Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 13

PERFORMANCE MATTERS
JULIE WINKLE GIULIONI

THE ACCIDENTAL LEARNER

The past several decades have ushered in
a steady stream of learning innovations
to help people perform better. For years,
the focus was on generating formalized
learning solutions. More recently, the
focus has shifted to informal learning.
Increasingly, organizations are investing
in bringing greater structure to the
important domains of exposure (learning
from and through others) and experience
(on-the-job activities designed to elevate
capability). But, under the surface of both
formal and informal methods, another
source of learning exists, offering lessons
that are available from just living life
with intention. This domain is called
"accidental learning."
Every day, we encounter countless events,
interactions, wins and losses. But, given
the pace of today's workplace, most
employees do little more than power
through, moving from one thing to the
next. They frequently find themselves
facing the same challenges over and over
again in the form of different projects and
people. However, this is not the experience
of all employees. That's because, while
they are engaged in the activities required
for success, they are also engaged in
something else: accidental learning.

ACCIDENTAL
LEARNERS LEVERAGE
LIFE FOR LEARNING.

approaches, improve responses and
relationships, and recalibrate efforts -
all to, essentially, learn. They transform
everyday events and interactions into
powerful learning experiences.
Accidental learners internalize mental
processes that allow them to recognize
and respond to opportunities that
frequently go unnoticed by others,
creating additional opportunities for
growth in their daily routine. They tend to
naturally, unconsciously and pervasively
demonstrate three practices: presence,
percolation and play. Individually, these
practices open doors. But when utilized
together, they open eyes, ears, hearts and
minds to accidental learning.
1. PRESENCE
We can also think of this as mindfulness,
awareness, focus or intention. Whatever
the label, this practice involves being
willing to slow down just enough to pay
attention to the world around us. We can
only take advantage of the ever-present
learning opportunities flooding our dayto-day existence to the extent that we're
able to notice and pick up on the cues.
A non-verbal reaction from a coworker.
A small error. A repeated struggle.
These are quiet cues or indicators of a
potential learning opportunity for the
accidental learner.
2. PERCOLATION

Accidental learners leverage life for
learning. They recognize that day-today life presents infinite opportunities
to expand perspectives, consider new

E.E. Cummings wrote, "Pity to have had
the experience and missed the meaning."
Too many of us are missing much of the
meaning our lives offer. The business

world's bias toward action means the
reflection rarely gets its due. Whatever the
cause, the solution is to pause and allow
our thoughts to percolate. Start meetings
with a moment or two to get centered
and shift focus. Shorten your 60-minute
meeting default to 50 minutes and
redeploy this newfound time for reflection
on insights and actions you'll take. Find
ways to prioritize percolation.
3. PLAY
Kids embrace play and experimentation.
They try stuff out. They fall down. They get
up, and they repeat it all again. But adults
take things much more seriously and
proceed more cautiously. We are less apt
to take a risk. But, if we reframe learning in
terms of attempting something new and
seeing how it goes, suddenly we can relax
into learning one step at a time. Progress,
rather than perfection, becomes the goal.
As a result, we can more confidently seize
spontaneous opportunities to innovate,
improve and learn. Trial and error is
today's classroom.
Although formal learning is an important
piece of the corporate learning puzzle, and
informal learning is invaluable in terms of
scaling and contextualizing development
efforts, let's not forget to tap into the
endless possibilities of accidental learning
- the most pervasive and potentially
powerful source of insights, improvement,
innovation and results.
Julie Winkle Giulioni has 25 years of experience
working with organizations worldwide to
improve performance through learning.
Email Julie.

T R A I N I N G I N DUSTR Y MAGAZ INE -FORMALIZ ING INFORMAL L E ARNI NG 2 019 I W W W .T RAI NI NGI NDU S T RY .C OM/ MAGAZI NE

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Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019

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