Carly Lutz, Director of Programming, Community and Events at Learnit, was interviewed by Adam Torres of Mission Matters Innovation Podcast.
Carly Lutz was interviewed by Adam Torres of Mission Matters Innovation Podcast.
Beverly Hills , April 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Carly Lutz aims to build and cultivate community to help people foster the skills and connections needed to thrive in today’s workplace.
Listen to the full interview with Carly Lutz by Adam Torres on the Mission Matters Innovation Podcast.
How did you get started?
Lutz says she’s always loved creating community spaces where people can learn and grow together. After struggling with loneliness in high school she developed her leadership skills and sense of belonging through participating on a cross-country team. That transformation helped Lutz realize that dedicating oneself to something while surrounded by positive people can foster long-lasting growth and development. This principle is the catalyst that led her to Learnit, an organization committed to helping individuals learn and develop skills for the hybrid workplace, and to helping organizations foster a culture of lifelong learning at scale.
What does the term 'community' mean to you?
The word “community” can mean many things, Lutz notes, but she personally draws inspiration from FeverBee founder Richard Millington, who defines community as any group of people who interact around a shared common interest or goal.
Lutz emphasizes the importance of learning in community. “When I started at Learnit and listened to our students, I realized there was a growing need for social, community-based learning that was more interactive and personal than social media, and that people wanted to keep connecting after an event or one of our live instructor-led workshops. I realized we had a huge opportunity to provide a safe space for our students to keep learning with us and to build that community space for them,” Lutz says. Transferring the infectious energy and excitement of live, in-person events to an online format has brought its own set of challenges, but ultimately virtual environments have their own strengths, too.
Can you explain ‘value-based community’ and ‘value-based learning’? How does a sense of connectedness relate to learning?
Even before the COVID pandemic hit, Lutz says, there were always instances when people felt disconnected from their work and their colleagues. Monotonous day-to-day routines - in and out of the office - sap energy and make people feel disconnected from learning anything new and growing from it. “Live instructor-led engagements - through the form of a workshop, event, boot camp, or retreat - have historically served as an opportunity for organizations to generate a sense of shared excitement and energy and help people open up to learning something new, reconnecting or reigniting them with a sense of curiosity. We have had to find ways to continue to foster that excitement post-live engagement, online.”