Learning is worthless unless…

(3 minute read time)

I can almost hear the collective gasp.  Did she just say “Learning is worthless”?? This sounds like a crazy statement coming from a gal who has spent decades coaching and training people.

Learning has value for sure.  But that value is significantly enhanced or diminished by what we do with it.  

Whenever we read a book, take a class, listen to a Ted Talk, or otherwise attempt to learn something new, all we are actually doing is consuming.  We are only gathering ideas for possible future action but we have not really done anything yet.

Think about the last book you read, the last class you took, the last time you attempted any sort of personal development.  

(Let me just digress quickly – if you are having a hard time figuring out when your last personal development occurred, consider this your urgent-red-flag-sirens-blaring-alert.  You must make time for your own development. Especially if you are a leader.)

OK, now that you have your last personal development experience in mind, I want you to ask yourself what changed because of it?  How did you apply it? What did you create that did not exist before?

Too often we just consume and leave it at that instead of taking the next step of creating something with the knowledge we just consumed.  

There are a few reasons this happens:

1. Staying the same seems easier.  Often it’s really not easier but that is just how our brains are wired, it’s not your fault.
2. The situation is not difficult enough or painful enough to inspire change – our priorities are on putting out fires instead of developing fire prevention methods.   
3. Creating involves risk, anything we create could be rejected – just consuming is safe, no one can judge it too harshly.            

Often, we either are not doing any personal development or when we do, we miss the part where we apply it.  Here are a few tips to avoid this common pitfall.

• Know your why – Are you reading the book or taking the class because you’re strategically targeting an issue?  Or are you doing it just to check the box on some Personal Development plan at work? If your motivation is misplaced your results are likely to be minimal at best.
• Start with the end in mind – Go into your next learning experience with a purpose.  What value can you add once you have acquired this new knowledge?  Brainstorm a list of ideas before and after the learning experience.  
• Engage others – One of the most effective and impactful things you can do for your team members is to partner with them on their learning experiences.  Before you ever send them to a training session or have them join a book club, engage with them on the objectives. Then, connect with them after – ask them how it went, what they learned and help them apply their new knowledge.  Make time to chat with your boss as well about your own learning experiences.
• Consume, Apply, Apply, Apply, Consume – Commit to applying what you just learned before you sign up for the next class or buy the next book.  There are a lot of development options, you can spend a lifetime just consuming but you will never really know what works for you unless you actually use it.

Your personal development is similar to physical fitness in that buying a gym membership is a good start, but going to the gym and actually working out is even better.        

Speaking of the gym, having a life coach is kind of like having a personal trainer for your mind.  Want to find out more? Click here to schedule a free discovery session.