Why you're not making the most of your learning
Are You Learning or Avoiding?
I love learning. LOVE it. It makes me feel great – the almost tangible feeling of growth and betterment as I soak up all the good information into my brain and my notebook.
But, sometimes even loving something good for you can be unhealthy.
Hands up if you’ve ever been to an event or course and gone away really excited… to never put anything into practice.
On Wednesday night at the Future Leaders Collective, guest speaker Dr Michael Larson talked about this in the context of the disconnect between our emotional intelligence (our observations, narratives and emotions) and our knowledge and skills on a topic – or what we know the best practice scenario would be. This disconnect can result in some very different outcomes.
For example – you might go to a course and learn all about how to delegate tasks to your team. Great! You can now free up lots of your time and focus on more important work….
Or not. Because if your mindset (narrative) is still that your team won’t do it as well as you then you still won’t delegate anything - even with all the best practices and know how of the theory.
This is when learning can provide a false sense of security and be a means of procrastination rather than development.
Before you next read a book, watch an instructional video, listen to a podcast, go to a conference or attend a training course, take a moment to pause.
Reflect on this question: “What mindset could get in my way of me putting this learning into practice?”.
The mindset barrier could be any kind of belief from self-doubt to distrust of others to a perceived lack of available time. Identifying and being aware of this barrier will help you catch yourself thinking it and ultimately, overcome it, to get the most of your learning and put into action to take real steps to improve.
"Becoming is better than being."
Carol Dweck
Catch up: This week on LinkedIn
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Want to see your management or leadership challenge addressed with helpful advice and resources? Email me at steph@stephclarke.com and let me know what topics you'd like me to include in future newsletters.
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