27/05/2022
Here’s a painting I did just for fun..
Whilst painting this I had in mind something I learnt recently whilst doing a course about adult learning and encouraging a learning culture at work.
When thinking of an organisation and providing staff a good learning environment and encouraging life long learners, you can think of it as a learning garden. The L&D function is the sun, it sheds light on learning offers, any new learning opportunities and learning gaps. Flowers then need the space to grow and good soil to flourish (soil being the environment staff are sitting in and the fertiliser is the courses and learning opportunities provided). A garden needs good Gardners to shape the environment (Leaders who provide encouragement, support and get rid of ‘pests’ that erode the environment) and water is really important (a personal want, need and love of learning) for individuals to really flourish.
People, like plants, mostly respond positively to being nurtured and negatively to being neglected. Weeds and weather in a learning garden are the stressors, workloads and distractions. Weeds can choke plants and inhibit growth (not allow your staff to learn or grow and then they focus on their own survival). The less “weeds”, the better they will grow. As you know you can never have no weeds in a garden, but keeping it tidy as much as possible will provide your flowers and plants the best possible environment! As staff grow and reach their goals, so too will their self-confidence and overtime the learning culture.
Although it’s not an outside garden that I painted, I wanted to include some books so I went with an indoor garden room. It’s turned out pretty cool so thought I’d share with you.
