LEVELLING UP, PURPOSEFULLY
Learning used to be a sprint.
A short-term objective, to achieve a narrowly defined goal.
A finite achievement.
But in a hybrid, disrupted world, learning is no longer what we do.
It is who we are.
More importantly, it is who we are becoming through the conscious, levelling up choices
we make every day.
This was the challenge and the opportunity that faced the
SOUTH AFRICAN RESERVE BANK (SARB).
Despite robust platforms and a wealth of content, engagement was low. Learning was treated as
an obligation, not a differentiator. Employees were busy, overstretched, and unsure how online modules or isolated courses connected to their day-to-day work – or to the future SARB was building.
The Performance Agency had previously partnered with SARB’s Learning Manager to embed a learning culture at one of South Africa’s largest financial institutions – a complex, high-performance environment where the shift from transactional training to self-directed growth had transformed mindsets.
That journey had made one thing clear: to change how people learn, you have to first change what they believe learning is for.
Together, we set out to reframe the relationship between people and their own growth. Not by introducing a new system, but by starting a new story. A story that positioned learning not as something delivered by the organisation, but as something owned by the individual.
That story came to life in SARB’s first nation-wide Learning Week.
SARB Learning Week was a dare: To take ownership of purposeful levelling up.
What did this sound like?
"I own my success, and I am deliberate about learning from my failures.”
"I take responsibility for my growth, and for accelerating my career.”
"I create my own opportunities by setting and achieving personal and professional goals.”
"I pursue mastery in my field through continuous practical and in-the-flow-of-work learning.”
"I embrace learning, unlearning and relearning, striving to be and to do better every day.”
This radical ownership is the cornerstone of lifelong learning.
Because in the new race for excellence and relevance, we are all self-starters – responsible for building our own muscle and setting our own pace.
SARB Learning week wasn’t about acquiring new skills. It was a hands-on, heart-on experience designed to spark curiosity, ignite self-belief, and reawaken the simple but powerful truth that growth is something we choose.