How Self-led Learning Can Solve the Hybrid Challenge

We are in what sociologists call an ‘unsettled period’, struggling to find a routine and settle on ways of working in our hybrid setting. A recent global study found that 72% of global workers are exhausted from working in hybrid. In the UK, a separate study found 20% of people struggle with ‘always being on’ due to hybrid work. Research has also found that a third of young people feel their life is out of control, and over 50% feel scared about the future.

In an unsettled period like this one, people look to exercise agency. Think back to the pandemic: during lockdowns, people looked to take back control wherever they could. Be it finding the perfect banana bread recipe, to diving into more ‘how to’ google searches, to controlling their reality in video games.

We looked for control in the workplace in the same way, and we continue to do so. This is notably true when it comes to development: we have a prime opportunity to give people control over their learning in an exhausting hybrid working world. How? Through self-led learning.

At TST, we use self-led learning extensively in our work across the world. It’s a powerful approach to learning design, able to create long-lasting change regardless of audience, geography, or industry. We believe for learning to be truly self-led, it must do three things:

1. Give people ownership over their learning, from executing and planning, to evaluating learning.
2. Be anchored in a growth mindset; to ensure people are empowered to direct their own learning.
3. Provide true choice, for example choosing their pace, mode, learning content, etc.

How can you build self-led into your learning?

1) Give true choice, but gradually

For self-led learning to be effective and not overwhelming, it must begin with clear direction and gradually give way to increased choice. For example, you might start with baseline skills and mindsets that are fundamental for thriving in your organizational culture. From there, by gradually increasing choice, you slowly give increased freedom. The best self-led learning, in other words is structured and supported, before being fully self-led and choice-based. In practice this means:

• 1) Provide the tools that will gradually give allow people to make effective choices aligned with their development goals. This will allow them to increasingly identify the skills they need, when they need them. Consider scientifically designed onboarding passports and journey maps that will enable this ownership over learning.
• 2) Enable micro choices and agency within your programme over time. This might include the length of a graduate or leadership programme rotation, or which shadowing and skills development opportunities to take advantage of. Enabling choice that allows you to champion peoples’ different skill sets and personal brands.
• 3) Increase informed choice over time. Gradually increasing choice is not effective if people don’t have the tools to make informed choices. As you’re gradually increasing the choice available to people, make sure that’s accompanied by the information they need on trade-offs and opportunities on making those choices.

2) Make it an open world

Every individual in your organisation, be they new-joiners or steadfast veterans, will each have different specialisms, interests, and skillsets. High impact self-led learning nurtures strengths and can level the playing field. When we design self-led learning, we adopt an ‘open world’ mindset. Specifically: we design self-led learning where each person feels like they’re Player One in their own video game. What does this mean, in practice?

• 1) Give opportunities to explore what is available. Unstructured discovery is a powerful way of giving agency. It allows people to find the skills, identify what they’re interested in, and engage with them in the order that interests them. Importantly, some key mechanics should structure this experience. Your people should feel like they’re constantly moving forward, rather than getting lost in the discovery.
• 2) Create multiple environments. A learning environment can take many forms—high energy, reflective, short, prolonged, etc. This same holds true for self-led learning, where you can create a variety of moods through your learning design. Incorporate a variety of these moods into your self-led learning design, so people can match their mood through their learning. This gives an additional layer of choice that can also enhance the impact of your self-led learning.
• 3) Adopt a beta-test mindset. It’s important to know what’s working and what’s not, and having the agility to respond. Are there knowledge gaps or invisible barriers in the learning you are providing? Does your learning content and structure meet neurodiverse needs? How can it be more open and inclusive? The key is to keep asking, learning, and applying.

3) Self-led shouldn’t mean siloed

Hybrid is tiring. In response, some organisations are even rethinking office space to design for focus, creativity, and innovation. We find that building self-led into your learning can help to energise, engage and empower your people in this exhausting hybrid world. In practise, this means:

• 1) Embrace flexibility. We all have different biological rhythms and preferences for what time of day we learn best. When it comes to self-led learning, embrace these different rhythms and preferences. Let your people learn when they want to. It could be that for some, mornings are best for collaborative learning, whereas for others it is when they prefer solo reflection. When you allow people to choose when as well as how, you’re setting them up for the highest-impact learning.
• 2) Celebrate growth. Recognise and celebrate your people’s growth. Think about creating your version of the shiny gold stars we received at school or the playback of your winning moment in a video game. Spotlight success and failure, because we often learn best when we get it wrong.
• 3) Create communication channels for your learners to share their milestones and reflect with peers. Integrating self-led learning into your community and social initiatives will give your people the opportunity to connect over learning, and even start embedding a culture of learning. With the right channels, your people will be connecting over their shared learning moments. After all, self-led learning shouldn’t mean learning alone.

Ready to build self-led into your learning? Sign up to our newsletter to explore more tools and insights on the latest in learning, development and attraction: