Fresh skills we want to learn

How does a team adapt in an environment of change like the world is experiencing now? 

What skills do leaders need to better lead in these times?

Remote work, extreme uncertainty and ongoing complex change are impacting so many sectors and organisations. 

Old learning topics like body language, negotiation skills and time management are being overtaken by more contemporary, practical and inspiring skills. 

These skills are more related to today’s workplace and aligned to the capabilities people need to be able to work better together. 

Plus they’re the kinds of skills people want to learn!

They are: 
Ingenuity 
Empathy
Creativity 
Curiosity 

Facilitation 
Visualization 
Experimentation 
Improvisation 

Sensemaking
Listening
Learning
Collaborating.


These kinds of skills help us stay relevant and motivated in the learning ... as well as the daily application. 

Recommitting to a decision

A decision made once, may need to be remade each day. 

Or several times a day!

It’s almost as if we are making the decision over and over again, to recommit, refocus and remind ourselves of what we’re doing and why. 

We could expect that once we’ve decided, all will be good and the magic will just happen. 

It would be like signing up to a course but not doing any of the course work. As if deciding will magically give us all the results we’re looking for!

Nope.

We need to recommit and do the work that’s required. 

To do the reading, the exercises, watch the videos, participate in the discussions, work on the assessments ... to go through the experiences and get the skills and knowledge. 

If you’ve decided to do something recently, is there an opportunity to recommit to your decision? 

It can help us to embark on it again, to inspire us or to simply help us keep on making progress. 

Squeezing the most from learning

When we embark on a course or learning program, we can want to ‘soak it all up’ and learn ‘as much as we can’. 

We want to squeeze all we can from it. 

But learning ‘as much as we can’ puts pressure and expectations on the act of learning ... and on ourselves. 

If we’re trying to learn as much as we can, the problem is, there is no end to that. It could be limitless. 

You can keep learning, soaking and absorbing, but until we put some of it into practice, our mind will fill up to overflowing. 

This is cognitive overload. 
Over. Load. 

Instead of ‘learning as much as’, go for ‘learning enough to ...’. 

That’s 
- Enough to get started
- Enough to put something into practice
- Enough to try it out. 

Putting learning into practice sooner gives us feedback, insights, and ... opportunities for more learning. 

This is how to get better value from learning. 


Are you going for:

- as much as, quantity, an amount of learning? 

or 

- learning via experiments and practical applications?

It’s the second that will help with the adoption of newly found skills. 

DIY learning

While a global pandemic may have put a stop to many things, our need for learning hasn’t stopped. 

It’s increased!

Even though company budgets have been paused or slashed, we still have a need to learn so we can
🌕 cope with new situations, 
🌕 take on different responsibilities and 
🌕 adapt to new environments. 

If your client or employer has put a pause on learning, what could you do for yourself to keep your development active? 

Podcasts, books, webinars, masterclasses: so much more has become available in these times. 

We have a HUGE opportunity to DIY or design our own learning plan and program. 

Small investments at this time can reap us some mighty big returns in confidence, capability and skills ... which convert into greater career opportunities for what’s ahead. 

Start now on the DIY project that’s your own learning.

The great reminder

‘This book is a great reminder’
‘This story is a great reminder’
‘Thank you : what a great reminder...’

So what do we mean?

◻️We knew it already. Tick. 
◻️We knew it but didn’t do anything with it last time. No problem. 
◻️We forgot it, have now been reminded of it and still won’t do anything with it. Also no problem. 
◻️We forgot it and this time we will do something with it. Aha - action time!


There’s so much information we’re reading and listening to, trying to make sense of to make ourselves better. 

The great reminder tells you that you knew it already. Do you want to do something with it for the longer term? 

You don’t have to. 

We can’t put EVERY piece of advice we read into practice!

But if it’s a great reminder for you, what does it remind you of ... AND what might you decide to do with it this time around? 


Q: What do you think when you say ‘that’s a great reminder?’