How do you ensure project lessons are truly learned and applied within your teams?

A recent workplace real-life story for sustainability project (last month):

When conducting an Agile learning workshop as my project, I gather all the participants during the final session to conduct a retrospective on what we have accomplished and learned. We open discussions for feedback and document their suggestions accordingly. Since the workshop utilizes Kanban every day, all the information can be virtualized, and knowledge sharing can be easily facilitated when everyone can see, share, and even “move” information on sticky notes.

The only person who can confirm that the project lessons are truly learned is the individual themselves. As a Project Manager, Trainer or Agile Learning Coach, what we can do is raise awareness and empower them.

The same approach can be applied when we lead any session in project. As long as we have the knowledge, it is up to us how to apply it and make it effective.

Another personal (one man team) real-life “site story” with lesson learned through evaluation and feedback, which I called “Certification as a Project” (CaaP):

I often hear people say experience is the most important aspect in project management or software development, but in reality, knowledge and experience are both necessary and coexist. For example, in my case, when I first started to implement this method, I didn’t have any real-life experience leading workshops with Kanban as coach or trainer. However, since I’m certified in Professional Scrum™ with Kanban (PSK) and also certified in PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® with all “Above Target” scores, those Agile related knowledges built up my strong foundation, especially after being validated via professional certification, I’m more confident in applying what I’ve learned to real life. The moral of the story tells us that there is no end to continuous learning. Furthermore, the more I know, the less I know. This realization reminds me of the vastness of the world of knowledge.

Perhaps above 2 little stories may not be as groundbreaking as innovations in IT, but implementing Agile concepts in sustainability at the workplace, or turning certification into a personal project, demands a degree of out-of-the-box thinking and innovation. There is still a lot more to learn, so I’m not entirely sure if I’ve answered your question, but I hope I did so to the best of my ability.

Keep exploring and keep growing.