The way we are working is changing and it’s not just about Gen Z’s expectations for flexible working and Millennials' desire to earn prestige (and interest-matched pay rises). There is a change coming at a fundamental level. As The New York Times coined it, “the knowledge economy is giving way to a relationship economy.”
The value of knowledge, education and traditional intelligence is important, for sure. But workplaces that understand the value of relationships, empathy and communication are finding that it’s easier to embrace new concepts, learn from mistakes and ultimately do what we’re all trying to do—innovate!
To get your workforce on-board with this new relationship economy, it’s all about experiential learning.
Experiential Learning Methods
Okay, so what actually is experiential learning?
This is the process of learning through experience. Simple! It’s a hands-on approach that’s been refined into a theory by educational theorist David A. Kolb. There are four stages of experiential learning—experiencing, reflecting, thinking and acting—that can be applied to any problem or challenge. It’s an effective way to teach.
You might have heard of experiential learning at college or higher education, but it’s not just for students. Experiential learning in the workplace is a way to bring teams together to learn and have a bit of fun. You can use it to develop empathy, encourage teamwork, develop a better method of communication, and find new ways to solve those totally impossible situations.
It might look like meetings where new ideas are tried and tested, or workshops where teams think outside the box. The key is, your team is free as a bird to try new ideas, reflect on them, come up with a better idea, and make it happen.
‘Learning by doing’ taps into the relationship economy that’s so important for the future of the workplace. It’s a way to actively engage and train employees in a world of Zoom calls and WFTC (Working From The Couch). And it’s not just about learning a new skill or solution. Experiential learning teaches lessons on a deeper level, lessons that can be applied to any unexpected business challenge that comes your way.
The Importance of Experiential Learning
There are many different learning styles, from visual to auditory, kinesthetic to intrapersonal, right? Experiential learning can be combined with these types, or even encompass them. That’s part of why it’s the most effective learning style.
When you embrace experiential learning, here’s what you can expect.
Experience, Remember, Have Fun
Compared to other learning styles, experiential learning is more memorable and, importantly, enjoyable. It’s not about sending an email to teach an entire team a new system. It’s not about “talking through your feelings” either. It’s a hands-on way to learn about the hard stuff and have a few laughs.
We’ve found that reluctant teams that take part in our workshops are often surprised by how engaging and enjoyable experiential learning can be. A scientific review looking at the role of experiential learning on students’ motivation and classroom engagement found the same results.
The review notes that “learners enthusiastically participate in mental, emotional, and social interactions during the learning procedure” and, as a result, this “dynamic participation in experiential activities [...] can trigger their ability to retain knowledge that leads to their intrinsic motivation and interest.”
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Time for Reflection
Experiential learning can take employees out of the workplace and provide some perspective. Reflection is an important part of the theory—it’s a chance to step back and finally realise “oh, that’s not working” or “it’s me, hi, I’m the problem it’s me.”
Building in time to reflect on failures and successes after training a team something new with experiential learning is incredibly valuable. It’s a chance for your employees to grab onto ownership and change course for the better.
“The workshop gave our team lots of opportunity to debrief our thoughts, feelings, and understandings which allowed us to have tools to implement immediately.” - Gemma Mendez-Smith, Executive Director, Four County Labour Market Planning Board
Improve Team Wellbeing
Experiential learning requires employees to get together, to take risks, and to be hands-on. Yep, that can lead to some “passionate” discussions! But it’s not about avoiding conflict. It’s about healthy discourse. When you use experiential learning to bring people together, they have a chance to develop empathy and build a common language.
Post-pandemic, more companies have siloed teams working remotely than ever before. Experiential learning brings them together, and that’s good news for everyone involved (even the introverts).
A study across the pond discovered that the rise in mental distress and low wellbeing among isolated students during the COVID-19 pandemic could be soothed away by encouraging experiential learning. They found that a mix of both physical and digital learning had a positive impact on students, and experiential learning spaces (even libraries and gardens) could be the key to supporting mental health.
Learn from Mistakes (and Get Comfortable Failing)
Finally, experiential learning is a chance to get comfy with failure. While we like to believe we are all highly civilised and logical beings at work, the sting of failure hits hard in the emotional realm—and that does impact our work ethic and performance. Don’t try to deny it, you’re only human!
Using experiential learning to train employees of the future means they’ll have a chance to see what happens when they fail (and savor the sweet taste of success) from a safe space.
“The Failure Toy provided the high performing employees leading this initiative the opportunity to investigate their personal reactions to failure, and to see how these reactions directly influence behaviour. The Failure Toy workshop reminded us that building a culture that learns from failure starts by equipping individuals with the language, mindset and courage to talk about it.” - Adrian Ionescu, Experience Design and Change Management Lead, Dell Technologies
Getting Hands-On with It
Experiential learning reconnects people in an increasingly fragmented workplace. There are some things that just can’t be (and shouldn’t be) taught through an email.
Ross and Magsamen, our favorite authors of neuroaesthetics book Your Brain on Art, sum it up beautifully: “We are feeling beings who have learned to think, not the other way around.” Companies are waking up to this fact and realizing just how important soft skills, like empathy and communication, truly are.
And that’s why experiential learning is so wonderfully interestingly engagingly useful. It takes us back to feeling, exploring and experiencing.
If you’d like to find out more about experiential learning and how to bring your team together, say hello to our Professional Development Workshops today.