Be Extra Ordinary – Learn!

Have you ever arrived at certain crossroads in life where the leading question on your mind is, “What do I do from here?” Or did this question come to you in another guise, like “How did I get here?” or “What do I do next with my life?”

Not to worry: you are not alone. These kinds of questions often come up when you have to make decisions whose implication can be so far-reaching that it would determine the next lane life would take you. This decision would determine whether you would merely cope for the rest of your life, reacting to the vicissitudes hurled at you; or whether you would thrive and build an extraordinary life.

The best way to make the most of life is to commit to life-long learning.

The advantages of economies of scale will diminish as cutting-edge technologies continue to impact everyday life. Only organisations with people who can learn will survive the emerging new world. If you think you can figure out what will happen in the next curve of innovation, you’re in serious need of humility – you need to learn. Only your commitment to learning can improve the quality of your life.

The best way to live an extraordinary life is to be better every day – to learn every day. Better is Bigger!

Every business would be rewarded for growing better, instead of bigger. ‘Better’ in terms of the quality of our people, capacity to learn, what we produce and our workplace. Rather than seeking to be the largest company in the world, seek to be the best. Better is Bigger! Emphasis on growing bigger with no thought to growing better is a foundation for squandered energy and resources.

Learning is the best way to control your destiny – or someone else will.

For Businesses

An organisation develops along with its people. As the organisation sets up conditions which encourage people to grow, the organisation also grows. If you become rich by winning the lottery, you’ve achieved something extraordinary but you’ve not expanded your capacity to win future lotteries. Look beyond your pre-existing ideas and productively change the way you think and interact.

The people who contribute most to an enterprise are those who are committed to expanding their own capacity to pursue a vision and build collective systems.

If the skills & methods you claim to have mastered don’t show up in your performance, you’re less than average!

As an organisation, the only sustainable source of competitive advantage is your ability to learn faster than your competitors. Every new insight, invention, process or product is a learning curve. You may not need to be secretive about your winning formula if you continue to learn and generate new ideas that are incorporated into your work.

How do I know if I’m truly learning?

When you can do things that you couldn’t do before, learning has taken place. The true test of learning is the improved results you produce. As your new skills & capabilities develop, the world you “see” literally shifts.

When an Organisation’s Culture is not progressive…

Everyone, from the gateman to the CEO, contributes to an organisation’s culture but senior managers have more responsibility. Every aspect of senior managers’ performance, conversation and actions must demonstrate organisational values. Senior managers must be visibly willing to take a stand for the guiding ideas they consider important while remaining open to other points of view.

You can change overarching beliefs and assumptions that support undesirable culture by changing the stories you tell your people. Good ideas drive out bad ideas. As you continue to tell new stories, a desirable culture will emerge. Unfortunately, not many people are open to good ideas.

Every organisation is a product of how its people think and interact. Changing the way we interact goes beyond redesigning the formal structures of the organisation, to the hard-to-see patterns of interaction between people and processes. Shared vision, systems thinking and team learning are key to changing the way we interact at work.

The most daunting organisational barriers are created by people’s wishes, expectations, beliefs and habits that are taken for granted. The way to change fast and for the better is to develop people’s capacity to think and interact differently.

Attributes of a learning organisation

A learning organisation invests what’s necessary to create an environment that helps employees become high-quality contributors. It is where people feel they are doing something that matters to them and their organisation. It is where no one is killed for making mistakes – where experiments, risks and open assessments are commonplace.

People are more intelligent together than they are individually.

It is where there’s mutual respect and trust, no matter their varying positions. Every individual is somehow stretching, growing or enhancing his or her capacity to create value. Employees are invited to learn what’s going on at every level of the organisation, so they can understand how their actions influence others.

The visions of the enterprise emerge from all levels and are shared by all. There are few sacred cows or undiscussable subjects. People feel free to inquire about each other’s assumptions and biases. It is important to leverage relationships to dissolve barriers through collaboration.

Building Closeness among Colleagues at Work

Intimacy among staffers starts with a commitment to get to know the people behind job titles, roles or function. To produce intimacy, start conversing. If someone expresses distaste or interest in something, ask for the source.

Intimacy doesn’t mean probing into secrets, stepping over the bounds of propriety, or invading privacy. If someone asks you; answer honestly. When we deeply care about our common purpose, we recognise the need for each other’s contributions.

However, be aware that while intimacy offers a rich sense of involvement, it also implies vulnerability.  Intimacy is not sexuality in the workplace, nor does it mean giving free rein to every emotional impulse. Expressing feeling is a skill that improves with practice. A company hoping to attract millennials has no choice but to permit the display of human feelings in the workplace.

Here is the model for promoting good relationships at work:

·         Share relevant information, knowing this may involve educating people to comprehend the information.

·         Share credit. Relationships can’t grow where only one person – usually the “boss” – takes credit for all the work.

·         Reward and recognise honesty and openness.

·         Reward and promote partnerships, particularly across functions and at all levels of the organisation.

·         Hold dialogues or skillful discussions focused on people’s perceptions of their relationships.

·         Managers must have a higher level faith in the capability of people to develop over the long term.

·         The lifeblood of the organisation is the capacity for dialogue – not just at team level but throughout the enterprise.

·         Commitment builds when people are an active part of the experience of creating something they value together.

Finally, if intellectual capital is the key asset in our age, then conversations about things that matter are essential for breakthrough thinking and collaborative innovation.

Organisations are centres of meaning and larger purpose to which employees commit themselves. People have always found their sources of meaning where they spend the majority of their time. For most of us, it’s the workplace. Make it worth their while!