In today’s fast-moving tech landscape, tools and frameworks evolve at a pace that can leave even the best teams struggling to keep up. But high performance in engineering isn’t just about staying current with technology — it’s about building a culture where learning is embedded into the way teams think, collaborate, and grow. As an Engineering Manager, I’ve seen firsthand how fostering a culture of continuous learning isn’t a “nice to have” — it’s a strategic advantage. In this post, I’ll share what a true learning culture looks like, why it matters, and how you can start building one in your own team.

What Is a Learning Culture?

A learning culture isn’t just about training budgets or access to online courses — it’s about intent. It’s a shared belief across a team or organization that learning is part of the job, not something you do off to the side when there’s time. That intent shows up in how we work, collaborate, and support each other’s growth.

To me, learning means creating space for people to explore new skills, share knowledge, and feel safe doing so. It happens in pair programming sessions, in post-mortems where we openly reflect on failures, and in small moments where someone feels comfortable asking, “can you walk me through this?”

It also starts with leadership. If managers don’t model learning themselves — asking questions, sharing what they’re curious about, or admitting when they don’t know — teams won’t feel comfortable doing the same. A culture of growth is built from the top down and the bottom up.

Learning is also social. At a previous company, we used to come together every Friday to share what we’d been working on, ask for help, and invite feedback from customers. It became part of the rhythm — a natural part of the culture, not a special occasion.

Of course, teams are busy. We’re constantly shipping, fixing, planning. But a strong learning culture finds moments to pause and grow — even if it’s just once a month. At my current team, we do things like:

  • Circus Days — two-day hackathons where the only goal is to build something fun and new.
  • Learning Days — occasional team sessions focused on specific skills, often combined with a social event to keep things relaxed and human.
  • Regular shared reviews where we reflect, teach, and look for ways to improve together.

Learning doesn’t just happen inside the team, either. It happens through feedback — from peers, from users, from systems that break. A team that listens and adapts is always learning.

And crucially, a learning culture is not just something leaders create — it’s something team members actively participate in. It takes ownership. The best cultures I’ve seen are filled with people who ask for feedback, start a brown-bag session without being asked, or share a failure story in standup. When people feel safe enough to take that space, learning becomes a collective rhythm — not a top-down initiative.

And finally, learning is how people grow — not just technically, but professionally. Whether someone wants to become a senior engineer, a tech lead, or a future founder, a learning culture gives them the confidence and opportunities to get there.

What Gets in the Way of a Learning Culture?

If learning cultures are so valuable, why don’t more teams have them? In my experience, it’s rarely due to a lack of interest — most engineers want to grow. But there are some common friction points that get in the way:

  1. Everyone’s Busy Let’s be honest — most teams are under pressure to ship. Between sprint deadlines, production issues, and meetings, learning often gets pushed aside. It becomes a luxury rather than a priority. Without intentional space in the schedule, learning simply doesn’t happen.
  2. Fear of Failure If people don’t feel safe to experiment, ask questions, or admit they don’t know something — learning shuts down. A culture that punishes mistakes (even subtly) will never support growth. Psychological safety isn’t just a buzzword; it’s foundational.
  3. Lack of Visibility or Permission Even when people are learning, it’s not always recognized or valued. If your team only celebrates delivery and output, there’s no incentive to spend time sharing knowledge or exploring something new. People need both permission and encouragement to learn.
  4. No Clear Ownership Sometimes everyone assumes someone else will “bring the learning.” Without clear ownership — both from leaders and individuals — learning initiatives fall through the cracks. It needs champions at every level.
  5. Misunderstanding What Learning Looks Like Learning doesn’t always mean formal training. Reading a blog post, reflecting on a mistake, asking a senior colleague for context — these are all valid forms. Teams that only value structured training miss out on the informal, everyday learning that really drives growth.

What Can Engineering Managers Do to Foster a Learning Culture?

Creating a learning culture doesn’t require massive programs or endless budgets — it starts with small, intentional choices that signal to your team: learning is valued here.

Here are a few strategies that I’ve found effective:

  1. Model It Yourself Show curiosity. Admit when you don’t know. Talk openly about what you’re learning — whether it’s a technical concept, a leadership book, or a mistake you made. When leaders learn out loud, teams follow.

  2. Make Learning Visible Talk about learning in 1-on-1s, retros, and planning sessions. Celebrate when someone shares a new concept or reflects on a failure. Normalize that learning is part of success, not separate from it.

  3. Design Opportunities Into the Workflow Create recurring events where learning happens by default:

  • Quarterly “Circus Days” to build something fun and new
  • Monthly Learning Days with workshops or mini-sessions on requested topics
  • Friday sharing rituals — demos, post-mortems, or knowledge cafés
  • Invite team members to present at internal meetups or write dev blogs

  1. Support, But Don’t Control Provide space and encouragement, but don’t dictate how people must learn. Some will want to pair program, others will prefer solo deep-dives. Let people take ownership of their learning path — just make sure the door is open.

  2. Reward Growth, Not Just Output Promote people not only for shipping features but for mentoring others, improving documentation, or raising the team’s skill level. If growth is never recognized, people won’t prioritize it.

  3. Protect Time This might be the hardest part — but also the most important. Even if it’s just a few hours a month, protect time for learning the same way you protect time for delivery. Otherwise, it will always be the first thing to slip.

A Personal Example: Learning as a Ritual, Not an Event

At one of my previous employers — a consultancy company — there was a powerful tradition: every Friday, the entire company came together for four hours. It wasn’t an offsite or a quarterly event. It was every week. Mandatory, but framed as something we all looked forward to.

The format was simple but intentional: we’d start by checking in with each other — not just professionally, but personally. We shared how we were doing, looked at the company’s financials, and gave updates on our assignments. Then we had three 45-minute slots where anyone could share something, ask for help, run a dry-run of a workshop, or explore an idea. People even started a podcast during lunch breaks. Over time, it became part of our DNA.

What stood out most was how real it felt. There was even a light-hearted competition for “biggest f***-up” — and yes, there was a prize. It created a space where people could be honest, vulnerable, and curious without fear. Most new hires were closed on Fridays, because candidates would present to the group — and the group would decide with a Roman vote. That tells you how deeply this rhythm was embedded in the company’s trust and learning culture.

What I took from that experience is how valuable consistency is. The Fridays happened no matter what — even if revenue was down, even if things were busy. And because of that, it created a deep sense of connection. I’ve worked at other consultancies where all that mattered was margin and billable hours. There, I felt more like I belonged to the client than the company that employed me. Here, it was different. This was a place where people learned from each other, supported each other, and stayed connected to something bigger than just their project.

Would this work in every organization? Not exactly. It needs to be adapted to the culture. But the principle — creating a regular, intentional space to learn and connect — is something I’ve carried with me ever since.

Why It Pays Off

When teams commit to learning, they don’t just level up technically — they start to think differently. They become more adaptable, more collaborative, and more resilient in the face of change. They recover faster from mistakes, onboard faster into new domains, and communicate more openly. In short: they grow — together.

For leaders, fostering a learning culture isn’t about being the smartest in the room or delivering a perfect playbook. It’s about making space for growth and showing people that learning isn’t a detour — it’s the path. I’ve seen firsthand how teams that feel supported in their development take more initiative, stay more engaged, and deliver better outcomes.

And maybe most importantly: learning cultures retain people. Not because of perks or processes, but because they create a sense of purpose and progress. People want to stay where they feel seen, challenged, and connected.

In fast-moving environments, the teams that learn the fastest often win — not because they never fail, but because they know how to reflect, adapt, and move forward together.