ or ‘our team are not ready for that’ are limiting and close down possibility and creativity. Working away without a good number of curious question for yourself to ponder further is a missed opportunity. Having the time to tease things out and do the application to your own context with others is a great stretch activity as they can ask you some provocations to get you thinking differently.
Drop The Need to be Right
If we can come to these days without having to be right, and with our ‘Ignorant Truth’ (pg 128, Ferocious Warmth, 2021), our ability to learn opens up. Ignorant truth is an approach that can help us stay out of the ‘I know it all trap’. People come together with their knowledge and expertise, but are happy to own that in reality, what they know is only a sliver of truth, compared to what they don’t know. The rest is ignorance that they are happy to embrace. They exemplify an approach of professional curiosity and stretch: ‘Am I curious and ask questions of others?’ ‘Do I seek to expand my own view of the world?’ ‘How does this new information/ approach/ thinking apply to me?’ ‘What is it I DON’T know?’
This brings a much more humble learning approach to the collegiate energy in the room. Everyone is a learner and a teacher.
Flattened Hierarchy
For those networks where there are different levels of leadership and accountability in the room, this is a vital one for a strong collegiate space of safety and stretch. The senior leaders in the room, if they take minimising the first two elements above seriously, are doing a great job of flattening the hierarchy.
In strong systems, unless it is explicitly addressed through trust building and partnership approaches the hierarchy can be a seemingly unbreachable hurdle.
People are afraid to speak openly, share their challenges and seek support and advice. The relationship is not one of partnership, but can be adversarial. This fear can kick in not only from those in designated authority over others, but also from more experienced colleagues in the room. As the most experience leaders, modelling your own learning, sharing mistakes and stories, listening and learning from others can be a game changer for the safety in the room. I have seen this brilliantly modelled by great Ferocious Warmth leaders over many years. One of the biggest gifts we can give our colleagues – is the safe environment to say ‘I don’t know’ or ‘I need help’ or ‘I’m stuck’. The quickest way to gain it? For the most experienced in the room to show the way.
Sticking with the Same
It can be easy to get into a rut when we go to network learning events and hang with the same people. Unfortunately, this can create cliques where people sit with the same people and hear the same thinking over and over again. New people can find it hard to break in, and so not get the support they may need desperately in a new role or organisation. If one of the network goals is high level collegiately and support, then everyone has a role in creating that environment.
Bring the Energy and Mix It Up
Great networks understand that purpose is important when they get together, but so is the energy they all bring to the table. It’s both head and heart work and can make or break the quality of the learning, collegiately and also the power of the advocacy of the group. Rather than just a repetitive sit and listen event, how do you make it a great learning opportunity for all? Importantly – laugh together!
These are just some of the indicators I see that make learning networks buzz. They may seem small, but when it comes to building a culture of connection, learning and support, it’s the little things that matter. The environment we create together becomes a melting pot of curiosity, excitement and motivation to stretch.
What do you notice when you get together in your network?
