Never Stop Learning — You Can Be Better Than You Are Tomorrow
I am a continual learner. It seems like I have been going to school my whole life.
Recently I finished the altMBA program that was created by Seth Godin. I decided to take the program because I felt like I was languishing in the daily grind. I was looking for a new challenge to kickstart my creativity and expand my envelope. What an amazing experience! It was a great way to explore a different (and intense) model of learning.
Every day you wake up, you are learning something new. Although you may feel like it is the same slog day in and day out. In all reality, you are learning something new every day. The day you stop learning something is the day that they are dumping dirt on your grave.
Leaders that actively pursue learning are the best leaders. They are the ones that have an eye to the future as well as a pulse on the present. They are able to stay in tune with their business and actions outside their world. Because of continual learning, they are exposed to different ideas and concepts. That removes the filter and allows them to see things that affect them and their business. They can see the changes happening on the horizon and improvise, adapt and overcome quickly. Because they have remained in tune with the business and continued to learn, they are able to recognize patterns and make changes as needed for a successful business change.
Leaders that are actively learning are continually adjusting. Because of the pursuit of their own learning, they actively push their peers and subordinates to also increase their learning. This allows the organization to remain relevant and lead within their sphere of influence. This continual learning also allows an organization to find solutions to problems more rapidly in methods that were not previously recognized. This is transformational. Continual learning helps develop relationships, allowing leaders to connect, collaborate, and foster adaptive learning.
The obvious effort could be to join an executive leadership program that is offered by many universities throughout the world. Stanford LEAD, Columbia Business School, Wharton, Berkeley, Harvard. Programs are available on campus and online. Name the school or search the Web for “executive leadership programs,” and that phrase will provide an exhaustive list. There are online learning programs for leaders that are provided via EdX or Coursera. It all takes discipline.
Ways you can continue to learn at a lower cost or on your own volition — and these are by no means revolutionary.
Read — read daily. Twenty, thirty, or 60 minutes at a time. Books, industry newsletters, market information, blogs and white papers. Do a search for book lists as there are plenty of book lists that are created. The one shown below is a list of famous people’s book lists (thanks Mitch Morse and Alex McCarty)! Find an icon or leader you wish to emulate and take a look at the list of books that have made their own eyes open. That made them change the way they think. That made them learn something new about themselves and the world around them.
Another book list that is supported by Manager-Tools.com includes reviews from the Manager Tools staff and the community.
Watch — watching can be with people in your workplace or through online programs including YouTube or Vimeo or TED Talks that are posted for your viewing education and enlightenment. Watching what people do, how they move, interact also allows the leader to understand how the observer effect can influence behavior. It allows leaders to understand different situations and events that may require a different model of thinking than they currently believe. Watch some of Simon Sinek’s videos. Or consider recording yourself throughout the day and watching that — you will learn a lot about your own behavior!
Listen — listen to your peers and your employees. Listen to the experts, the people that are doing the work every day. They are the ones that you can learn the most from. They are more than willing to tell you everything about their work and how they navigate throughout the day. Listening can also include podcasts or audiobooks from different business or leadership-oriented programs. You can find many leadership podcasts via iTunes, Google Podcasts, BeyondPOD or Stitcher. Listen to Leadership and Loyalty or Coaching for Leaders. Even consider business-based podcasts like The Tim Ferris show, Freakonomics or HBR Ideacast. Or you can listen to audiobooks free via your local library using apps such as OverDrive Libby or the myriad of audiobooks available via Audible (at a fee). Use it while you are driving to work or walking the dogs.
Use these methods and any other opportunity to re-learn how to do your own work daily. Re-learn how to engage with your peers and employees. There is no limit to your ability to be better at what you do tomorrow. You have to be ready and open for learning and recognize that YOUR way is not always the right way.
As you gather this information and begin to learn more about yourself and your surroundings, you are learning how to adapt. You are adapting to the new knowledge and information that you did not have minutes, hours, or days before. Your ability to be flexible and adapt is what keeps you relevant. You remain in the now and begin to lean into the future.
Engage with everyone around you. Explore the newfound knowledge with childlike curiosity. Take the opportunity to experiment and act on the new intuitions that you have gained by continuing to learn. Recognize that you are changing and evolving with new information, with your new identity every time you actively pursue a new learning environment.
Never. Stop. Learning.
Go forth and be brilliant.
