It’s Fall!
New clothes, new folders and new sharpened number 2 pencils are signs that the bell for the first day of school has rung and kids everywhere are back in their desks and ready to go. Summer has ended and autumn has ushered in the season of change. It is time to learn.
But not just for children. As adults, it is important to keep learning new skills, be it for your current occupation, a new job or an old hobby. Acquiring new knowledge is especially important if you are, or want to be, a leader. Leaders are life-long learners. They know the importance of keeping up with the ever changing world we live in. How do they do it? How do adults who are not enrolled in an official class keep in school?
1.They Adopt a “Growth Mindset”
Liz Wiseman, a leadership expert and author of Rookie Smarts, advise those who want to study as adults to set their minds to learning. It’s akin to flipping a light switch to “on” that many adults leave in the “off” position. In the Harvard Business Review, in an article titled “How to Keep Learning and Still Have a Life” Wiseman notes that a predisposition to learning often gives inexperienced people an edge over their more seasoned colleagues. Flipping that switch to a “growth mindset” causes leaders/learners to prepare to receive and master new skills.
2. They Challenge Old Assumptions
Dr. Kathleen Taylor, a professor at St. Mary’s College of California, encourages learners to “jiggle their synapses a bit” by confronting thoughts that are opposite to their own. In doing so, you wrestle your brain connections and develop your learning abilities. Leaders who hang around with only those who agree with them and leaders who only read what they already know do not stay leaders for long. In “How to Train the Brain,” a New York Times article, writer Barbara Strauch stresses that stretching the brain is what keeps it in shape.
3. They Cultivate the Lessons of Failure
Bill Gates, one of the world’s leaders of technology development, said, “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” Leaders who continually enroll in learning make their failures their teachers. They look at their mistakes and instead of crumpling up those errors like bad homework and throwing them into the trashcan, they unfold the creases and study what they did wrong. Leaders learn from failure. As Thomas Edison famously stated, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
If you are a leader or aspire to be one, you must engage in learning. A mindset of growth will alert you to new lessons every day. Challenging old methods and beliefs will keep your brain sharp and ready to meet new tasks. And studying your failures will teach you fresh ways to succeed as well as make you a better leader. School is in session now. Get your brand new backpack that doesn’t smell of old lunches yet, and begin.
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/education/edlife/03adult-t.html?_r=0
https://hbr.org/2014/11/how-to-keep-learning-and-still-have-a-life