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John Rogers

“I love to work with ideas about learning and have worked in the field for over 18 years either at Barclays or, since 2006, as an independent learning consultant.  Over this time I’ve had a number of important experiences that have helped shape my thinking about learning in practice.

What do I want to learn?

Perhaps the most seminal experience, mainly because it came just after I had started as a management trainer at Barclays, was at the Roffey Park Institute, UK in 1992.  I recall the first session in which the facilitators asked the delegates: What do you want to learn? This was not at all what I and the other participants were expecting!

What surprised me was that they really wanted to know the answer to help them shape the program with us.  Their approach posed searching questions for me about the roles of teacher and learner and where the true responsibility lay for [my] learning. 

The experience helped me appreciate that adults learn best where they have control over what to learn and how to apply it. 

Breaking down the practical barriers to learning

Building on this, my involvement in the shaping and implementation of Barclays University in 2001 and then subsequently heading up the Barclays University Business School also marked another important step.  As a team, we focused on the building blocks of learning – accessibility and support for learning (strong internal marketing and HR policies to encourage learning).

The key insight for me was that if we want to encourage the learning habit, then we must pay attention to overcoming the barriers to learning like time and access as well putting together great content and programs.  It’s a case of both/and rather than either/or

Placing my practice centre stage

I completed a MA in Management Learning and Leadership (Lancaster, UK) in 2008.  It was a fantastic program that expected me to place my practice at the centre of the learning process – echoes of my experience at Roffey Park  - but this time with an emphasis on live social learning research and a critical perspective on management theory.

Blogging and tweeting

Collaborating and sharing ideas is really important in learning and I find that I learn a lot this way.  Social media is helping me and others to share and learn, at scale.  I have my own blog Learning in Practice where I talk about the things that interest me.  You are invited to connect with me, exchange ideas and contribute.

The great outdoors

I love being outdoors: camping and caravanning, hill walking, cross country running or just a gentle stroll around the footpaths of Northamptonshire where I live with my wife Anne.