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Sp r i n g 2021 • forwardHR | 9 EXECUTIVE COACHING & DEVELOPMENT Creating a learning organization Focusing on innovation, resilience and future performance By Kim Clist Fons, Founder and President, Blue Wysteria L ast year was a crash course in innovation and resilience. We have all heard stories about companies that pivoted, (seemingly) effortlessly. Innovation, resilience and future-focused performance — these are all capacities of a learning organization and the necessary components to pivot and thrive. But, learning organizations don't happen by accident and they don't develop overnight. Learning organizations are created through carefully cultivated culture and processes. According to Harvard Business School Professor David Garvin, a learning organization creates, acquires and transfers knowledge and modifies its behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights. It is in the second half of the definition where most organizations struggle. Learning organizations are not just about professional development, although this is most likely a significant focus. Learning organizations look at knowledge, insights, reflections and even failures as the building blocks for their future. It isn't enough to just learn, an organization must DO something with that learning. A great place to begin is to re-evaluate your organization's relationship with challenges, problems, conflicts and even failures. By building teams with an emphasis on diversity, curiosity and humility, leaders can go from mitigating or managing these situations to seeing them as opportunities. Diversity of thought, experience, background and expertise provide new ways to look at a situation. People who can remain curious see connections that are otherwise missed. And those who bring a sense of personal humility can seek the greatest of options without pride getting in the way. Diversity and curiosity together drive learning; curiosity and humility builds relationships and camaraderie; and humility and diversity make space for inclusion. But when all three are brought to bear — organizations gain access to opportunities previously out of reach. ese opportunities are where the learning and the doing come together: opportunities for innovation and growth outside the bounds of what is today and instead, the expanse of what can be created for tomorrow. Another facet of creating a learning organization is to foster an environment where successes and struggles are treated with the same diligent analysis and reflection. is means that everyday operations should include time for learning. It means inviting and expecting scrutiny without crossing into blame or fault — all in service of fulfilling a mission instead of completing a task or project. ■ Blue Wysteria Founder and President Kim Clist Fons supports leaders and organizations in becoming more adaptive, innovative, productive and effective. She does this through one-on-one coaching, team coaching and leadership development. Fons has a master's degree in adult and community education from Ball State University, is a University of Wisconsin certified professional coach, and has received one-on-one and team coaching accreditations from the International Coaching Federation and the European Mentoring and Coaching Council. With more than a decade of experience working with leaders from across the state, she brings a wealth of knowledge, skill and collaborative resources to every client engagement.