Learning How To Learn. Again.

The value of Learning is common to almost all organizations. It’s one of the 17 Common Values. The more popular label for this value is “Continuous Improvement” as this is the desired outcome leaders are striving to achieve. But it’s all about encouraging a culture of learning.

Leaders who promote the value of learning foster an environment that inspire employees to increase their knowledge, improve their competency, gain greater clarity around what’s important, and ideally experience personal growth.

I find it interesting that one of the most popular videos I created awhile back (in a series called Values Quotes) was on the topic of learning. In this video, I referenced a powerful quote by Alvin Toffler, a well-known futurist and author who wrote Future Shock and The Third Wave.

“The illiterate of the 21^st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” — Alvin Toffler

This quote succinctly highlights the importance of learning as a basic tool for survival in our modern world. A hundred years ago the essential criteria for success was founded upon the ability to read and write (and I would add basic math). But that’s no longer enough.

In a world that’s constantly changing, and moving faster than ever before, the requirement for achieving just about anything is now founded upon the ability to continually learn. Or as Toffler stated, the ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn.

8 Signs of a Learner

How do you recognize a learner? Here are eight signs that someone is a learner:

• They derive pleasure from both the process and product of learning.
• They feel a sense of purpose from the process of learning.
• They willingly share what they’ve learned as feedback from others as it enhances their own learning (there’s no time to worry about someone stealing your ideas).
• They are collegial.
• They are natural collaborators.
• They love to discuss ideas, maintaining respect for the ideas of others as they might learn something new.
• They are not bothered that some view them as ‘geeks’ (they likely see it as a compliment). The motivation to learn is driven from within.
• They take great delight in seeing what they’ve learned being applied by others. They find it rewarding to see someone else benefiting from their knowledge, experience, and skills.

Now, in my experience, this concept either really resonates with you or it seems too simple and possibly nonsense. If this doesn’t resonate with you, that doesn’t mean you are not a learner. It just means other elements of life are of greater value to you.

The same is true for organizations.

Identifying a Learning Organization

Everyone in an organization that embraces the value of learning can’t help but to continually learn. It’s baked into the culture.

Ideally, such an organization has also figured out how to make learning a competitive differentiator because it can’t be easily replicated. Just as each culture is unique, so too is a learning organization.

Here are a few ways to recognize a learning organization:

• It attracts a certain kind of employee that loves to learn.
• Both individual employees and teams are motivated by the opportunity to learn.
• Management behaves differently, with a tolerance for mistakes that help both individuals and the organization grow.
• Customers have a tolerance for minor issues as they are given a clear way to provide feedback and input that is appreciated, studied and applied.
• Suppliers are included in the feedback loop and expected to adapt and help implement the learning.
• Owners and shareholders openly support the investments in continuous learning because they expect positive future returns from the output.

Of course, this is not for everyone. But if your organization is struggling to survive in a continually changing world, maybe it’s time to consider the value of learning. As Toffler suggests, learning how to unlearn and relearn might be your best investment.

Or to quote another famous author and management guru:

“We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn.” — Peter Drucker