144: Creating a Learning Culture within Organizations, Taresa Scott, Founder Bleuprint

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Johnson and we're your hosts. And we're excited today because we have a super fun guest with us. have Teresa Scott, who is the founder of Blueprint on the show. Teresa, welcome. Hey, thank you ladies for having me. we are so excited to learn more about you and your journey and also about Blueprint. And before we get into all the details about Blueprint, tell us about you. How did you become a founder? What is your journey?

You know, what did you want to be when you, what do you want to be when you grow up? Um, like the rest of us. So tell us all about you. Ooh, now that's a loaded question. So we'll go off on a tangent with this one, but you know, to be honest with you, my career journey, my career path really has found me to be honest. So I've been at L and D almost 10 years now. Um, originally was working in digital marketing and sales where at that time, uh, even though I was in sales, I found myself.

holding like workshops, training sessions, know, onboarding new team members on how to navigate the systems. And so a coworker of mine, his wife was a student services counselor at my university. And she said, know, Teresa, we're introducing this new program for our structural design technology. You know, it's a growing field, yada yada yada. You know, there's a lot of parallels in some of work that you're currently doing, would you want to check it out? I was getting my bachelor's at the time. So I said, you know what, I'm curious, finished my bachelor's, went right back for that master's of science in education. And,

I loved it. was like, didn't know something like this existed. Um, to kind of tell you, know, growing up, I always wanted to be like a journalist or author. And, um, um, for a while I kind of, I kind of went down the path of communication, you know, trying to get into journalism, things like that. Didn't really necessarily know how to go, but yeah, L and D just really kind of found me and it really just made sense. Uh, so I went right into a fortune 500 organization out the

And I worked with a team of pioneers like these folks. They knew animation, graphic design, videography, video editing, script writing. And we just had a really good time. it was a very good dynamic where I had my education behind me, but that real world experience really made everything, you know, stick. Right. So we just had fun with it. You know, we would, we would, I remember doing videos that we were, you know, think about our favorite shows on TV where this game of thrones and try to like re -anatocrate theme.

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love it. videos for that. So we just really had a good time and it was just really good dynamic. So I learned a lot. And then COVID hit. And I said, know what, a of my coworkers, were at a shoot for a internal client project. And they like, Teresa, you can do this. And I'm like, what are you talking about? were like, you're really good with people talking. You have a really good way about executing strategy, writing content.

And we're more than happy to support you. I think you can really do this. that same buddy of mine, well, coworker at the time, but he had some, he did some freelancing work for a videography graphic design on the side. He introduced me to a few of his clients and we started kind of collaborating here and there and it just kind of grew from there. And then Blueprint was really born. And so it started out really as a, the concept was really being a resource to organizations. know, what I found is

When I came into the Fortune 500 team I was in, they really kind of had it figured out, like how to have your structure in place, your project management, consulting, all those key things that you really learn on the job. But if you don't have that right job, you may not ever get it. So I learned a lot of those strategies in addition to applying adult learning theories in the workplace. And I said, I really want a blueprint to be that resource for other organizations.

you know, no matter where they were in their journey, you know, you could bridge that gap and say, you have some support. We can get you jumpstart, get you going, and really help to, you know, with the Roebuck Meester Road to really do some good, valuable, clean learning that really builds brand advocates and gives people, gives your employees tangible skills to develop, to want to stay with your company for the long haul.

That's really the basis of how everything came about. I love your journey. just want to say that. I absolutely love your journey into this space and goodness, how great for you that you got to work with that team and the Fortune 500 company right off the gate. feel like sometimes it takes years to reach that like Mecca of like I've been at Blank company and I've worked there with them, but goodness gracious that is quite the journey. And it sounds like you learned a lot in the process and have taken a lot with you.

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I really did. I had a really, really good time. That's awesome. That's fantastic. And I so resonate with the career path found me part of your journey. I love that. Because I feel like that's so similar to my path. And a lot of people's probably path into the L &D space. So I love that. True, yeah. I don't feel like anybody.

No, I going to say, don't feel like anybody's path into the space is linear. I haven't met one person in my 17 years of being an L and D year on the peripheral that said, yeah, I knew when I was younger, I wanted to be in learning development. First of all, that didn't exist when I was younger. No idea. I was going to be a teacher for life. So it's really, it's really refreshing to hear stories like this. And that's why we do the show is to share stories like this. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

I think it's always fun. cause I've met people who've been, you know, they've been in marketing or they've been in operations or, know, it, what all these types of hats. And I think, I think the key thing is understanding that there's a lot of value in that, you know, bringing that perspective, that lens into the road to, know, cause some people think, well, I'm doing this. can't do that. Yes, can. If you're really learning, diving into it, absolutely. Like own it. Like, you

Find people who will support you, mentor you, whatever you need to bridge that gap of what you don't feel confident in and build that confidence in. You're good to go. Like everything takes practice, know, practice is doing, get better with it, talking with people, asking the right questions, whatever you need. takes time. Yeah, it definitely does. It takes time to develop that network in that community. Yeah. So now that we know a little bit about your journey or your path into L &D,

I'm interested to know a little bit more about Blueprint and how your journey birthed this new business. Yeah. So I mentioned a little bit before. it started out exploratory in a sense. And then it sparked to where I really wanted to focus down on what is missing. And something I really realized from peers,

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neighboring companies, even when I did research was that organizations, one, have not figured out even pre -pandemic, especially with thereafter, like how to really prioritize professional development. And I think, I think it has been a certain point for so many years where we always thought, you you pay people, throw money at them, swag, they're good to

But there's so much information and studies that have been conducted that talk about people want to grow their skills. They want to know how are you going to develop them? Like people put out a time and energy to your organization. How are you going to get that back? And so with Blueprint, it's really, reflectionate. Like even though we support organizations, I also feel I'm really advocate for your people because there is such a gap between that employee and that leader.

There's the leaders perception and then there's the actual reality. And so trying to really understand like who are your people here? Like let's really get people focused and talk about, you know, how does this team operate? You know, what are the skills they need to be successful? You know, what are some skills they want to build to be even more successful to stay with your company for the long haul? So that's really the focus behind it. So really embedding learning cultures, if you will, into organizations where they have

standardized onboarding process. So what does it look like day one to day 90 from there? What is career path look like? Okay. I've been successful in this role. Let's say 12, 16 months, however long. does it look like to get to that next level role and then competency path. And so even if I'm in, if I want to stay in this existing role, you know, AI is a thing. Um, there might be new, uh, HR systems, there might be new technology, but whatever that case is, how can I continue to build my competency and skills?

even in this role to be successful. So it's really a reflection of all those things that again, providing good learning to companies to where that can really be their competitive advantage. I think that is like the underdog right now that companies are trying to figure out, they see some value, but a lot of it's just a little bit of a mindset shift. Like how do you your people? know, why are you prioritizing your people in that aspect as well to to be performance driven, to improve performance. So that's really

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or Blueprint is ultimately a reflection of helping organizations to be better in terms of building that learning culture and having that within their business. I think it's so vital. feel like we sit in so many, and I might be projecting at this point. We sit in so many meetings all day. Like we were just talking about it. Like Nadia had a lot of meetings today. I've had like five or six as well today.

Like that's, if that's a 30 minutes of meeting or an hour meeting, that's over three quarters of your day gone. And then you're expected to do your projects and then you're expected to upskill and professionally develop at the, the same time. I, I don't know where you, where you find the time in the eight hours of the day, like where, you know, my question to you, Teresa is like, what can companies do better to prioritize this sort

learning culture within, I mean, we're learning and development. All of us work in learning and development. We should be learning too. Like we don't know everything. Like with all, like what you're saying with all this stuff going down, what's your advice to companies? Like how do you create this culture where people are given the time that they need to upscale and learn different things? Learning blocks. You know, I support an organization where I did, I actually helped them do a couple of things, but one is talking

Just how you would schedule, maybe block out an hour of your day to go to lunch at 15 minutes to your calendar. If you're going to take a walk to go, you LinkedIn learning. Listen to a video, a podcast, whatever, block in 15 minutes a day, 30 minutes a week. Make that commitment to yourself just as you would for your lunch. You've got to tackle another 15 minutes because people say, I'm too busy. We're always busy. We always have meeting things going on.

But the reality is there are conveniences to that. You know, I remember I supported an organization and they had an entire, like to your earlier point, they had an entire festival for three days dedicated to learning. And there was portion of their global organization that they didn't get a chance to see all the live sessions because their manager said, hey, we're too busy. Like they didn't prioritize it. And so they missed out on live sessions, live discussions like we're having.

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where they could have been asking questions engaged with the audience. And if we, if we, if leaders don't lead by example, to say, let's go to 15 minutes on your calendar to learn something new today, whatever that thing is, you know, is it, is it Excel Adobe meditation? Like you're going to take 15 minutes at some point. You're to go to the restroom. You're going to sit back on your phone. You're going to probably scroll on social media, set that time for yourself. And that was, that was a conversation I had.

Because when I looked at the organization, I saw that take place where there was three days, almost what about 16, 17 hours dedicated to building skills. And there was a portion of the organization that did not get a chance to even tap into. So maybe just one or two live sessions out of all that time spent. We really have to be more intentional about that. Also, two communication channels. Organizations have Microsoft Teams. They have Slack channels.

I was a point in time where a lot of organizations, invested, let's say, in micro learning, Coursera. They have micro learning content. Blast that content through your communication channels. Five minute videos on something valuable. It be personal branding. It could be career, mentoring, whatever is important to you. Blast it out to your people. Be intentional about it. You can do it on a basis.

I think I think we overcompensate learning a little bit. We make it feel like such a grueling thing. think I think it's just got a rat rap that is like almost compliant, almost boring. It doesn't really have to be. It doesn't have to be, it doesn't have to be a pain. It can be five minutes. It can be 10, 15 minutes. Like, well, it just has to be intentional. So I think if we, if we shift our mindset to being intentional, that's really how we can be, we can really be more focused and getting in building that more into our days. Cause that's what I do for myself. Like just, this speaking from.

Wow. Support organizations. And I believe in walking the walk of time and talk. Yep. Learning blocks. So that's definitely like, do, I do put in like an hour on a Friday, but I feel like I need to do like shorter pieces because like an hour to me in my head, it's like an hour's too long. you're breaking up. I break that up a little bit throughout the week. So do you hear that people learning blocks is, the way to go. And I think also one of the things that you said that resonated with me too is ownership of your own PD as

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even though like you want the company to create this culture that it's okay to not be in meetings all day or be pounding, know, just laying the dragon all day. You want to feel comfortable and safe to go out to do some professional development as well. So the company and the organization has to create that type of culture. Yeah. And I think sometimes we also think that learning has to be formal. Like it's very much informal. It's very much collaborating with others. It's very much

having a quick conversation with a colleague, pulling up and talking through something. So it doesn't always have to be in this like formal presentation mode situation. I think me and my colleagues, we do pretty good at that. Like we'll share articles or there's a documentary about the literacy crisis right now. And so we'll share that viewing in our Slack channel, our teams, and we're like, learn to learn tomorrow.

like, let's watch it. So it could very much be just sharing new information. So I love that. I love that kind of perspective there. yeah, absolutely. Yeah, me too. So when you think about Blueprint, I got a little bit of echo, but that's okay. When you think about Blueprint and what you're bringing to organizations, like what sorts of situations

have you helped companies and things and people solve? Like what are they, when you're coming in there, you're having a conversation, what does like setup look like? What for people when they're accessing your system or the tools or the resources that you offer, what does that collaboration look like? Yeah, well, first thing first is really getting down to understanding the people. So I have a people first approach. With some organizations depending on where they are,

The predictive index is one tool that I use to get an understanding of kind of who their people are, how they like to communicate, how they like to collaborate, things of that nature. And then another half is just also sitting down and having focus groups, having real conversations, setting a psychologically safe space to say, you know, what's been working well? You know, what are the real challenges? I'll, be more specific, I recall supporting an HR organization. They,

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They were HR team, but they also had this bit trucking organization client. They were doing some diversity, equity, inclusion work for them. And from the C -suite level, right? They needed DEI. So people could talk better together. could collaborate better. They had these employee resource groups, all these different things going on. And they needed a more effective DEI program. They tried it before in the past, but it still hasn't quite stuck in the organization.

So we came in, we started sitting down with like the front level managers, the mid level managers, the people running over their different ERGs and just asking very specific questions and saying that ultimately we're to find out how does Bill and Jane, how do Bill and Jane really talk to each other? Like what are some things that are happening that people, are they feeling other? know, why do you not feel heard?

You know, how is that conversation happening? We're asking specific questions to really get understanding of what challenge do we really need to solve for? Cause C -suite says we need D -E -I, but I want to know why do we need D -E -I? Because if we don't understand the people and the conversations being had that we're really trying to address rather than just, you know, putting a cute little bowl in and saying, here you go, D -E -I training. We're not really solving the problem. No, yes. It's like, I completed this as a checklist item, right?

Right. Yeah. for us is really having that consultative approach first and really understanding what is the overall challenge here, like truly. Because a lot of times they'll come and say, yeah, we just need DEI training. And it's always how it comes, we just need. And I almost cringe when I hear that, because it's almost like you're kind of devaluing what the real problem is. Because you say, yeah, we just need this. Like you just throw spaghetti at a wall.

Yeah, that's like saying we just need communication training. Yeah, somebody got into an argument. just need to just shoot this video You know, it's deeper than that. So let's talk about what truly took place You know what what what dynamic was you know what happened in there? Like what situation I really want to I really want to understand these actual problems because Although training is not the end -all be -all with every single thing, but I'm a firm believer

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people cringe about it they don't want to dive into it because it's typically a waste of their time. It's really got negative connotation around it. It really does. Yeah. It's not reflective of how they work, how they show up, the way that they talk, the way they act. It's just this generic thing that's thrown at them because they said they had to do it. So a lot of people, completely comply and stuff because you got to, but everything else is kind of like, I get to it. But I think we're more mindful about

people that handle this is for and look at learning as more of a solution rather than just training or just this thing. We can have a more strategic approach to at least beginning to be a part of the solution. Because again, it can't be 100 % of the end all be all, but it can start to generate ideas, change people's thinking, and spark ideas, inspire them, make them aware.

of what's going on. So they can say, know what? I, man, I did say that to Sally. man. And then you start providing them tips, strategies, tools of how to be better going forward based with a scenario based learning, gamification, whatever. Now they know exactly how to take that information and apply it. So for me, it's all about to how, once I've taken this information, how do I go about applying that? And so it's, it's, it's kind of like

I was like, tell, show, do, review, in a sense. So that's really their approach of how we like to work. Understand, like, it's a little bit of predictive index to kind of see how the teams operate, communicate. We need to do a little bit of coaching there or leadership training. But then the other half is also just having real conversations and trying to really diagnose the issue. So we know how to strategize going forward, how to create that end -all product for that team or for that organization.

gosh, there's so much there that I love. I want to pack. We might need another episode. Because there is so much, like so much. I mean, I think it's one of those things, like I always say, like the knowledge is great, but what can they do? Like what is the action piece behind once the learning has taken place or the knowledge has been transferred, how are they applying it? So I

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That, yeah, like that is, that was my piece that I felt like just I had to kind of unpack a little bit. Holly, I want, I do have a question, but I want to give her piece before I ask. You go ask your question because we're going to be here for an hour if I start asking all the questions I have. So you go ahead. So I know we've kind of touched on a few of them and I know we kind of talked about like sharing through teams or like learning blocks. So kind of like

It kind of gave me the micro learning vibe when we kind of talked a little bit about that. So I want to know like a little bit more about like, what trends are you seeing in L and D right now? Like, or even e -learning just in general, like what trends are you seeing and like, how do you kind of incorporate those within the work that you do at Blueprint? Yeah, just a little bit about that. Like I'm interested to know. You know, honestly, I feel like we're in a time where there's

so many metaphorically, so many flashing lights when it comes to trends and e -learning. And I'm at a point where I've almost myself gotten overwhelmed. I said, got to get tunnel vision and really hone in on what the focus is. I'll say my takeaways would really be AI and micro learning. And I talk about AI because on so many occasions I've met certain people who are outside of industry.

And I tell them what I do, like, you're not worried about AI? And I'm

Do you, I'm not sure if you fully understand what, what, what AI is in that sense or, or all that it can do if you think that AI is truly going to replace me. Yeah. because we really understand AI. Yeah, because we've had like before AI was his hot topic. Right. AI has always been around first and foremost, but we've always had like rapid development tools or course builders

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or these plug and play modules that have always existed. And we've always existed in the last at least 10 years in addition to. But I think it's understanding how to really leverage these tools because for me, I'm like, see AI, I'm like, great, because I've had a chance to tap into it to help me with refining a lot of my knowledge check questions, scenario -based learning, scripts. It's really been helpful to really fine -tune some things.

that haven't compromised any intellectual property, no organization, just giving me good clean ideas that are just, you know, right on the paper that have been very safe things to do. so that's why I've really been dying to lastly. And it's like, especially when you get into them, what you've been writing and writing and writing like, my gosh, I have this idea, but what am I trying to say? So that's just really, yeah. And then the other half is micro learning. think,

Because to your point, like you said yesterday, had six meetings. We are busy. It's a lot going on. The work that we do is in high demand. don't care if if organizations brought you in. It's because they need it. But I'm really serious about still building my skills. So for me, it's also the holiday point. Our feels like. Kind of overload for me, because I've already had so much learning art take place for my meetings and communications, everything else.

So micro learning has really been something really good for me. And I've also seen that be a big hit across the industry as well. Even when I survey like and sit down to some organizations where I've supported them or about to support, I realized that is really something that is a growing demand, honestly, because I think from all the businesses and corporations I've talked to, I think that's just where we're at right now. Like a lot of people wearing a lot of hats, doing a lot of different things. You know, there's a lot of hustle and bustle. So those are

for me, my biggest two takeaways, finding ways to make AI

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my collaborative tool for ideas and then micro learn to really fit in some meaningful path for learning throughout the day or my week. Yeah. love it. my gosh. I want to ask so many questions. know the time it has gone by fast and like, you know, I want to say like, I do want to say

that it is important to consider all these things. And there's like not just one resolution to making this better. It's a combination of a whole bunch of different things. But I want to shift a little bit for the people in our listeners. A lot of them are looking to transition into a role in learning and development. And they really want to know from experts like you and things that you're doing, you have your own business now.

What are like two or three pieces of advice you would give to people? know we have lots of transitioning teachers. have corporate professionals who are looking to move up or people are looking, they're just moving different places. There's so much movement in this, in this sector. So what's your best advice for them to jump into a role in learning and development? You know, one, building your confidence is key. So you can see with conviction because, and I talk about confidence first because

that set ways into your transferable skills. A lot of individuals, especially transitioning teachers, have a vast amount of transferable skills that they don't even realize. The reality is, and I think I talked to one, I met via LinkedIn a while back, is that the language is just different. You know, if you're in a classroom, you talk to students, corporate stakeholders. The Board of Education is your quote unquote subject matter

or maybe a neighboring teacher is a subject matter expert. Those are ideally your kind of your VPs or, you know, the, the, or some organization might say business partners, or they might say, you know, chief people officer, whatever the title is, but they're the ultimate manager of that department. Those are your clients and those your students, AKA the employees are your, are your stakeholders. That's who the training goes out to. So it's all about building that confidence to really talk about the skills that you currently have to transfer over.

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you're going to realize, and this is something I recognized early on, is that what I love about L &D and something you need to get confident with is it's ever -changing. You would never fully master this role. What you need to master is the art of learning and adapting and pivoting. my gosh, that's a quote of the podcast. Really? Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah, like, but that is the biggest, biggest thing I would say because

A lot of things can be learned over time. some people I've worked with, they realize, this is actually what I'm good at. And you'll get to a point where you can maybe tackle roles that feed towards your strengths. Or you could tackle roles that, I realize I'm weak in this area, and I actually want to go here so I can build my skills, if that's your thing. So I think that's the biggest two things I would say, though, is build your confidence and think about your transferable skills.

If there's someone out there, myself, Nadia, Holly, anyone else you see doing L &D, ask the questions. I'll tell you this, organization to organization, it varies. Hence why I say the key thing is to be open to constantly growing your skills, because every organization's needs is different. Everybody's role shows up much differently. But there are some common grounds that through social learning, peer learning, whatever you want to call it, you can really adapt to. But you have transferable skills, hands

Yeah, everybody does. Yeah, if you want stability in a process that stays the same for 10 years, that's a different job for you. Go be an accountant or something like that. Numbers don't change, math hardly ever changes. But for L &D, have to be able to assimilate and you have to be able to, if you're not a person that's used to change.

It's just crazy how quickly things shift and change. Like I get used to one process at Amazon and then it shifts to a totally different direction. And that's not just unique to Amazon. That's everywhere. absolutely. the only constant that's changed. That's why for me, like even before having my business, I was collecting skills. Like Thanos was collecting rings. Because you

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something that'll teach you, you we talk, know, in L &D you talk about adult learning theory, you talk about, you know, the lingo, the sneeze and all these things, but also, underdog skill that really isn't talked about is consulting skills. Building those consultation skills is a real thing that you should really focus on. A lot of people already have that, or if not, you're least conscious of it, because in my experience and even supporting other things like being able to consult,

L &D is a bit is a major game changer, especially with the subject matter experts. It's always going to be a little difficult, a hard to rain down, but having those skills where you ask the right questions, set expectations, also project management. That's a big one. Yeah, there's some key skills to really have to really build if you don't already have them coming into the field as well. again, it's an adaptive learning mindset.

To holler's point, it's going to change though. it's going to change. I'll get used to it. It's going to change tomorrow or something like that. Yeah, but some of these foundational pieces like consulting, project management, learning principles, those things will still remain. So those are your foundational pieces. So you'll be mindful of them. yeah, a lot of other things, you just kind of have to go with the flow. For sure.

I will always add my disclaimer about transferable skills. I like this is my favorite thing to talk about sometimes because I think it's also important to know the how and because project management looks different in a classroom or different in other places than it does in L &D. know, collaboration may look different. know how wherever you are trying to go, know how that skill is actually utilized in that space. Don't just rely on the fact that you have this skill.

and you think that it can transfer. Like make sure you know how it transfers. I think that's the biggest thing that I love to say about transferable skills, but I'll end my soapbox there. No, I love your soapbox on transferable skills. All right, well, we made it to the end of the episode and this has been a good one.

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Teresa, I can't thank you enough for coming on the show and talking with Nadia and myself about you, about your journey, your advice, and sharing all the stuff about Blueprint. One final thing, is there anything else you'd like to share with our audience? Obviously, everything, how to connect with you, how to learn more about Blueprint, all that you do is going to be all in the show notes. But is there anything else you'd like to share before we wrap up? No, the biggest thing is, please, Bahamas, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn. My first name is T -A -R -E -S

Scott, I'm happy to connect and kind of tap in. I got some fun things in the works for career development, my partner and I, that'll be coming out Q4 of 2024 this year. So just stay connected with me, reach out and have some fun. Awesome. Thank you so much. I'll have come back for another episode in the future. Thank you both for having me. I appreciate it. Of course.