Anxiety in Learning - An important lesson learnt in the wild

Recently I had the privilege to visit Kruger National Park in South Africa. At nearly 20,000 square kilometres (or 2,000,000 hectares) it is a massive animal reserve, home to the big 5: the lion, the leopard, the elephant, the rhino and the buffalo. I was on holiday with family and friends, and instead of an organised tour, I rented a 4x4 and became one of the drivers for the group.

Before heading out into the park, I was given a brief by one of our South African friends. Among other things, he told me one of the key animals I needed to be careful of was the elephant. In my mind, I thought a lion or leopard would be more dangerous, but my friend explained that an elephant who feels you are encroaching on their space could charge and flip your car. I was told I shouldn’t get too close, and if they turned and flapped their ears, I should start to back up slowly.

After that story I didn’t want to get anywhere near an elephant. The first day went by without any elephant incidents, but the second day was a different story. I was on the hunt to complete the Big 5 sightings for the group in my 4x4. We had seen lions, elephants, buffalos and rhinos, but the leopard was still eluding us. We got news of a fresh leopard kill, and passed a lot of elephant bathing in the nearby river before getting to the kill sight. The leopard was nowhere in sight, but it's kill was hanging from a tree. We sat parked outside the kill sight for about 45 minutes. But with no leopard returning and with time running out in the day, we decided to head back.

On the way back is when things got interesting. The elephants we had passed in the river earlier had decided to leave the river and were now passing in large numbers across the road we were now on. As the flow of elephants slowly dissipated I crept forward, however I had to quickly stop as a new herd of elephants starting streaming across the road metres in front of us. After the stories of the previous day from our South African friend, I decided it best to slowly back away, but had to quickly stop again, as looking in the rear view mirror more elephants were also streaming across the road just metres behind us.

It is fair to say my anxiety levels skyrocketed. There was nowhere to go as we were boxed in with elephants on either side, and I just hoped that none of the elephants would be spooked by the presence of our 4x4. The photo I took in the banner of this article is one I took as the herd started to thin again, and when I had the opportunity I slowly pulled away and allowed myself to breathe again! A rest stop was not far away, and I pulled in to give myself a moment to settle the nerves. Only when the anxiety started to pass, I could reflect on what an incredible experience I had just been through. To see countless elephants in their natural environment is something I am sure I will remember for the rest of my life.

As a Learning & Development professional, reflecting on this experience has also made me think of the role anxiety plays in learning. I was an anxious learner in this story, driving in Kruger for the first time, and I could have decided not to drive at all, but instead I cautiously learnt from experience and created life-long memories. Anxiety can either be a debilitating thing that prevents a learning experience, or one that can be accepted as a natural part of the learning process that needs to be accepted and managed.

To pretend anxiety does not exist is unrealistic, so what can be done to better manage anxiety in learning? I suggest three things below:

1.      Set expectations

Learning something new takes time and effort. It is important to set expectations with learners accordingly. For someone who is a master in their own area of expertise, learning something new can become frustrating, and increase their anxiety levels.

In my case in Kruger, my South African friend helped set expectations. He highlighted that although I may be an experienced driver, driving in Kruger was something else, and I needed to learn some important lessons. While I was anxious when boxed in by elephants on the road, I did not freak out, or do something that could have caused a dangerous situation, because those expectations had been set.

In the workplace, we need to set expectations prior to learning, both about what is being learnt but also expectations around the challenges that may be faced in applying new learning in the workplace. That way people can be better prepared mentally about the challenges ahead, while also recognising when anxiety strikes that it is normal and something experienced by everyone.

For someone who is a master in their own area of expertise, learning something new can become frustrating, and increase their anxiety levels.

2.      Involve the learner

Anxiety can be managed by involving the learner in the process, and not treating them like a passive participant in the process. Adult learners are used to being in control of their lives, so giving them control over their learning helps reduce anxiety.

For me in Kruger, my South African friend highlighted important things and passed on tips, but allowed me to set my desired route, and discussed it with me before I set off. This small element of control made me feel more engaged and secure in the experience that was ahead of me, as it was an experience that I had a big hand in preparing.

In the workplace, adult learners should be treated as active participants in the learning process. Ask them about their learning goals, what they need to learn to benefit their workplace performance, and engage them actively in the process of determining what and how they are going to learn. Giving learners control, and co-creating the learning process with them, helps reduce anxiety levels.

Adult learners are used to being in control of their lives, so giving them control over their learning helps reduce anxiety.

3.      Channeling natural anxiety into positive learning

A last thing I would like to share, is that when anxiety inevitably strikes in the learning process it is important to channel it into a positive learning experience. When people face challenges or failure in their learning experience this can become a major impediment to further learning efforts. But there are lessons to be learnt from these challenges or failures, that can enrich future learning experiences and enhance learning application to the workplace. Challenges not only add to learning, but overcoming them helps increase confidence and decrease anxiety when new challenges arise in future learning application.

When I was boxed in by elephants crossing the road, it was definitely a challenge. It was a challenge I had to be careful about, and make sure I didn’t do anything to endanger myself and the people I was driving. After that experience I could have given up on driving further, but it was an experience I learnt from and carried on, creating more amazing experiences. Some of the lessons came from self-reflection, realising that I could have waited a little longer before trying to push on when I first saw the elephants, to be sure all the elephants had cross. And some of the lessons came from talking to my South African friend later, who confirmed that when in that situation between the elephants I did the best thing possible. Now when I drive in Kruger again in the future, I will be better prepared with the lessons I have learnt from experience.

In the workplace, we need to allow people to learn from experience, as lessons are learnt through application, which may naturally involve challenges and even failure. Rather than allow these challenges to become debilitating, these challenges should be embraced as an important part of the learning process. Self-reflection should be encouraged, as many times the learner themselves will know what to improve on in the future. In addition, constructive debriefing and reinforcement from others, through tools such as mentoring and coaching, can prove useful tools to improve future learning application and workplace performance.

Challenges not only add to learning, but overcoming them helps increase confidence and decrease anxiety when new challenges arise in future learning application.

I am very grateful for the experiences that I had in Kruger National Park, and I will definitely be back to learn more lessons and create more great memories. 

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