That employees perform better when they have agency and choice, and when they see the value of the tasks they are performing, is hardly news. Yet many companies aren’t sure what to do with this idea … how can they help employees feel valued and autonomous, but still accomplish the goals of the organization?
Self-directed learning is one such way. By enabling employees to have a hand in their own education, an organization can offer valuable trust to their workers that will be repaid in innovation, loyalty and productivity. Before you can instill a culture of self-directed learning in your own workplace, however, you need to know the basics.
What Is Self-Directed Learning?
Although the name is self-explanatory, let’s offer a definition of this concept, as supplied by selfdirectedlearning.com: “In self-directed learning (SDL), the individual takes the initiative and the responsibility for what occurs. Individuals select, manage, and assess their own learning activities, which can be pursued at any time, in any place, through any means, at any age … For the individual, SDL involves initiating personal challenge activities and developing the personal qualities to pursue them successfully.”
Self-directed learning, in other words, is learning that the individual gets to direct. They choose what to learn, how to learn it, and most importantly why to learn it. That is to say, they get to choose the outcome they desire and work toward it independently in the way they see fit. This might be a personal improvement, a project, an organizational goal or a combination; the choice is theirs.
How Does Self-Directed Learning Engage People?
Self-directed learning, taken too far, can become pandering, and that is not what you want. However, at a reasonable level that doesn’t affect organizational performance, self-directed learning gives employees a personal stake in the workplace. The ability to choose their own goals and work toward them is a powerful motivator. Think about how motivated we are by hobbies, because they interest us and are a task of our own choosing. Self-directed learning accomplishes the same engagement-generating ends.
What Workplace Outcomes Does It Encourage?
When employees are given time to pursue their own projects and interests, the chances that they will come up with something that measurably improves the organization as a whole increase. Of course, you cannot sacrifice the bottom line to every employee whim or inventive notion, but neither should you stifle these impulses in the name of efficiency. When employees have time to learn what they want to learn, to improve their performance in ways they see fit, and contribute to the workplace according to their own ideas, they are happier and more fulfilled. According to the Harvard Business Review, “71% of respondents rank employee engagement as “very important to achieving overall organizational success.” So why wouldn’t you do what you can?
How Do You Create a Culture of Self-Direction?
There is no simple answer to this question, of course. Self-directed learning takes years to instill in employees, and may not even be something you are good at yourself. No worries. Start small, with open periods where employees can choose their own tasks. Provide a variety of resources they can reference. Hold meetings in which you help employees choose a direction, then periodically meet to keep them on track and reward success. Let everyone know you’re emphasizing self-directed learning, and ask for suggestions whenever people have them.
How Can Employees Contribute?
Obviously the main thrust of self-directed learning is that employees will have more of a stake in their own education, training and workplace edification. However, too many employers presume this means they should choose what they learn from a specified set of resources, say, or they should choose how they learn from a limited built-in structure of “free time.”
Unfortunately, when employees’ choice is limited to choices that have been made for them, that limits the potential of self-directed learning somewhat. Sure, you can’t restructure the entire workplace or workday, but you can draw on employee opinion as often as possible. One of the main ways self-directed learning improves the workplace is by giving people a stake in outcomes. Surveys, polls, face-to-face meetings and other interactions can help you take the pulse of the company and give employees a dog in the race.
It’s no secret that when employees feel valued and interested, they perform better. Because self-directed learning can deliver those outcomes, you’re missing out if you fail to incorporate its principles in your organization. With a little tweaking or your workplace culture and structure, you will deliver meaningful change that can measurably impact engagement, performance and overall organizational success.
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