Learning how to Learn

Learning, unlearning, re-learning...

The importance of related ideas like continual learning, learning cultures and self-directed learning is regularly (and rightly!) emphasised within the modern world of work. Making the time to actively advance our development, and to demonstrate what it’s enabling us to do more effectively at work, is seen as key in exhibiting the behaviours that will motivate the decisions makers who’ll determine our progression.

And plenty of research points to the premium that we all place on development opportunities within our roles, and certainly when we’re starting new ones. Whether it’s a personal coach or access to Linkedin Learning, hiring managers report questions around such development benefits as increasingly common in interviews, and often as powerful as a differentiator as salary.

Re-labelling learning

And it’s also interesting that despite organisations making opportunities for formal learning more available than ever —through personal learning budgets, internal programmes and wonderful social platforms like (ahem) YCN — many of us struggle to make time to engage or take advantage of what's there, and even cite ‘lack of development benefits’ as a motivating factor when moving on.

Clearly there are opportunities to reframe what we mean by learning and to better instil a more action-oriented mindset when it comes to our development: so we're feeling more in control of find opportunities for development within the day-to-day.

Become your own dopamine dealer

And our own sense of progression is up for grabs too. Because finding small, everyday opportunities for experimenting in the flow of work, learning from those around us — and creating proof of the progress we’re making — helps us to tap into those powerful drivers of motivation, coined by Richard Ryan and Edward Deci in their seminal work on Self-Determination: Autonomy, Relatedness and Competency.

When we do this — re-imagining the range of development opportunities open to us, and bringing them into the nearer field — we tee ourselves up for those motivating doses of dopamine that come when we feel like we're actually making progress.

Learning how to learn

In this hands on and collaborative session we'll set out to recognise and practice a number of approaches to firing up our motivation for development, revealing hidden ways for everyday learning and arming ourselves with individual action plans for making the most of what's new. If you're keen to feel like you're progressing more quickly, this is a session for you.

What we'll cover:

— Enabling an experimental mindset

— Using our strengths for development quick wins

— Pulling in feedback in quick and painless ways

— Diarising development and making what matters visible

— Crowdsourcing a curriculum that costs nothing and continually evolves.

— No strings attached listening.

Who the session is for:

Anyone keep to think differently about the concept of development, learn and develop more quickly, reveal more opportunities for learning in the flow of work, and connect with a supportive group of peers.

How the session will be structured:

We'll mix up some exercises, conversation prompts and small group discussions — pulling in perspectives from the group and arriving at an individual action plan for growth. We'll work collaboratively on a Miro board, and if you've not used Miro before here's an immediate learning opportunity. (PS — It's really easy.)