Training is dead. Here’s how to create a learning culture.

Imagine a world where the instant you finish learning something, it's already becoming obsolete. Welcome to the modern workplace.

There’s no time for training. The moment courses are launched, their content is outdated, making traditional instruction methods ineffective. Besides, as businesses scramble to stay afloat, their volume of work, reduced budgets, and accelerated deadlines leave no time for busy teams to stop and learn anyway. 

That’s why leaders in our InsideOut Design Leader Community chose creating a learning culture as an urgent priority in our recent roundtables. Together, they discovered that the leader’s role has evolved into a curator of learning experiences, a maker of space, and an inspiration seeker. 

Let’s take a look at how today’s leaders can skip the training and focus on the key question: What is a culture of learning, and how can we build it?

Visualizing growth: The power of skills mapping 

To find success, leaders must first align instruction with the skills their teams need to deliver on the work of today—and the work that will enable future business growth. Development plans must start with understanding both the organization’s needs and the team’s capabilities and interests.

February 27, 2025

Upskilling employees: A strategic investment in growth.

Leadership & Management, Retention Strategies, Talent Acquisition & Recruitment

By Angela Castelo

Several leaders shared how they’re using upskilling as an opportunity to deepen relationships with stakeholders by asking about their goals and gaps to craft plans that drive desired results. With goals in mind, they’re skills mapping—that is, laying out the necessary competencies and measuring their team’s experience against them.

One method is to create a simple spreadsheet with skills along the top row and team members in the first column, ranking expertise from one to four for each team member to show individual opportunities for growth and overall team deficits. Another approach is using design tools like Figma to overlap current and needed skills visually (as Figma did to build their own Design Team). Leaders can use these visualizations in performance management, one-on-ones, team discussions, and meetings with executives or finance partners to secure budgets for education. 

These techniques also enable leaders to pair team members with complementary skill sets and draw out those with expertise to share their knowledge with others. As they say, the best way to learn something is to teach it! 

Overall, design leaders are bringing professional development to life visually, then seeking ways to craft experiences that enhance the work itself. 

Embedding learning in everyday work

Though it takes valuable time, discovering where staff need support is the easier part. Putting plans into action with overwhelmed team members and impatient partners can be trickier. The benefits of a learning culture are many, and the leaders in our roundtables had some expert tips.

March 16, 2021

Constant learning is essential to team growth.

Insights from InsideOut, Leadership & Management, Retention Strategies, Talent Acquisition & Recruitment

By Susie Hall

Let’s begin with some low-lift ideas that work. Lunch-and-learns are table stakes, especially with workers increasingly disconnected and rampant misalignment across work groups. So, tapping into team members and bringing in partners from around the organization for share-outs or ask me anythings (AMAs) can deliver powerful results. One leader highlighted the success of having external vendors provide case studies, capabilities, and trend information. The options are limitless.

When budgets allow, send team members to conferences (or find free ones!). Then, have them share what they learned to boost team knowledge and presentation skills. One leader gained support for a Professional Development Day: eight hours free to explore anything, once a quarter, which was so effective that it spread to other teams. Simple tactics like hosting regular Craft Critiques put the work front and center and teach staff hard and soft skills, like giving and receiving feedback and critical thinking.

Don’t forget the power of digital channels like Slack or Teams for education and inspiration. Driven by the team's interests and promoted by super-users, these outlets take on a vibrant life of their own. Fueling these spaces with external views, such as showcasing competitor design work and asking how your team would improve it, or crowdsourcing competitive analysis, sparks fresh perspectives and uncovers potential business gains.

In another example, one smart VP supported her team by guiding them to identify a minor area of study. Just as in higher education, employees select a supplementary area of focus that complements their current role, expanding their knowledge in practical directions. Leaders recommend drawing inspiration directly from team members through observation and candid conversations, or by improving friction points. This capitalizes on real needs that motivate staff to learn. 

Bad habits: The silent killer of progress

As one brilliant leader pointed out, “unlearning” is equally important when establishing new norms. To adopt and absorb rapidly evolving technologies and critical skills, teams must first let go of embedded and comfortable rituals. Easier said than done.

In our roundtables, senior leaders noted that buy-in from executives, partners, and team members is crucial for building a learning culture, as it will either make or break any effort to change. Even more powerful, assembling informal learning groups quickly uncovers resistance points and accelerates progress. For example, one leader gathered 175 employees with enthusiasm for inclusive design, offering the chance to opt in for exploration. This made discovery fun, not just another item on the to-do list.

Remember, leaders must evolve, too, and they need support to do so. Becoming a leader for today’s workforce places additional demands on already overworked managers, many of whom are struggling to keep up with change themselves. 

Modern leaders must not only lead by example and set clear expectations. They must also be orchestrators of learning environments, leveraging coaching techniques, connecting the dots for teams and partners, and making skill acquisition visible and vital. Allocating budgets and time for their development is the first step for any organization looking to build flexible, efficient, and engaged teams. Without it, organizational growth will continue to be hindered by outdated practices and mindsets.

Sustaining a culture of learning and growth

Learning is never a one-and-done exercise. Without making it a priority, it will always fall to the wayside, leading to frustrated and less productive teams. Visionary leaders are setting the stage for constant evolution by creating space for staff to acquire skills, seeking inventive and inspirational methods, and making learning an experience, not a chore. 

Design leaders can utilize their unique abilities as makers, communicators, advocates, explorers, and collaborators to bring entire organizations together and expand their skills. As champions of innovation, they bring change with empathy and inclusion and are worth the investment required to build a culture of learning. With space, time, and budget, these leaders will visualize growth, embed exploration, and break the bad habits that prevent progress. 

In the current hyper-competitive landscape, stagnant skill sets aren't just a disadvantage—they’re a liability. So, ditch the dusty training manuals and ignite a learning revolution. The future of your business depends on it.

Why do we care? Our mission is to connect leaders to find solutions. If you're a senior design, experience, or creative operations leader of an in-house team at a high-profile brand and want to connect with others who share your unique challenges, let's talk. Our InsideOut community hosts small-format roundtables to support the learning and growth of our members, and we’re honored to facilitate those discussions. 

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