How Leaders Can Encourage Learning

This HBR IdeaCast interview explores three leadership styles for fostering a learning culture within organizations: custodian, challenger, and connector. The interview discusses the accelerating demand for upskilling due to rapid external change and increased employee mobility, emphasizing that every leader should proactively consider learning's purpose for individuals and the collective. The three styles are differentiated by their approach to learning: custodians focus on alignment and efficiency, challengers prioritize challenging complacency and stimulating innovation, and connectors aim to build stronger relationships and collaboration. The podcast concludes by highlighting Schneider Electric as a company successfully integrating these approaches, demonstrating the importance of balancing instrumental and humanistic learning to achieve both efficiency and innovation. Ultimately, the podcast advocates for creating time and space for learning, recognizing it as crucial for both individual well-being and organizational success.