1. It Drives Innovation
Keen learners, those who cultivate a growth mindset within themselves and their broader organizations, are more likely to be early adopters of new technologies, strategies and stay ahead of the curve.
People who expect to learn things that require change and entertain new ideas drive innovation.
The habit of challenging assumptions and thinking critically emerges from this ongoing learning and growth mindset, which are necessary skills in future-proofing any organization. Not only by virtue of these behavioural shifts, but also the kinds of people that these behaviours attract.
One of the hardest parts of innovation is embracing failure as an unavoidable part of learning. In order to successfully implement a culture of innovation there needs to be a culture where failure is an accepted part of the process. Fear of making mistakes is the number one killer of learning and innovation.
As leaders, it is your role to model how to fail successfully – taking the lesson and leaving the rest.
Leaders cultivate this capacity by regularly putting themselves in learning positions where they aren’t the expert, where they’re outside their comfort zone and where they have to admit that they don’t have all the answers.
2. It Strengthens your Team
When leaders value their own learning they are more likely to see the value in it for the rest of their team. Modelling a value around constant learning and growth permeates the work culture, eventually effecting priority shifts in spending and time investments in courses, coaching and other forms of learning for your team which have been proven to increase talent retention.
According to LinkedIn’s 2018 Workforce Learning Report, a whopping 93% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their careers.
Teams that grow together stay together.
Providing opportunities and support for teams to access learning, growth and development in various areas of their role will see retention rates improve, building a stronger company. This is particularly with Millennials, although it applies to those of all ages who value learning.
Building a reputation as an organization that values learning is more important than ever in the midst of the great resignation where holding onto talent is increasingly challenging.
When hiring cutting-edge people, movers and shakers, those driving innovation – they come with a hunger for learning.
Providing an environment that fuels their fire and logistically supports their need for learning is a sure way to attract and retain talent. See this Forbes article for more data supporting how investing in the learning and growth of your team increases the retention of top talent.
3. It Increase Resilience
Research has shown that people who are constantly learning and stretching themselves are more resilient when responding to change, resolving problems, giving and receiving feedback and staying calm in the face of crisis.
Those who are in the habit of learning and growing may view a change in the industry more like the next challenge or puzzle to figure out rather than the rug being pulled out from under them.
Adaptability is an increasingly coveted skill in today’s world and developing a pattern of learning inevitably leads to increased adaptability.
How to Implement the Value of Life-long Learning into Your Leadership and Team
Two impactful ways of building a culture of life-long learning include how you behave yourself (modelling) and being intentional about the behaviours you reward in your team.
Look for, and ‘Sunshine’ team member behaviours that create life-long learners.
Reed Hastings from Netflix talks about shining a light on behaviours you want to encourage – linking the behaviour to the positive impact and publicly ‘Sunshining it’.
Important in cultivating the capacity and desire to learn is having someone with whom you can safely express new ideas without repercussions or judgment. Modelling life-long learning yourself creates that safety for your team. This isn’t always easy, and is done best when walking alongside an executive/leadership coach and/or mentor.
The growing ubiquity of coaching as a core investment focus for the development of executives and other leaders is largely because of its effectiveness in building habits of learning – especially behavioural learning.
Coaching develops the leaders’ comfort in the ‘unknowningness’ of a life-long learner which, in turn, strengthens confidence, resulting in strong, timely decision-making and resilience. Leaders who learn the ‘secret’ of life-long learning, inevitably pass it on, creating cultures of innovative life-long learners.