In our increasingly “squiggly” careers, where people change roles more frequently and fluidly and develop in different directions, the ability to unlearn, learn, and relearn is vital for long-term success.
techniques & tools to make learning part of day-to-day development:
Learning
- Learn from others – people we spend time with are a significant source of knowledge.
- Experiment – expect some experiments to fail, as that’s the nature of exploring the unknown.
- Create a collective curriculum – learning from and with each other (i.e. “skills swaps” where individuals share skills they’re happy to help other people learn).
Unlearning
- Connect with challengers – not to agree or debate but to listen and consider: What can I learn from this person?
- Ask propelling questions – fast-forward into future and prompt positive action in present… i.e. How might we? How could I? What would happen if?
- Identify habits and hold backs – habits can create blind spots to seeing different ways of doing things; habits create mental shortcuts that might make us miss out on opportunities.
Relearning
- Stretch your strengths – use them in as many different situations as possible… in our networks, in our volunteer organizations, in our side projects, etc.
- Get fresh-eyed feedback – ask for feedback to open our eyes to our development blind spots and take back control of our growth
- Relearn resilience – might be tempted to give up; refocus on what’s working well to help continue to move forward.