The learnability mindset: A celebration of curiosity and adaptability

I won’t start this reflection by stating that the world is evolving faster than ever. At this point, that’s more than evident to everyone. What I want to do here is reflect on how we, as individuals, can be open to embracing this revolution smoothly while still enjoying the journey and having fun along the way.

When I left my role at a market-leading fashion company to join a software firm serving the manufacturing industry, I received an outpouring of messages—some with curiosity and surprise, others with admiration—admitting that taking such a step would fill the sender with anxiety and discomfort.

In the end, I was truly surprised by the range of these reactions. I bring with me a wealth of unforgettable experiences across different areas and industries, from working on the shop floor in manufacturing to assuming project, product, and process roles in printing, telecommunications, airlines, fashion, and beyond. My journey also includes meaningful volunteer work—from teaching English to Afro and Indigenous descendants in Brazil to supporting local food producers in Portugal in combating food waste, and many others in between.

As I reflect on each of these experiences, one thing stands out: the learnings I gained from every single one of them. These learnings made each experience truly worthwhile. And learnings are not only related to how to design a process or write code: they're about learning different cultures, languages, history, and people.

As someone who embraces the new very easily, I must admit that sometimes it’s difficult to assimilate that people resist change—from significant and personal changes, like moving to a new country or assuming a new role, to smaller and collective ones, like changing a company process or tool. But then I remind myself that this is the essence of what makes us human: We are all different.

I will always be an enthusiastic believer in the idea that we need to embrace change to improve things. But, of course, this will always happen in addition to what we learn.

As an individual, I always seek to learn new things. I have done this in the past, and I will definitely continue to do so in the future. But I don't allow the market, the media, society, or corporate standards to dictate what I will learn. I want to learn by heart. I genuinely want to understand where I, as an individual, am positioned in the world and which possibilities exist for me—without compromising my personality, values, and beliefs. The future of the world fascinates me, and all the industrial revolutions we’ve had—and will have, together with everything that revolves around sustainability—are part of that. So, why not assume a position where I can understand these topics in detail and give back what I’ve learned to the company and its people?

And what if we extend this reflection to the collective perspective: A company.

Working in an environment where decisions are made top-down, without listening to people, and where communication is unclear, can be very frustrating. A company that doesn't listen to employees before implementing changes sends the message that it doesn’t value learning from its people—one of its most important assets. A company that doesn’t communicate implemented changes properly is depriving its people of learning.

A Gartner study says that over 80% of organizations manage change from the top down, but only 20% of employees really understand the change. Companies that listen to employees to collectively formulate change are three times more efficient at implementing and improving the way they work. This is a good indicator for companies and their leaders that any change impacts people and should start with people.

Finally, I didn’t want to start with this statement, but I will need to bring it back: The world is evolving faster than ever. Yes, of course, it is beneficial for us, as individuals, to keep our hearts open to learning. Learning and changing based on our learnings will always be the best way to pave our path toward the unknown future with more security and stability.

So, I want to end this writing by emphasizing the importance of this learnability mindset chain, which includes not only our individual learnings—rooted in our passions and values—but also the people who inspire and mentor us, as well as the companies that create a safe space where learning and experimenting improvements and innovations are possible, as we—people, companies, and the entire world—evolve.