What factors influence how people learn and work together?

"What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived; it is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead" — Nelson Mandella.

When it comes to skilling your people, it is crucial to adopt a multidimensional mindset. This helps build a culture of continuous learning that improves staff experience, positively impacting productivity and retention. People are deep and complex processing beings, so when we engage with others, whether it be professionally or personally, we have to remember that people have multiple layers to navigate when communicating and developing.

The aim of deep learning is to take collective knowledge and understanding of humans to improve processes and outcomes. Given the most prominent mechanism of learning is experienctial, the action of doing and then reflecting on the interaction better enables neural connections between theories and information learned in the classroom to real-world situations.

Education has always played a significant role in my life whether it be as a recipient or the teaching facilitator. I feel extremely fortunate to now be in a working environment where professional development is encouraged, supported, and modeled by leadership. I had the pleasure of sharing a few highlights of my professional learning which stemmed from when I owned and operated my own business, with the team the other day and the part that invoked the most meaningful conversation was the topic of "Barriers". We all face them and they can show up in various forms, but the most important component is how to work through them productively and not let them hinder your momentum.

When we consider that humans are capable of way more than we give them credit for, we unlock a powerful mindset as it reinforces that it is not all about you, but rather about others. This is vital for breaking through the walls we face when we learn and work with one another.

Let's take a look at three ideas to accomplish great results:

1. Choose A Growth Mindset

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” —Thomas Edison

Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck’s research shows that people can have one of two mindsets about learning and intelligence. Those with a fixed mindset believe their basic abilities, intelligence, and talents are fixed traits. We either have a talent for something, or we do not. While those with a growth mindset believe they can enhance their abilities through effort. Having a fixed mindsets means opportunities are missed for improvement, while having a growth mindset enables abilities to move ever upward. Motivation is the key. If we believe there will be a positive payoff for our effort, we work harder instead of succumbing to helplessness.

The good news is that we can choose the mindset that will serve us best. Our mindset is not a fixed trait. We have all experienced having both a fixed and growth mindset. Having the awareness to understand when you are moving into a fixed mindset can be a powerful way to switch back into growth mode.

2. Practice Daily Reflection

“We do not learn from experience….We learn from reflection on experience.” - John Dewey, Educational Reformer

A humbling, yet powerful tool, is reflection as it helps us improve our performance. But it is not easy, as it forces us to look honestly at ourselves, our strengths, weaknesses, and areas that require improvement. When reflecting, one considers an experience and tries to understand it. This reflection often leads to insights, learning, and ideas to test with future experiences. Research confirms that reflection is crucial to the learning process.

We can often focus only on the result of our actions when engaging with reflection, but that is only part of the story. Being effective at driving results and building strong relationships is the key to being perceived by others as an effective leader.

3. Focus On Successful Behaviour Change

In essence, the real intent of choosing a growth mindset and practicing daily reflection is positive behavioural change. Establishing new habits and behaviours that solicit growth and evolution could look somewhat like this:

Define One Achievable Goal At A Time - Too many goals will ensure you will lose focus and not succeed at accomplishing the desired behavior change.

Define The “Why” Of Your Goal - Is it meaningful and important to you and your leadership success? If not, choose a different development goal.

Plan For Obstacles - You should define what obstacles will get in the way of your success in achieving your new development goal and what actions you will take to mitigate those obstacles.

Whichever aspect you take from this short article, remember to enjoy the ride and relish in the delight of curiosity!