Evolution Seekers: The Next Frontier in Lifelong Learning

You’ve probably heard the saying that the best leaders – like teachers – are the best students. They are dedicated to learning throughout their life, both personally and professionally.

I agree, but I think there’s more. The leaders who stand out don’t stop there.?

Continuous improvement is an admirable goal; it requires discipline and an internalized drive to put in the work every day. It also calls on your ability to understand which skills and competencies need to be developed, and then figure out how to do it.?

Many of us consider ourselves to be lifelong learners, but I’d like to introduce you to a new way of thinking that goes one step further: evolution seekers.

What are evolution seekers? How is it different from lifelong learners? And how can you become one? I’m so glad you asked.

The Philosophy Behind Evolution Seeking

Let’s take a cue from one of my passions: martial arts. There’s an expression that states that true training only starts after receiving a black belt. Up until that point, you have simply mastered the techniques on the outside –?i.e. how it should look. That’s what earned you the black belt, your precision in execution. But now, you must learn what the techniques mean on the inside. You need to understand how they feel and the power that comes from within.?

The difference? Your level of consciousness, connecting the mind to the body. When you move past the fundamentals of the sport, you start to understand when and why to act, and how to move and adjust yourself. When it becomes instinctive, that’s when you have experienced evolution.

Maybe an easier example is swimming. When kids first start learning to swim, they focus on the techniques. Control your breathing, learn to float, combine strokes and kicks to synchronize movement. This is how we all started, but it is still a conscious effort in the beginning. I remember when my kids were learning, they would ask me, “Am I swimming yet?” I tried to explain to them that they will know when they have learned to swim, but it was a bit too much for them to wrap their heads around. They quickly picked up on the techniques but they didn’t immediately think about how it felt to swim. To really know, it had to be second nature to them.

Move Past Comprehension to Internalization

I still vividly remember the moment my martial arts training truly clicked in my mind and I understood how to kick and punch naturally. It was like a lightbulb went off in my head and my body knew exactly how to move and perform the classic techniques all on its own – now with more speed and less effort than before.?

The moment came after?I had been training for over a decade and we were traveling from Sweden to Denmark. During a break by the side of the road, I was overcome by a feeling of certainty and confidence in my abilities; a voice in my head said, I’ve got this. So, I challenged my friends to see if they could dodge my kick. They couldn't move an inch before I kicked them. The same with punches. I felt on top of my game! For more than 10 years, I had been training, and training, and re-training the same techniques, and suddenly they started to “work” as they should.?

I tried to explain what I had learned, but it was impossible to put into words. It’s as if the techniques had formed a new form that I could feel when I executed them. It came so easily to me but it was too difficult to explain that to anyone who was not on the same level yet.?

Evolution Seeking in Business

I bet you’re wondering, how can these stories and lessons be applied to business? Does this idea of evolution work in the same way? Well, my experience points to yes. I can easily point to some key game-changing, pivotal moments from my working life where I felt these leaps of evolution.

One happened after my pursuit of becoming a professional martial artist ended and I turned my sights on developing my business skills and competencies. Since I was essentially starting from scratch, I chose sales as it felt the most accessible for my personality. That being said, I had no educational background in sales, and I knew that there was a lot to learn, but it excited me. (And thus began my path towards lifelong learning!)

Every day, I spent hours working on improving my skills. I was reading and observing, listening to feedback, learning from my coworkers... And then one day, I found a book called “Spin Selling” by Neil Rackham. This changed the game for me. I found it to be such an insightful read that explained sales in very practical and applicable terms. It detailed the different questions to ask in a sales conversation, outlined how to build a picture of the goal for your customer, and how to guide them to that goal by asking the questions to which I had the solutions.?

Unlike everything I had seen so far, Rackham’s book showed me that most salespeople make the mistake of introducing their solution too early in the conversation. Rather than sealing the deal, it ends up turning the customer off. Instead, the book advised salespeople to walk the customer through what happens when their problems are fixed, meanwhile painting yourself as the obvious partner to make it happen. These are broken down into the implications of the problems and the net pay-off stages. The result is that you can build a solution for the customer and their specific needs.?

I have read that book many times over many years and even attended an intensive course on the subject, all of which improved my sales results in a very tangible way.?

But one day, in the middle of a customer meeting, it clicked. Suddenly, I knew what it was all about. First, I needed to understand the real issues that I could help fix. Then I needed to guide the customer towards understanding how the problems can be solved. Very seldom is the fix what I am selling. I need to visualize the broader solution and explain how the overall fix would resolve the issues and identify how my solution could specifically make it faster, easier, or more suitable for their needs.

The epiphany was elating. However, this did not go over well with the client. The customer kicked me out of the meeting! When I started to explain what should be done to achieve that big picture solution (an assessment backed by my opinion), he became very upset because he felt that I overstepped. It was not my place to say these things. Luckily, my colleague managed to calm him down and smooth things over. But I felt empowered. My eyes were opened to a new world and I felt something within me shift –?or evolve. I have been able to help customers in a much better way ever since. This has also helped motivate me to make sales calls since I enjoy these conversations so much.

Follow the Epiphany

Sometimes, the “aha” moment can be triggered by someone else’s wisdom. It can be a friend or a colleague relating their experience to yours. For me, I experienced this when I heard Susan Cain’s speech at Nordic Business Forum 2018. She talked about the difference between introverts and extroverts from a professional perspective. Specifically, she identified that leaders need to take these personalities into account when communicating.?

This may not be news for some, but it was eye-opening for me as a leader to understand that, if I want opinions and thoughts from everyone in the team, I need to approach each individual differently. Some will be able to answer a question quickly and suggest ideas or give feedback on the spot, potentially even in front of their team. Others will need some time to process and prepare their thoughts, maybe even preferring to express themselves through writing instead of speaking.?

Language skills play a big role too; if you have to speak your 3rd or 4th language to communicate an idea, it will of course affect the way you take part in a conversation and express your thoughts.

This evolution in thought changed how I approached one-on-one meetings with my team members. Some preferred short conversations that lasted no more than 30 minutes, while others enjoyed longer discussions that could easily span an hour. With some, we spoke on the phone about projects and quick reports, whereas others preferred to send me updates in writing. And it made the team stronger as a result. I (re)learned that there is never a one-size-fits-all way of working. The best I can do is be open to new ideas, test them out, learn from what happens, and evolve my methods consciously.

Level-Up Your Learning

You might argue that these aren’t real examples of evolution, but they are significant if we take the time to appreciate them. And the closer you pay attention, the more you’ll find that these moments are more common than not. It’s about cracking the code to do things better. And before you know it, you’ll have moved past passive learning to a place of active, inspired self-education. Talk about leveling up!?

When the first fish grew legs and walked on land, the world changed to that fish. It didn't need to think about what was above the water, it could just go and explore. And when you learn to read, it becomes automatic. You don't need to pay attention to each letter anymore, you just read on. When you learn to swim, you can see a lake and feel confident about diving in. You don't need to think about the technique or focus on keeping your head above water, it is instinctive.

I have forgotten many math formulae and history lessons, but I can still feel a martial arts punch and know with certainty if it was done correctly. I can still dig deep in a sales conversation and find solutions tailored to the customer’s needs. I can still have productive discussions with each one of my team members regardless of the setup. These are all part of me now; I cannot forget them.

Never Stop Seeking Evolution

All this is what it means to be an evolution seeker.

Evolution seeking begins with the same principles as lifelong learning and the commitment to bettering yourself every day by learning from the world around you. But it doesn’t stop there. It also involves the critical evolution stage where you have internalized the lessons and no longer have to even think about the techniques behind your actions. By following your ambition to do more than just scratch the surface, lessons become intrinsic to how you operate.

It starts with a path that you strongly believe in, with actions or steps that you can mimic. For some, that means simply fake it ‘til you make it. For me, it meant following my martial arts master and perfecting my outward technique before I could embody the teachings. Believe me, if you are conscious of this evolution, you will one day wake up and see the world as you never have before. You’ll have evolved to become a better version of yourself, and that will help you take further steps that you didn’t even know were there to be taken.

So, you may be wondering, what about me? What’s next? Well, as a lifelong learner, you’ll know that our work is never done. My next goal is to become a level 5 leader, as Jim Collins puts it. Level 5 leaders display a powerful combination of personal humility and indomitable will. They are incredibly ambitious, but that ambition is first and foremost for a cause, for an organization and its purpose, not for themselves.?

Evolution doesn’t just make things better, it changes the game entirely. And anything could be your gateway to the next level in learning. It’s worth spending the time searching for it.