For the Love…of Learning!
I was sharing with a colleague a while back about my favorite life-long learner, my 94-year-old grandmother. A national tennis champion in her teenage years, a teacher and a coach from her twenties through retirement, she continues to pursue learning in her latter stage of life. From learning new board games with her great grandchildren to navigating her way around an iPad and Facebook, she quite literally learns something new each day.
The posture of learning is both a “mode of personal enjoyment and a path to professional success,” according to an article in the Harvard Business Review (HBR) by John Coleman. I have observed this to be true through watching my grandmother. In this modern economy, cultivating a posture of learning is especially key where “ongoing skill acquisition is critical to persistent professional relevance” (HBR). While sometimes I wish learning would happen through osmosis, it does require intentionality to foster specific learning habits. The article suggests the following practices to cultivate intentional learning:
- Articulate the outcomes you’d like to achieve
- Set realistic goals
- Develop a learning community
- Ditch the distractions
- Use technology to supplement learning
As we shift into the holiday season and begin to think about the New Year, what are one or two things you’d like to learn in the next six months professionally? Personally? How will you cultivate the habits of learning to acquire the knowledge and skill base necessary to further your goals?
One of the things I thoroughly enjoy about being a part of the Grants Team at Morrison is the opportunity to put the habits of learning into practice daily through learning about our clients, their businesses, the industry setbacks they face, as well as how they are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to rise to the challenge. We also love telling the story of what we learn in a way to leverage grant funding to help our clients achieve their goals!
About the Author
Hilary Tricerri is a consultant with Morrison, working primarily in our Grants practice. To get in touch with Hilary, please find contact information for Morrison here.