| | AUGUST 2024MANAGEHRMAGAZINE.COM9Build their muscle in this area boosted with tools, resources and ongoing skill-building as part of your strategy ­ and help them ask great questions. Additionally, it helps them understand the wide spectrum of development opportunities beyond sending someone on a course or program. Think short-term assignments, parental cover, shadowing, and mentoring; there are so many more ways to build capability through experiences rather than formal learning. 3. Tone from the Top ­ It may seem cliché, but anyone who has been lucky enough to work in an organisation where your C-Suite proactively talks about learning, development and growth knows first-hand what a difference this makes in your culture. When you can get to a place where your most senior leaders ask questions like `So what did we learn?' about successes and setbacks and play their part in publicly developing themselves and others, it's a very special place to be. I am currently in only the second organisation where I've had this luxury, which is incredibly powerful. If you don't have this kind of culture, challenge yourself to find one key executive you can ask to start thinking this way. When setbacks happen, encourage them to respond with `So what did we learn?' 4. Latch onto Signature Initiatives ­ This is a strategy that I have capitalised on many times. All of our businesses have those 1-2 strategic priorities that, if everything else gets deselected, these won't. Find a way to get `learning' in the mix and make it part of the rollout plan. For example, if your version of HR transformation includes taking out 30 percent of administrative or transactional activities, how about replacing it with a capability-building toolbox for the respective HR partners? They can reposition their role from order takers to trusted advisors and coaches with the respective leaders they partner with. Or you have a strategy to drive `One Commercial Organisation' ­ try to bring in learning as a catalyst to have `one way of selling'. Be patient ­ shaping and re-shaping culture takes time and perseverance. My career journey has taken me to many dynamic and diverse industries and cultures, but ultimately, it's about figuring out your company's context. Take the time it takes to figure out where you've landed and how things work there, and hopefully, these strategies can help you build something that stands the test of time. Be patient ­ shaping and re-shaping culture takes time and perseveranceBerry Lumpkins
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