Most organizations invest in training. But only a few build learning ecosystems where a learning mindset can truly thrive.
That’s a disconnect Katja Schipperheijn wants to fix.
As co-founder of The Learning Mindset Organization and a globally recognized voice in learning, leadership, and innovation, she believes that real transformation doesn’t start with content or compliance. It starts with nurturing genuine human competencies such as curiosity, imagination, adaptability, and the freedom to think differently.
In our conversation ahead of her upcoming People Fundamentals webinar, “Performance Breakthroughs,” Katja challenged HR and L&D leaders to move beyond traditional training models and think systemically about how learning happens inside their organizations.
Learning isn’t support—it’s strategy
Katja doesn’t separate learning from innovation. To her, they’re part of the same loop. To innovate, people must be free to question, experiment, fail, and adapt. But that’s only possible in cultures where learning is expected and encouraged daily, not just delivered through top-down training.
“When I talk about learning,” she said, “I mean having all these very human competencies that enable us to challenge the status quo… imagination, curiosity, openness, and acting on those.”
Without those competencies, originality stalls. “If we all know the same, we’re all conditioned in the same way, then we never come up with something new.”
Innovation requires experimentation, reflection, and iteration. “Some will call it nimble or agile,” Katja said. “But it’s also a continuous learning process.”
This ongoing loop is at the core of innovation, and it’s where traditional corporate learning models often fall short. “Without learning, you don’t have innovation,” Katja said. “But because of the innovation, you’re also learning to adapt again. That’s why it’s crucial to recognize how deeply learning and innovation are intertwined. Organisational growth can’t happen if these strategies remain siloed. They need to be aligned and integrated to drive real progress.”
The future of L&D is design, not delivery
Katja made it clear that many learning and development functions are not evolving fast enough. In a workplace increasingly shaped by AI and automation, the old model of managing content and compliance checklists is no longer enough.
“People that only do program management, that are only creating courses, that are making sure that the LMS is up to date—they’re all seeing their job being replaced by AI,” she said.
Instead of simply managing programs, L&D must step into a more strategic role: designing systems that prepare people for continuous growth. That means integrating learning with the flow of work, encouraging human-machine collaboration, and building environments that support adaptability.
This shift takes courage. “Everybody feels overwhelmed,” she said. “But again, what can we do? Try to have an open mind. … It will not pass.”
Lead across the threshold
Katja believes the future belongs to learning leaders, those who can guide others through uncertainty with shared curiosity and trust.
She describes this approach as “liminal leadership”: the ability to guide people across the threshold between what was and what will be. “These days it’s changing… so fast, sometimes in a week,” she said. “You can’t manage them. You need to guide them in change.”
This shift in mindset also reframes how we think about performance. “This is not waiting until the end of the year,” Katja said. “This is a learning leader setting goals with you, making sure you’re on track, that they offer you the help, whether it’s from a person or technologies that support you along the way. And they manage your performance over time. It’s continuous learning.”
In Katja’s view, continuous improvement isn’t something you mandate. It’s something you model. It’s what happens when leaders create the space for learning and walk the path alongside their teams. To hear Katja’s take on why we need innovative learning ecosystems rooted in continuous improvement and driven by a learning mindset, register for the June 17, 2025 webinar.
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