The Learning Dilemma | January Newsletter from SoftEd
January Leadership Insight from David Mantica:
"The Learning Dilemma"
In several presentations, I talk about how the status quo is an invisible killer. I also talk about becoming comfortable being uncomfortable. Both are phrases I use to drive home the point that change wreaks havoc when you are not prepared. And both are meant to elicit a real-world memory, where you can see yourself impacted negatively by a change you did not prepare for. Sometimes we call this getting “fat and happy”, becoming complacent, checking out, or maybe even settling. At the end of the day, we strive to get to a comfortable spot and “turn off our brains” and just function. The saddest part of all this is that it is natural. Our brains want to be “protected” in an environment it knows and understands and doesn’t need to generate energy for “thinking” power. Thus, the Learning Dilemma: we are naturally inclined not to want to learn.
Yes, some people are more intellectually curious than others and some are more predisposed to searching for uncomfortable situations, but for the most part, most of us trend towards comfort. Of course, when a situation presents itself (layoff, firing, health concern), we act but reactively, which is inefficient, painful, and produces much less long-term value. The only way to fight the Learning Dilemma is to be completely aware of it and to build a STRONGLY held belief about the importance of learning. Something like this: “no matter how good things are, to maintain it, I will have to be adaptive and change, which means I should always be learning,” or “I believe change is constant and the only way to get comfortable with change is by continuously learning.” Both are beliefs you could develop that will help you build habits around learning. If you do not believe change is constant, it is very hard to consistently learn.
Things to think about going forward around the Learning Dilemma:
Finally, if possible, learn more about how our brains work. The more you understand, the better prepared you are to deal with the inefficiencies of our brain’s operation related to knowledge work.
Upcoming Free Livestreams and Webinars:
AI Weekly Briefing: What's Happening Lately with Generative AI: LinkedIn Livestream
Intro to Generative AI for Project Communications: Zoom Webinar January 10th 1:30PM EST with Lara Hill
Introduction to Generative AI: Exploring GPT Models and Prompt Engineering January 17th 1:00PM EST with Chris Knotts
领英推荐
Leveraging Generative AI in Project Management: An Overview of Key Use Cases January 31st 1:00PM EST with Chris Knotts
Free On-Demand Trainings Recently Recorded:
Optimizing Business Impact with Lean Portfolio Management with David Mantica
January Courses:
Certified ScrumMaster January 16 - 17
Agile Fundamentals January 22 - 24
Lean Portfolio Management January 23 - 25
Agile Project Management January 24 - 25
Certified ScrumMaster January 25 - 26
AI for Business Analysis January 30 - February 1
--
9 个月Thank you, David, for a very interesting article. And thanks Jerry for your insightful response. My belief is that learning is about the journey to performance. We learn for the purpose of solving a problem, or getting better at something, or maybe even feeling better about our level of understanding related to a topic of interest. One of the most important aspects of true learning, is around the concept of deliberateness. Dr. Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool wrote a book entitled 'Peak, Secrets from the New Science of Expertise'. They tell stories about those who have achieved exceptional levels of expert performance and conclude that an expert's path of learning came from very deliberate, well-designed practice, the use of a coach, intentional feedback, and increasing effort. It's been my personal experience that anything I've ever learned at a high level, and been able to perform at a high level, was relative to the amount of effort and practice I put into the learning journey.
Why don't we have a seminar on "What We Need: Transformation, Education and Guidsnce". As we know the array of educational formats, outlets and topics is abundant but what do we really need? The result poses thexquestion as to an event that unlocks what is needed.