Spreading the Wings of Learning Organizations

Sometimes the most powerful lessons are not delivered in a classroom but experienced through everyday practices. During a recent Facilitating Organizational Learning and Development (FOLD) training at EASUN Centre, Hope for Young Girls Director Salama Kikudo encountered one such practice while exploring different learning spaces around the Centre. The Baobab—a powerful image of storytelling and collective learning captured her imagination.

Inspired by the African tradition of gathering beneath a tree to deliberate on matters of shared importance, the Baobab at EASUN is a meeting place that symbolizes a way of “managing through learning”.
Once every week, EASUN staff come together under “the Baobab” for a Weekly Team Perspective Meeting (WTPM) to share and reflect on planned activities, work in progress, and completed tasks. Using color-coded sticky notes arranged under the headings “Planned”, “Progressing” and “Done,” each team member makes the organization’s work visible to everyone. This simple practice promotes transparency, accountability, shared ownership, and mutual support while helping individuals connect their daily tasks to the organization’s broader purpose.

For Salama, the value of the Baobab lay in the organizational culture it nurtures. She saw how an intentionally designed space, supported by consistent practice, could strengthen collaboration and continuous learning within an organization. Moved by both its simplicity and practical relevance, she declared that she would “take it home” That commitment has already begun to take shape. Salama is adapting elements of the Baobab culture within Hope for Young Girls, demonstrating how meaningful organizational learning can spread beyond institutional boundaries. Her actions illustrate an important principle of organizational development: when people experience practices that genuinely improve relationships and organizational performance, they often become carriers of those ideas into their own contexts.

In the same way, Salama has contributed to spreading the wings of organizational learning after one encounter with a powerful experience where organizational learning has transformed teamwork.