Find Your Tribe

Client Comments

"I found the face-to-face meetings extremely supportive and valuable; it was such a rich exchange of ideas and sharing of problems, challenges, successes, and best practices. Your organization was excellent at facilitating everything - keeping the meeting lively and the ambitious agenda moving along." S. Pablo, Hawai'i

A facilitated learning team is a professional development opportunity designed to create peer-to-peer exchanges around how to effectively address job-related challenges and opportunities. Peer-to-peer learning networks are excellent mechanisms for accelerating learning when a group of people are dealing with the same issues, working in similar areas, or seeking to share best practices.

This structured peer-to-peer learning helps individuals from different parts of the organization create a supportive community working together to improve their skills, design new approaches and leverage the collective brain power of the group. At an organizational level, it helps inform planning practices, promote greater operational effectiveness and greater awareness of peers, the relevant issues and market trends.

The Advantage of Participating on Learning Teams

Most professionals have plenty of experience learning in classroom settings, one-on-one mentoring, or by accessing reference materials such as books, journals, and on-line content. Fewer of us have experience learning in a professional community setting where we are both learner and teacher at different times.

Learning teams aim to develop and release talent already within the corporation. The learning team environment assists organizations by providing staff a tailored opportunity to develop themselves over time, and an effective method to test ideas with others who really understand their work.

Learning teams in other settings have been highly appreciated by participants because:

• Discussion topics are specific, relevant, and customized to participants’ current responsibilities, needs, and interests

• Participants easily forge bonds, advise and inspire one another because they share so much in common in their work. Additional collaboration and networking occurs over time outside regularly scheduled meetings based on connections established during learning team exchanges.

• A summary of the insights and actions suggested by participants during the call is provided to all. Summary notes remind those involved in the call about the full range of suggestions and ideas discussed. They also provide a valuable synopsis for those unable to attend.

• Conversations are cumulative, incorporating participant expertise and building on shared knowledge gained across multiple topics.

• Supplemental resources, articles, tools and subject matter experts are brought to bear on specific areas of interest by team participants and facilitators.

The Process

Facilitated monthly conference calls provide an on-going opportunity to discuss topics and connect with colleagues. Face-to-face meetings provide an opportunity for lengthier conversations about more in-depth and complex topics. The combination of these two experiences depends on the availability and interests of participants. For conference calls and face-to-face meetings, participants are asked to think through issues in advance, preparing to have a conversation in which they give and receive knowledge.

Integrated Work Strategies facilitators have been leading Learning Teams for the Federal Government and non-profit organizations since 1999.

Contact us for more information about how individual and group learning can be leveraged in your organization.