Is Your Vendor a Learning Organization? Part 2

In the previous blog post in the series, I highlighted the most obvious signs of a learning organisation, such as blogging, speaking at conferences, and contributing to open-source projects. I also described how these activities foster individual growth and teamwork. Choosing a vendor committed to continuous learning brings substantial benefits, strengthening your organization and enhancing your project delivery capabilities.

To further understand what makes an organization truly focused on learning, let’s take a closer look at the underlying culture.

Key characteristics of a genuine learning organization

Learning organizations require thoughtful people operating within a supportive environment. According to the Learning Zone Model, learning involves stepping out of the Comfort Zone, which is limited to routine tasks. The Learning Zone encourages people to experiment, extend their abilities, and gain new skills. If challenges exceed their current capabilities, individuals enter the Alarm Zone, where stress inhibits effective learning. Therefore, creating and sustaining a true learning culture requires intentional processes and environments.

Creating a supportive environment

Effective learning demands psychological safety – a culture where team members openly ask questions, propose innovative ideas, challenge established practices, and share diverse perspectives. Rather than solely emphasizing outcomes, a supportive environment offers:

• active support to help employees achieve optimal results,
• clear guidance when team members face uncertainty,
• constructive feedback that clearly identifies areas for improvement,
• alternative viewpoints that inspire innovation.

A genuine learning organization integrates continuous learning activities into everyday activities. For example, one of our team proactively organized a hackathon tailored specifically to a client’s product challenges and prepared a solution prototype that automates the operations and will be implemented into the product (read more here). Such initiatives highlight that learning is integral to our operations, resulting in teams delivering exceptional client outcomes.

How to assess a supportive environment:

• Content review: Analyze blog posts and case studies describing complex, collaborative projects.
• Targeted questions: Request examples of implemented innovations or improvements.
• Feedback culture: Inquire about feedback frequency, purpose, and practical examples of applying feedback.

Seniority - vertical and horizontal development

A true learning organization not only supports psychological safety but also emphasizes personal and professional growth through horizontal and vertical development:

• Horizontal development involves acquiring new skills within existing mindsets.
• Vertical development includes expanding cognitive complexity, strategic thinking, and adaptability.

Focusing only on horizontal development produces technically skilled employees lacking the mental flexibility essential for managing complexity and uncertainty.

At SoftwareMill, we foster both types of development by:

• allowing employees to choose projects they engage with,
• encouraging cross-functional collaborations,
• providing coaching, mentoring, and peer support from day one,
• facilitating regular reflection and knowledge-sharing sessions,
• empowering employees to implement innovations and manage projects that require complex problem-solving.

Real-life example

The impact of this development is evident in our collaboration with one of our clients, where our team initiated the implementation of Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) with Feature Flags. This initiative spanned over one and a half years. It required several organizational adjustments, including restructuring larger teams into smaller units, refining decision-making processes, enhancing staff involvement, and clearly assigning responsibilities for addressing production issues.

As a result of this collaboration, the team achieved automatic deployment of small updates several times per week. Consequently, product development became more sustainable, manageable, and efficient for the client, significantly improving the developers' working environment. Successfully supporting such a complex transformation required not only technical expertise (horizontal development) but also strategic insight, effective change management skills, and proactive leadership engagement (vertical development).

How to assess a vendor’s horizontal and vertical development:

• Analyze case studies: Identify instances of skill enhancement and successful navigation of complex projects.
• Targeted questions: Request information on specific development initiatives, such as training, coaching, or mentoring programs.
• Review learning initiatives: Examine structured training programs (horizontal) and experiences challenging existing thinking patterns (vertical).

Effective learning initiatives

According to the 70/20/10 Learning Model, most learning comes from practical experiences (70%) and interactions with peers (20%). Formal education (10%), though smaller, is crucial for introducing and structuring knowledge. However, true learning occurs when knowledge is practically applied.

Learning organizations actively facilitate the rapid transformation of theoretical knowledge into practical skills. At SoftwareMill, our "Presentation Academy" exemplifies this approach: employees studied theory but quickly applied their knowledge by creating presentations evaluated by peers.

Understanding diverse learning preferences, we provide multiple development methods:

• workshops
• presentation sessions
• book clubs
• learning communities
• mentoring and coaching
• certification programs

These initiatives effectively support both horizontal skill-building and vertical mindset development.

How to assess learning initiatives:

• Quantity assessment: Request a detailed overview of training programs, certifications, and diverse learning formats offered.
• Impact evaluation: Ask for measurable examples of performance improvement or innovation from learning initiatives.

Knowledge sharing as collective development

Knowledge sharing in learning organizations goes beyond simply transferring information. It involves continuous collaboration, dialogue, and reflection embedded seamlessly into everyday tasks. A robust knowledge-sharing culture ensures knowledge flows freely across the organization.

At SoftwareMill, we experience tangible benefits from this transparency. We foster continous growth through dedicated Slack channels, internal communities, workshops, and mentoring. Quick responses to knowledge gaps and involving diverse perspectives early in projects enhance our solutions. For example, when a client needed innovation for Kafka-related products, we promptly organized a knowledge session with an internal Kafka expert. The swift response and high-quality solution exceeded the client’s expectations, significantly advancing product development (see blog post "Great software solutions need great teams").

How to assess knowledge sharing:

• Targeted questions: Request examples of improved processes or outcomes due to knowledge sharing.
• Activity investigation: Verify if knowledge-sharing practices are regularly embedded in daily operations.

Conclusion

Selecting a vendor with a genuine learning culture offers clear strategic advantages: innovation, adaptability, engaged teams, and superior project outcomes. By carefully evaluating these key elements, your organization can make informed decisions and establish fruitful and sustainable partnerships that significantly benefit your business.