New research into the way people learn sheds light on why individuals, and therefore organisations, often seem incapable of learning from their mistakes.
The research carried out by MaST International, learning development experts, reveals that less than half of those surveyed actually put learning into practice through a specified action plan, which could explain where lessons appear to have been learnt, for example after the Hatfield train disaster (2000), mistakes are made again just a few years later, such as at Potters Bar (2002).
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The research reveals that although people claim to be able to describe precisely what they have learnt, less than half (48%) bother to capture and transfer it into feasible action plans. Without structure, planning and transferring, learning outcomes become easily forgotten and mistakes are made again.
The ëlearning health check questionnaireí, developed for MaST International by chartered psychologist Dr. Peter Honey, has also highlighted that people generally learn reactively rather than proactively ñ assuming ëIíll know it when I see ití.
Of the 555 HR/training professionals and managers who completed the survey, 85% claimed to treat everything that happens as a learning opportunity but only 50% plan to learn in advance. This helps to explain why it is such a struggle to get people to set learning objectives, personal development plans (PDPs) or embrace continuing professional development (CDP) in a purposeful way.
Mark Mercer, consultant at MaST International, commented: ëThis research has confirmed our belief that to support personal and organisational change, people need to be given structure about the way they learn so they really benefit and change behaviours.í
Dr Peter Honey commented ëThe results confirm my suspicion about the way people approach learning; it is not something that comes automatically, learning is a learnable skill. Ask yourself ëwhat do I want to achieve from this?í and ëhow can I transfer what I have learnt?í really helps to increase learning capacities and help progression in the workplace.í
The research also showed a split in the way that different age groups learn, highlighting that under 25s produce action plans to do things better or differently, whereas over 55s prefer to learn through experimentation (75% of over 55s).
The over 55s group were predominantly directors and they were far more likely to try to transfer lessons learned in one situation to another (82.8% compared with 65.5% in other job categories); and more likely to ask ëhow could I apply this learning?í (53% compared to 42% of other categories).
Dr Peter Honey believes this may be because older/more senior staff have the confidence to experiment, while younger/less senior personnel are less inclined to take risks.
This information could provide valuable lessons to others aspiring to director level, on how to experiment with learning, and also encourage directors to pass on opportunities for creative learning to help others progress by:
ï Deliberately role modelling learning behaviours
ï Being a generous provider of learning opportunities for other people
ï Building learning into working practices (the ëcultureí) so that it becomes an accepted way of life
ï Using every opportunity to champion the importance of learning, both for the organisation and the fulfilment of individuals.
Managers fail to learn from their mistakes - New research
New research into the way people learn sheds light on why individuals, and therefore organisations, often seem incapable of learning from their mistakes.
