Stop Waiting for Training: How Capability Grows in the Flow of Work

Why real development happens through action, feedback, and reflection on the job.

Years ago, I saw an organisation I worked with spend thousands of dollars. They pulled a team off the floor for a three-day management seminar. The attendees sat in a windowless room, stared at slides, and returned to their desks exhausted. Because they did not apply the concepts immediately, their new knowledge evaporated within a week.

The classroom model fails because it treats development as a destination. We separate doing the job from learning the job. This separation creates a forgetting curve. When you isolate instruction from application, knowledge degrades.

True skill mastery requires a different approach. We must embed knowledge acquisition directly into daily tasks. This is learning in the flow of work.

Sustainable capability is not an extracurricular activity. It happens authentically when we weave problem-solving into our daily routines. To beat the shrinking half-life of technical skills, we must shift away from event-based instruction. We must move to continuous, daily practice on the job.

Key Takeaways

• Action beats theory: Capability grows fastest when knowledge is applied immediately to solve real problems.
• The 70% rule: The majority of your development budget and focus belongs on the floor, not in a classroom.
• Reflection drives retention: Experience alone does not build skill; reflecting on that experience cements the learning.

The 70:20:10 Framework Revisited

In my experience, executives love to talk about the 70:20:10 model. Their budgets, though, tell a different story. I often saw businesses over-invest time and money into formal courses. They ignored the daily grind where real capability forms.

Because they fund the wrong areas, they starve the true engine of team development.

Here is how the framework actually breaks down:

• Experiential (70%): On-the-job experience, stretch assignments, and immediate problem-solving.
• Social (20%): Mentoring, peer coaching, and collaborative interactions.
• Formal (10%): Targeted courses providing foundational theory.

The 70% is your reality. Designing work that inherently challenges the individual is highly effective. It works much better than pulling them away for a seminar.

To modernise this framework for hybrid and remote teams, we must adapt our methods:

• Replace day-long workshops with asynchronous micro-challenges.
• Build digital spaces for peer coaching to satisfy the 20%.
• Treat formal courses as introductions, not complete solutions.

The Shift to Embedded Learning: Why It Works

I stopped approving requests for disconnected workshops because I noticed a clear pattern. People only retain what they need to survive their current project. Capability grows best when employees access information at the exact moment they need it.

Managers often ask how they can build skills without interrupting daily tasks. The answer is just-in-time learning.

Embedded learning works because of these three factors:

• Contextual relevance: Information makes sense because it applies to the immediate problem.
• Reduced disruption: Employees stay in their workflow while acquiring new methods.
• Immediate application: Applying new knowledge instantly solidifies the skill.

This instant application neutralises the forgetting curve. Because embedded learning happens during real work, we must change our metrics. We must transition from tracking course completions to measuring outcome-based capability.

Building the Right Environment for Flow Learning

When I was working with a team on a complex deployment, I realised that fear was our biggest obstacle. If making a mistake results in punishment, nobody will try a new approach. Authentic growth requires a culture that permits trial and error.

You must cultivate psychological safety before you introduce new tools.

To build an environment that supports flow learning, organisations are shifting their infrastructure.

• Moving from rigid learning management systems to flexible learning experience platforms.
• Deploying AI agents to deliver micro-moments of mastery within communication channels.
• Integrating social feedback loops so peers can review their work in real-time.

Technology alone will not save you. You need the social layer to support on-the-job growth.

Action, Feedback, Reflection: The Capability Loop

I used to believe that doing the hard work was enough to build expertise. I was wrong. Real capability does not grow from merely executing tasks. It grows from dissecting those tasks.

This is the continuous cycle of action, feedback, and reflection.

The capability loop requires three non-negotiable elements:

• Action: Encouraging growth by providing stretch assignments and unfamiliar tasks. This is learning by doing at its most basic level.
• Feedback: Annual performance reviews are useless for daily growth. Specific, real-time guidance must be woven into everyday operations.
• Reflection: Employees must deliberately review what worked and what failed.

Using past reflections to adjust behaviours for the next challenge builds compounding capability.

Conclusion

The classroom is no longer the primary vehicle for development. The 70% reality is where true mastery occurs. Authentic growth occurs on the job, not in a siloed room.

Business leaders and HR professionals must rethink their team development strategies. Stop scheduling growth and start embedding it into the everyday flow of work.

Wrapping Up

When we stop treating learning as an isolated event, we release the true potential of our teams. Capability is built in the trenches, one applied lesson at a time.

🌱 Stop Waiting for Training: The Growthenticity Connection

The core ideas discussed in this article aren’t just isolated concepts. They deeply resonate with the principles of what I call ‘Growthenticity’:

‘The continuous, integrated process of becoming more oneself (authentic) through leading with questions, learning through action, and growing by embracing uncertainty and imperfection, all fuelled by curiosity.’

Embedded learning is the practical application of learning through action. By stepping out of the classroom, we face the messy reality of our jobs. This forces us to embrace uncertainty and imperfection.

When we learn in the flow of work, we can’t hide behind theory. We must lead with questions to solve the problem in front of us. This immediate application is the essence of becoming a more capable, authentic professional.

👉 Check out my free and paid Substack offerings at Lead, Learn, Grow. You can further explore concepts like ‘Growthenticity’. You will also gain access to practical tools and connect with a supportive community.

Join us as we unpack these ideas and support each other on our journeys.

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Your Turn

How do you now capture and reflect on the lessons you learn during your daily work?