So… what are the factors that we require in order to create the best possible environment for a human being to be fully engaged and to flourish? 

Research shows us that there must be an environment and clear expectations in which learning can prosper and where we are not inhibited in any way. In summary, any environment where we feel safe and happy is the environment where our brain and body will also function most effectively. In a family or an organisation where Dynamic Learning is not only allowed but is pro-actively fostered, all the criteria that we require for effective functioning and the prospering of a human being will also be met. In order to be an effective learner, we need to feel safe and valued; we need to work in a healthy learning environment where we can ask questions, explore issues, feel free to take balanced risks and raise ideas. We also require a good social support network in order to function effectively. 

Of course, we know that life and business is full of challenges and urgent situations, which can create stresses which will lead to bad behaviours. These situations do not always allow us to create the best environment in which we can flourish and function at our best. We are able as a species to manage high level changes fairly well if they occur occasionally or sporadically. However, when the human starts having to live in a high stress and a negative environment, toxic or negative culture as a norm, we will not be able to sustain our performance over time. In order to ensure that we can continue to function effectively and sustain our resilience during difficult times, we need to be working in a context of a Continuous Learning Culture where we feel safe to take the necessary risks; we cannot deal with threat and live in survival state exclusively.

Authentic Resilience

The Continuous positive Learning Culture will provide the ingredients that allow us to build authentic resilience. Authentic resilience recognizes that we all need to recharge, and we all need good conditions to keep on restoring our balance. Where we have a lot of pressure, we also need a time and place to recover. Some people are better at restoring balance or regaining inner strength alone. Others need the social support from others and find it very hard alone.

So, we all need to develop authentic resilience strategies; however the external culture will play a fundamental role in how effectively and sustainably we can give our optimum and continued energy and remain engaged and in flow.

Our own inner world gives us the power to keep constant and it is completely our own choice how we apply ourselves in relation to our world and which values we choose to apply. Therefore, we all need to develop an internal Learning Culture for ourselves in order for us to grow, change, develop and manage our everyday situations with optimum energy where we can celebrate and shine.

For individuals, teams or whole organisations, this programme will give the foundation, understanding and strategies to develop the necessary agility, adaptability and courage in order to thrive in our world of fast paced unpredictable change.

The importance of the Human Elements

There are so many compromises resulting in cognitive, social, biological, hormonal, interpersonal issues, which impact on our ability to learn and process information. To develop a successful Learning Organisation, we cannot compromise on fulfilling the Human Elements, and creating the conditions for optimum learning to take place.  Please see here to understand more about the Human Elements which are also addressed in this programme.

Internal and external Learning Cultures

This programme is about raising awareness and supporting you to create internal and external positive Learning Cultures where we are developing success habits for long term success, being able to embrace change and learning . An internal Learning Culture is where our own thinking is constructive and helpful; positive thoughts are generated by ourselves, which drive our own success, focus, engagement, determination and performance. An external Learning Culture is one where we are aware of the factors influencing learning and these factors are intentionally developed and crafted in order to create the best learning environment where people are energised, enabled and engaged. The right external culture will enable us to have the right internal culture and the courage to act and do the right thing even in the face of adversity. It will give us the strength to sustainably work on our continuous self-development, learning and aim to be the best we can be. This develops the inner strength which gives us the foundation to perform effectively in to the long term.  

The vital ingredient of conscious learning

In order to build a Continuous Learning Culture with the right values and behaviours to sustain the learning, we need to understand what we are trying to build. The important factor is that we are learning in order to reach transformation. We need to apply our learning in order to achieve change. Otherwise there is no pragmatic reason for the learning.

Individual and organisational value alignment is paramount to ensuring the individual stays engaged, motivated and productive.

Understanding your values as an individual, a team or a whole organisation is a paramount element of your identity. Without clarity on our values and beliefs we are not on a conscious journey of travel. We will all have attitudes and thoughts and ideas that are unconscious and automatic, but any development journey is about raising the automatic to the conscious level. Once they are conscious, we can work with them, understand and reflect on them in order to instigate necessary change. In order to achieve that we need to develop conscious awareness and standards that we wish to set for ourselves.

A common set of shared values in a team or organisation form a fundamental basis to how we guide our behaviours and can guide our communication and understanding on challenges and issues. It makes a solution-focused approach possible. Of course, we also need honesty about the attitudes that underpin the individuals and whether people are committed and accountable to the cause. Our values are inextricably connected to our attitudes, which in turn will drive our behaviours.