Developing a Culture of Lifelong Learning

When evaluating a potential employer, the guiding principles, as well as how they are used in business decisions, speak volumes about the company culture and values. Said another way, for you to know whether you will “fit” a company’s culture, you would do well to know these values and understand their importance to the culture. The reason for this is that for a culture to be real, every team member must be aligned with the culture and guiding principles.

The brands within the Share On Purpose portfolio are constantly innovating. For this reason, a principle specific to knowledge acquisition needed to be included and defined. The founding leaders of Share On Purpose asked a few bold questions: How do we build a “learning organization” in an uncertain, rapidly changing world? And, how can the management team be mentored so they lead with these values consistently? Ultimately the goal was to strengthen the culture and service offerings while evolving, expanding and innovating our way to success.

To help answer these questions, a look at the Millennial generation and their “just-in-time learning” philosophy provided valuable insight. Millennials are incredibly resourceful knowledge seekers and quick to learn. They don’t learn because they are told to, or simply to accumulate knowledge. They learn what they need, when they need it, and then apply that knowledge to enhance their lives or grow their careers.

With the help of Share On Purpose’s initial culture team members, the principle adopted regarding training and mentoring was “New Knowledge – Learn it as you need it.” Knowledge is (and always has been) power, which is why a college degree became a necessary management criterion in the baby boomer era. The problem with the accumulation of knowledge today is that our world is changing so fast that most skills are outdated less than a year after they are learned.

For our guiding principles to resonate with the way generations now learn, we had to rethink traditional training models and embrace the “just-in-time learning” modality. That meant defining the value, New Knowledge, and rethinking the Career Matrix to introduce certain management skills as leaders’ careers were evolving. It also meant creating the Share School Online Leadership Training Portal, so that training would be available when emerging leaders needed it, rather than wait for when it would be taught.

There are many things that contribute to building a performance culture, but one of the most important is to use a defined set of values so that leadership and business decisions align with the culture; and then to embed the values into all facets of the organization, especially training.

For Share On Purpose, the guiding principles provide the anchor to the culture from which all decisions, actions, and services are measured against.

If this sounds like an organization you’d like to be a part of, view our available positions and apply now.