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Driving Innovation

By Jeffrey Shupack, Harry Koehnemann, Adam Furtado, Bryan Woodruff, Tamara Skye

How Leaders Create a Learning Culture

This paper, published in the Fall 2024 Enterprise Technology Leadership Journal, explores how leaders can create a learning culture to drive innovation in organizations. The authors argue that fostering an intentional learning culture and providing meaningful learning opportunities are crucial for organizational innovation and long-term success. The paper focuses on three levels of learning support: individual (leader as coach), team (scenius or collective genius), and organizational (learning objectives aligned with strategic goals).

Features

  • Leadership Coaching

    Leaders should shift from simply giving directions to providing growth opportunities and enabling employees to leverage their experience and knowledge through coaching.

  • Collective Intelligence

    Fostering a "scenius" or collective genius at the team level can drive innovation by creating an environment where ideas, knowledge, and skills are freely exchanged.

  • Strategic Alignment

    Learning objectives should be aligned with broader organizational goals and measured using frameworks like Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) to ensure learning contributes to strategic priorities.

  • Continuous Improvement

    Organizations should regularly assess, update, and improve their learning objectives and strategies to remain relevant and impactful in a rapidly changing business environment.

About the Resource

This paper, published in the Fall 2024 Enterprise Technology Leadership Journal, explores how leaders can create a learning culture to drive innovation in organizations. The authors argue that fostering an intentional learning culture and providing meaningful learning opportunities are crucial for organizational innovation and long-term success. The paper focuses on three levels of learning support: individual (leader as coach), team (scenius or collective genius), and organizational (learning objectives aligned with strategic goals).

The paper provides practical guidance and examples for leaders to promote constructive dialogues about learning within their organizations. It covers topics such as maintaining a learning culture during stressful situations, fostering environments where collective intelligence thrives, and setting relevant organizational learning objectives. The authors emphasize the importance of psychological safety, continuous improvement, and aligning learning goals with broader organizational objectives. Throughout the paper, real-world examples, discussion questions, and next steps are provided to help leaders implement and improve learning cultures in their organizations.

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Jeffrey Shupack

Jeffrey Shupack

Jeffrey Shupack, president, Project & Team, is an advisor, speaker, and author who helps organizations improve efficiency in delivering complex products. Specializing in change management, AI, digital innovation, and fostering learning cultures, Shupack guides leaders to enhance operational flow, speed to market, and customer satisfaction. As a distinguished SAFe Fellow, he leverages proven methodologies from Lean/Agile, DevOps, design thinking, and organizational development to drive digital transformation. With decades of experience in bridging theory and practice, Shupack has delivered measurable, impactful outcomes across industries such as aerospace, automotive, defense, energy, finance, government, technology, manufacturing, medical, and oil and gas. He collaborates with Fortune 100 companies and government agencies. Shupack is also a published author in leading industry journals and a sought-after speaker at international conferences. Find his work at jeffreyshupack.com.

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