Your People Don't Know How to Learn

A manager explained their new project management system to a team member last month. 

Forty-five minutes of step-by-step instructions. Screenshots. Detailed process flows. The works. 

Two weeks later: "Can you show me how to do that thing again?" 

Sound familiar? 

The Problem Nobody Talks About 

We spend thousands on training. We create detailed procedures. We build comprehensive onboarding programs. 

Then we act surprised when people can't figure out the slightly different version of the same task three months later. 

Here's what's actually happening: Most people never learned how to learn. 

They know how to memorize. They can follow instructions. They're great at repeating exactly what you showed them. 

But ask them to adapt when something changes? Crickets. 

The School System's Gift That Keeps on Giving 

Think about how school taught us to learn: 

Memorize this formula. Repeat it on the test. Forget it immediately after. 

Follow the teacher's example exactly. Don't deviate. Don't question. Don't experiment. 

The right answer is more important than understanding why it's right. 

Twenty years later, that same person is sitting in your office asking you to re-explain something you taught them last month because one small variable changed. 

What Learning Actually Looks Like 

Real learning isn't about absorption. It's about connection. 

Take Sarah from accounting. She learned your expense reporting system in an hour and never asked a follow-up question. Not because she's smarter than everyone else, but because she approached it differently. 

Instead of just memorizing the steps, she asked: "What is this system trying to achieve? What happens if I mess this up? How does this connect to things I already know?" 

When you changed the approval workflow six months later, Sarah adapted immediately. While everyone else waited for retraining. 

The Questions That Change Everything 

People who learn quickly ask different questions: 

"What's the pattern here?" "Why does this work this way?" "What would happen if I tried X instead?" "How is this similar to something I already know?" 

People who struggle with learning ask: "What exactly do I click next?" "Can you write that down for me?" "Is there a checklist I can follow?" 

See the difference? 

How to Build Learning Skills 

Stop Giving Answers, Start Teaching Questions 

Instead of: "Here's how to handle an angry customer." Try: "What do you think an angry customer actually wants? How can we figure that out?" 

Teach the Why, Not Just the How 

Instead of: "Click here, then here, then here." Try: "We're trying to achieve X. Here's why this sequence makes sense..." 

Make Them Struggle (A Little) 

Give people problems that are slightly beyond their current knowledge. Let them figure it out. Then debrief what strategies worked. 

Reward the Process, Not Just the Outcome 

"I love how you approached that problem" is more valuable than "Great job getting the right answer." 

The Test 

Want to know if your training is actually working? 

Change something small about a process you recently trained. Don't tell anyone. 

Watch what happens. Do people adapt quickly? Or do they come running to you asking for help? 

That'll tell you everything you need to know about whether you're building capability or creating dependency. 

The Bottom Line 

Your team isn't stupid. They're just using a learning approach that worked in school but fails in business. 

The companies winning right now aren't the ones with the best training materials. They're the ones whose people can figure out new stuff without being spoon-fed every step. 

Stop teaching people what to think. Start teaching them how to think. 

Because the next time your business changes (and it will), you want a team that can adapt, not a team that needs retraining.