Are you planning your informal learning. If not, why not?

Your annual performance agreement should include a personal development plan (and if it doesn’t I suggest you add one). Although training is an important element, personal development is way more than “training”.

And because many charities have very limited funds or time for staff to go on formal training courses (which is another debate), it’s even more important for you to make the most of the informal opportunities when they present themselves.

First of all, you will need to recognise an informal learning opportunity when you see it! Then you’ll need to decide whether it’s going to contribute to your personal development goals. 

If you’re clear what your goals are, then you can start planning the types of opportunity that you should be seizing upon. You can go further and discuss with your manager or HR about how to build or create those opportunities into your work and career ambitions.

Often you go into situations where you feel you’re not quite grasping what’s going on. Be observant, notice what types of skills others have, notice what skills are lacking, be curious as to how others are dealing with the unknown, ask questions, notice how people work together (or don’t!).  Make notes about future reading around the topic or skill, do that reading and highlight just a few important points.

I’d like to start a conversation about the informal learning opportunities you see around you.

Here’s my starter for 10:

o   Being part of a project or working group

o   Offering to prepare a briefing on a hot topic

o   Standing in for a team member who is away

o   Spend a day hot-desking with another department

o   Attend another team’s meeting or invite someone from another team to yours

o   Buddy up with someone you can exchange skills with

o   Volunteer to help out with internal or external events

o   Join an external professional group

There must be many more! 

Next time I’ll be discussing how you can match up your skills needs with the opportunities you have or create.

Clare is an experienced trainer and has spent the last 11 years learning on the job about strategy and research in the charity sector.