How to freshen up your senses and skills

Welcome to the Strategic Leader newsletter! In each edition, I give you a perspective, resource (e.g. a tool, framework), and a recommendation (for a book, article, talk, service, or person).

If we haven’t met yet, thank you for joining me! You can learn a little more about me?here ?and by watching this short?video .

Spoiler alert!

I’m offering a free 30-minute coaching session to the person who shares the best answers to a short survey (read on to the end).

Perspective

Look back over your last six months.

What the three things have you learned? It could be a new skill, practice, mindset, or method.

This will be an easy exercise for some people. They have an ‘Always-be-Learning’ mindset (a term coined by Scott Newton, a close friend and collaborator).s

Others might struggle.

The 2023 Gallup State of the Global Workplace report suggests that 59% of the workforce are not engaged. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re quiet quitting – contrary to the label they’re given as Prof. Jim Detert explains in this superb post – but they may not be learning that much if they’re not engaged.

I felt I was learning the most when I was new in leadership role, or taking on a big project, or with a group of people keen to work on themselves. The aha moments came when I figured out a new way to think or do something, helped by the generosity of my peers and mentors to help me, and my intentionality to learn. I also remember not learning much when it wasn’t relevant to my interests and all about the performance of the tutor.

At times, we’re stuck in the challenges of the moment that we focus on doing, rather than doing AND learning. Soon enough we become stale, bored, wondering if there’s more.

What can we do to keep fresh, stay on top of our game, and reinvent ourselves for the future?

Here’s 10 ways based on research and experience.

1.?????Work out what you’re learning for and to what end. Is it to help you learn skills for your current or future role? Or to create more optionality for your career? To help you overcome staleness, to wake up your senses? Clarity here shapes what and how you learn.

2.????Figure out what’s hot and what’s coming next. Where is the money being spent by Venture Capitalists, signalling where they think are opportunities? Where is your Executive Committee investing in new initiatives? Check out the programmes of the leading conferences and events - what topics are they covering? When you’re reading articles and blogs and listening to podcasts (do check out mine if you haven’t already!) what are the biggest debates about the issues facing business?

3.????Learn from the people you admire. Look for a high performer in your organisation, or a leading thinker or adviser you rate. What are they interested in? Learning about? What new skills are they developing? Ask them directly where you should focus your learning?

4.????Reflect on your interests. What do you enjoy doing the most? What interests have been lingering for some time? Imagine yourself as a younger or older version - without a care in the world - and ask what they would learning and doing.

5.????Identify your learning needs. What are your biggest gaps in knowledge, skill, practice that you need to fill if you’re going to be able to pursue emerging opportunities? What is the best, most effective way of learning (see below for a helpful article)?

6.????Start small and go big. Find the smallest possible opportunities to learn – e.g., a YouTube video, a quick conversation with an expert. Also, find the best, biggest moment – such as a festival – to immerse yourself in the topic and a network.

7.????Focus on the process and enjoyment more than outcomes. You're more likely the learning will come if you do. Sharpen up how you learn - set some objectives, work out your time, capture your learning. Create your group - buddies who share the same mindset, inspire you and cajole you too. And most of all focus on doing, practising, not just passive learning.

8.????Fire up your powers of observation, inquiry, and capture. There’s so much learning all around us but we miss it as we’re focused on ourselves or the immediate issue. Ask people you respect and admire for their advice on where you should focus your attention and what you should strengthen in your skillset and mindset.

9.????Shed baggage about what you know or believe. Get over your ego, open your mind, and start asking questions. If you’re struggling, write down the principles, assumptions, or practices you apply to situations you face – and then ask how applicable and helpful they are (on a scale of 1-10).

10.??Make space for wandering. Sometimes the best learning opportunities come when you have the space to explore and reflect. Don’t over think it or engineer it pressure on yourself to learn continuously. Reality is that we learn in waves. What you are doing is building up your learning muscles that you can use when the time arises.

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Over the last few years, I’ve developed a new network of entrepreneurs, advisers, coaches, authors, and speakers who inspire me every day with their spirit, ambition, insight, and generosity.

Thank you!

I can’t remember a time – which may be down to my age! – when I’ve felt like I’m learning more!

One of them is Aidan McCullen , author of the book ‘Undisruptable: a mindset of permanent reinvention for individuals, organisations, and life’. He joined me on my podcast (which you can listen to here ) to share his frameworks and practices for how to develop and use this mindset. Having a ‘fuzzy vision’ for your future helps, as does grit, openness to new ideas, and willingness to leave things or people behind as you look to grow (you’ll love his reference to a crab losing its shell!).

Resource(s)

Prof. Julian Birkinshaw , Maya Gudka, MSc, CFA, MA(Cantab) and Steve Marshall challenge the widely accepted principles that 70% of learning happens on the job, 20% through feedback, and 10% on structured programmes. In this article they suggest an alternative approach based on sensemaking, experimenting, and discovery – which I find far more appealing, and coherent with how high performing organisations operate.

Developing a Growth Mindset is a critical foundation for learning. Every management team uses the term, but how many know what it means. Carol Dweck defined it as a belief that your talent ‘can be developed (through hard work, good strategies, and input from others)’. She calls out three popular misconceptions article (sound familiar?).

Dr Gemma Leigh Roberts Leigh Roberts has developed an excellent LinkedIn for Learning course on how to develop a Growth Mindset – covering the research, principles, and practice.

Matthew Outerbridge distilled 10 very effective ways to learn into this attractive, and powerful infographic , with a helpful description of each one. I particularly like his reference to chunking, overlearning, interweaving (problems), and the power of metaphors.

Recommendation

I’d love to hear your perspectives on the topics you think deserve more attention and where you feel I could invest my time – perhaps the current thinking is tired or plain wrong, or there are angles that are not been covered. This will help me serve you with the best possible perspectives in my newsletter, podcast, and writing, helping you become an even stronger strategic leader.

Can I ask you to spend five to ten minutes to complete this survey ?

In return, I am offering a free 30-minute session with me for the person who offers the most stimulating and comprehensive answers to tackle anything they want.

You decide – it could be a leadership challenge you’re facing, an aspect of your organisational restructuring, or a strategic opportunity. And for the avoidance of doubt, there are no catches or sales pitch. Just a great conversation!

Let me leave you with this quote from Confucius, the Chinese philosopher:

“He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger."

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Thank you for reading this edition of the Strategic Leader newsletter. I hope you found it insightful and useful. Here are some ways to access further perspectives, tips, and resources:

• Follow me on?LinkedIn ?to join the conversation on my posts, and ring the bell????on the right hand side of my name to receive my new posts.
• Subscribe ?to my Strategic Leader newsletter every other Wednesday.
• Take my Extraordinary Essentials?test ?to assess how you stack up against six characteristics of strategic leaders.
• Check out my?services ?for strategic leaders.