// I n fo g r a p h //

Benefits of a High-Impact Learning Culture

Based on responses from 426 organizations, the Bersin & Associates study “High-Impact
Learning Culture: The 40 Best Practices for Creating an Empowered Enterprise” found that
leadership and management play a pivotal role in learning culture, and most best practices
focus on informal approaches to learning, which further reinforces the need to expand the
concept of "learning" well beyond formal training.

Of all organizations with strong learning cultures:

46%
34% 33% 39%
18%

46% are more likely to 34% are more likely 18% are more likely 33% are more likely to 39% are more likely
be strong innovators in to get to market to be a market-share report higher customer to report success
their markets before competitors leader satisfaction than other implementing customer
organizations suggestions

Source: Bersin & Associates

// Fa s t Fact //

Work on Strengths or Weaknesses?

One of the basic questions facing everyone creating Leaders believe that they know their weaknesses and their
a personal development plan is whether to focus strengths, but according to the report, “people are not accu-
attention on correcting faults or building strengths. rate in their perception of their weaknesses or their strengths.
The answer to the question depends on the competencies Using 360-degree feedback ensures that people have more
of the person involved, and those can vary over time accord- accurate data, which provides both guidance and motivation
ing to a new report, “Developing Strengths or Weaknesses: in the improvement process.”
Overcoming the Lure of the Wrong Choice,” by Jack Zenger, Zenger Folkman data on tens of thousands of leaders
CEO and co-founder of Zenger Folkman. shows that
The report analyzed more than 6,000 leaders on the dimen- • 64 percent have no strengths
sion of possessing strengths or weaknesses (fatal flaws), and • 11 percent have only one strength
from there, arranged the leaders into three categories: those hav- • 15 percent have from two to five strengths
ing one or more fatal flaws, those having neither strengths nor • 10 percent have six or more strengths.
weaknesses, and those leaders having one or more strengths. “If you possess a profound weakness, then work on that,”
“Those leaders who have fatal flaws should not spend time Zenger explains. “Working on strengths is relatively futile
working on developing strengths,” notes Zenger. According to until that is rectified. Once the
the report, it is extremely important to first correct the obvi- serious weakness is correct-
ous flaw. Therefore, for one-third of the leader population, the ed, instantly begin to work
focus should be on identifying the weakness and fixing it. on developing strengths.
“Much of our work in counseling, coaching, and behavioral It is the presence
therapy has been to get people who are in negative territory of a handful of
up to ground zero,” says Zenger. “We can’t overemphasize strengths that will
the need to get that done. But never forget that such work make you the strong
only gets you to ground zero. Now the focus has to be on the leader your organi-
“positive deviance” side of the equation where the real payoff zation needs.”
comes. That is when building strengths come into play.”

Photo by Shutterstock.com august 2010 | T+D | 23

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