How to Build a Learning Culture at Work: Practical, Research-Backed Actions Anyone Can Take

Creating a true learning culture isn’t about having the biggest training budget or the most courses. It’s about the everyday behaviors that shape how people work, ask questions, give feedback, and share what they know. A strong learning culture makes teams more adaptable, engaged, and innovative - and research has been remarkably consistent on what helps it grow.

Here’s a research-based, practical guide for any employee, any manager, and any team that wants to build a more curious and high-performing workplace.

1. Make it normal to ask questions

Research on psychological safety  shows that learning accelerates when people feel safe to ask questions without judgment. Questions signal curiosity - the core behavior that fuels learning.

Try today:

• Ask clarifying questions instead of assuming you’re supposed to know.

• Say things like “I might be missing something — could you walk me through your thinking?”

• When someone else asks a question, respond with respect and curiosity.

Asking questions is one of the simplest ways to shift team behavior toward learning.

2. Share what you learn — even small insights

Knowledge becomes more valuable when it’s shared. Research on organizational learning shows that teams learn faster when they exchange small lessons frequently rather than waiting for big debriefs.

Try today:

• Share one insight from a meeting, article, or challenge you solved.

• Write a quick “here’s what I learned” post in a team chat.

• Ask coworkers, “What’s one thing you’ve learned this week?”

Sharing normalizes learning and helps others improve too.

3. Use real work as your main learning engine

The 70-20-10 model  highlights that most learning happens through experience — not formal training. That means your daily tasks are your biggest development opportunity.

Try today:

• Take on a slightly challenging task you haven’t done before.

• Ask to sit in on a meeting with someone skilled in an area you care about.

• Observe how colleagues approach difficult conversations or evaluations.

You don’t need a course to grow - your job is already a learning lab.

4. Practice skills deliberately, not passively

Skill growth requires deliberate practice - focused effort on improving one specific part of a skill, not simply repeating the same task.

Try today:

• Pick one micro-skill: asking clearer questions, structuring emails more effectively, taking better meeting notes.

• Practice it intentionally in your next two or three interactions.

• Ask for quick feedback afterward: “Did this feel clearer?”

Small improvements repeated consistently create big growth over time.

5. Reflect regularly - even briefly

Reflection turns experience into insight. Chris Argyris and Donald Schön’s research shows that teams and individuals who reflect regularly learn faster and make better decisions.

Try today:

• After a meeting or task, ask yourself:

  • What went well?

  • What was frustrating?

  • What would I do differently next time?

• Capture these reflections in a notebook or notes app.

Five minutes of reflection often teaches more than an hour of training.

6. Ask for feedback — and make it specific

Feedback literacy research (Carless & Boud, 2018) shows that people learn more when they actively seek feedback and ask targeted questions.

Try today:

• Don’t ask “Do you have any feedback?”

• Instead ask: “What’s one thing I could improve about how I handled that?”

• Or: “What’s one thing I did well that I should keep doing?”

The easier you make it for someone to give you feedback, the more you’ll learn.

7. Recognize learning behaviors in others

Reinforcement theory shows that behaviors that get noticed get repeated. When you reinforce learning behaviors in colleagues, you build the culture together.

Try today:

• Thank someone for sharing a mistake or insight.

• Acknowledge a colleague who took initiative to learn something new.

• Celebrate progress, not just perfect outcomes.

Learning is a team sport — and recognition accelerates it.

Final takeaway

A learning culture isn’t built through HR programs alone. It’s built through small, repeated actions that anyone can take:

• Ask questions

• Share knowledge

• Try new things

• Practice deliberately

• Reflect regularly

• Seek feedback

• Recognize learning behaviors

When these habits become normal, learning stops being something people attend — and becomes something people live.

Sources:

Psychological Safety

• Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383.

• Edmondson, A. (2018). The Fearless Organization. Wiley.

70-20-10 Model & Experiential Learning

• Lombardo, M. M., & Eichinger, R. W. (1996). The Career Architect Development Planner. Lominger.

• DeRue, D. S., & Wellman, N. (2009). Developing leaders via experience. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(4), 859–875.

Deliberate Practice

• Ericsson, K. A., Krampe, R. T., & Tesch-Römer, C. (1993). The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review, 100(3), 363–406.

Reflection & Team Learning

• Argyris, C., & Schön, D. (1978). Organizational Learning: A Theory of Action Perspective. Addison-Wesley.

Feedback Literacy

• Carless, D., & Boud, D. (2018). The development of student feedback literacy: enabling uptake of feedback. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 43(8), 1315–1325.