Training was often described as helping a person to learn and then as helping a person to change his/her behaviours.
All people have fantasies and dreams and most people desire to grow yet have their feet firmly planted on the ground.
Irrespective of the level of the person, whether it is a CEO, a young executive or a student everyone wants to learn and succeed.
Most of our learning takes place in the context of work as it is there we figure it out for ourselves, it is no longer about someone telling us what is it but we get to know the how; we are hit be the reality and discovery principle, the ‘aha’ effect.
I was intrigued by this article from Rupert’s blog at www.graduateworks.com
- Tie your learning to real results that you can impact and measure the value of. It adds motivation
- Learn through the context of real problems and real situations. This is what makes the abstract real and what focuses you on what makes the most difference.
- Be happy to look for new insights and ways of seeing things. Sometimes the critical part of learning is an AHA moment. When you suddenly see the world in a new ways which unlocks new energy and ways of doing things.
- Look to learn with others. All learning is in the end individual. But if you work with others you will not only get a wider set of experiences but you will potentially get a critical mass of people to work with to sustain change.
- Remember learning is a process not an event. Learning takes practice, application, reflection, refinement and continual adjustment as the context changes. Learning is often uncomfortable as it involves change
- Listen in to your internal drives, to find what you are interested in. Once you identify what you need to learn, take responsibility for following through
- Learn in safe environments first; to build confidence, secure skills and to convince yourself you are ready. Then apply in higher stakes situations
- Remember that the interpersonal and communication skills you learn are as important outside of work as inside and are universal skills you can use
- Use a variety of methods to fit your style and the area you are learning about.
- Don’t be constrained by what is offered. There is so much fantastic quality information and material out there and available for free that you do not need to be constrained by what is offered by your HR team. You make up your own curriculum
And, finally I always tell people that learning must always be FUN!
