If you want to build a culture of continuous learning, you need people on your team who are both collaborative and curious. Sounds nice, right? But how can hiring managers single out those attributes in job candidates? According to talent consultant and learning experience designer Bill Cushard, the answer lies in storytelling.

In a world full of fast-paced technologies, both individuals and teams must be able to learn quickly in order to stay competitive and relevant in their industries. Learning is part of the story: "Only a team that likes to, knows how to, and is willing to learn will be successful," Cushard writes.

When interviewing potential hires, one way to harness the story — and to tell if the candidate is prime for continuous learning opportunities — is to ask candidates to describe something new that they learned recently, what the process was, and what the results were. According to Cushard, "it doesn’t matter what these stories are about. You are not necessarily looking for specific content, but for process and result. The point is to find people who love to learn and are capable of learning."

The results of this process, explains Cushard, can help managers build a team of high performers. "The lesson for managers is that in order to build a high performing team, a culture of continuous learning is a must, and this learning culture can be created by finding people who are collaborative and curious."

Have you ever been part of a culture of continuous learning? How would you describe your resulting performance and the performance of your team?

Read more at Human Capitalist

Photo: Can Stock