Creating a Organizational learning environment

In this fast moving, ever changing and dynamic world of the global economy, “knowledge” building within an organization and its subsequent application is gaining critical importance. Today, knowledge is driving business and creating the key differentiators. The application of knowledge is allowing organizations to create “ knowledge added products” there by gaining  premiums. It is therefore critical and crucial that organizations create engines within their systems to identify, assimilate and manage knowledge and use “learning” as a management tool rather than just as part of skill development. And it is equally essential that individuals participate in such engines. These “knowledge engines” must be capable of

(a) Assimilating and distributing tacit knowledge (knowledge based on the experiences and ideas of their own employees. In every organization there exists a huge base of this kind of knowledge, which is actually its Intellectual Capital,  and which is  wasted due to non sharing, non collaboration and finally erodes due to attrition and “retirals”.

B)    Continuous dissemination of Explicit knowledge (Knowledge imparted through Training and skill development programs. The key operative word is “continuous”. Training programs, once completed, have a habit of fading out from memory. The efficacy of such periodic programs with respect to productivity and outcomes is low. Training and skill development is a continuous process, with the base training being followed with updates, tutorials, experience sharing and most importantly, the application of that training into real life scenarios.

C)   Analytical tools for strengths, weaknesses as well as development needs.

D)    Mentoring and  management of outcomes

Mentorship refers to a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person. The receiver of mentorship was traditionally referred to as a protégé, or apprentice but with the institutionalization of mentoring the more neutral word "mentee" was invented and is widely used today.

The mentoring process :

·         Individuals  can depend on mentors to keep them apprised of changes and advances in their field. Mentors can also show them how the curriculums / programs  can benefit their career and can recommend elective courses. The objective will be to help the mentee become a business leader

·         Mentors can help mentees develop resumes or select a project or campus / employment  club that may further their careers.

·         Mentors can help mentees accomplish career goals, as well as personal goals. They give advice on resume-enhancing activities or recommend ways to balance career and family.

·         Mentees can and  should talk to their mentors about what they hope to gain from the experience. They should also learn about their mentors' experiences and how they acquired their current positions.

·         Relationships are not one-sided. Mentees  are encouraged to enter the process with thoughts about how they can help mentors give them the best advice.

·         Mentees need to know themselves. Feedback helps mentees identify strengths and weaknesses which help the mentor and mentee address areas for improvement.

·         Mentors encourage mentees to develop to their fullest potential and to create their own vision for the future.

Mentoring techniques

1.    Accompaniment

 This means making a commitment in a caring way. Accompanying involves taking part in the learning process by taking the path with the learner.

2.    Seeding

Mentors are often confronted with the difficulty of preparing the learner before he or she is ready to change. Sowing is necessary when you know that what you say may not be understood or even acceptable to learners at first but will make sense and have value to the mentee when the situation requires it.

3.    Accelerating

When change reaches a critical level of pressure, learning can jump. Here the mentor can choose to plunge the learner right into change, provoking a different way of thinking, a change in identity or a re-ordering of values.

4.    Demonstration

This is making something understandable, or using self example to demonstrate a skill or activity. You show what you are talking about, you show by your own behavior.

5.    Harvesting

Here the mentor focuses on “picking the ripe fruit”: it is usually learned to create awareness of what was learned by experience and to draw conclusions. The key questions here are: "What have you learned?" "How useful is it?"

Different techniques are allowed and  may be used by mentors according to the situation and the psychological mindset of the mentee. These Techniques  can be found in ancient education systems, from the Socratic technique of harvesting to the accompaniment method of learning used in the apprenticeship of itinerant cathedral builders during the Middle Ages. Leadership authors Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner advise mentors to look for "teachable moments" in order to "expand or realize the potentialities of the people in the organizations they lead" and underline that personal credibility is as essential to quality mentoring as skill.