Crafting your Leadership Journey: A 6-Step Guide to Curated Learning

“Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere."

~ Chinese Proverb

Have you ever found yourself completely absorbed in learning about a subject to the point where everything you see seems to relate to it? That's exactly how I feel right now when it comes to leadership development and honing leadership skills. I recently had a conversation with Leadership In Focus Co-Founder, Curtis Scaplen, and we both realized how our minds are constantly drawing parallels between our everyday lives and the world of leadership. 

When it comes to adult learning, there's a widely accepted formula: 70% of learning should come from on-the-job experiences, 20% from coaching and mentoring, and 10% from formal classroom or e-learning. This blend of learning approaches, combined with an openness to lessons in everyday life, offers the best way to incorporate continuous learning into your personal and professional journey. Research indicates that 90% of adults are regularly engaged in some form of informal learning.  Learning, for me, is not just a structured single event, but a continuous and transformative journey. However, I’ve found that it's important to curate and design learning experiences to maximize their benefits.

I believe that action fuels growth.  Based on my personal experiences, in this week’s article I share my 6-step approach to learning.    As a bonus, at the end of the article I will present you with three actionable steps you can take this week to ignite your own personal learning journey.  Seize the opportunity to accelerate your personal and professional development starting today.

Start with a self-assessment:

In the period between late December and early January I take the time to reflect on the past year and determine areas of focus for the year ahead. I consider went well in the previous year, what didn't, and the skills or abilities I need to develop to capitalize on successes or overcome challenges. I think about crucial growth areas for my current role, emerging subjects I need to learn about to stay relevant, and personal areas of improvement or interest.  You can do this process at any time during the year, but I’ve found the end of one year and start of another lends itself well to a period of self-reflection.

Narrow the scope:

With numerous areas of personal and professional growth, it's essential for me to narrow the focus on what's most critical for my development in the coming year. I like to identify patterns in feedback, my self-assessment, and my expectations for the future. Ultimately, I aim for 3-4 growth areas that will contribute to my professional, personal, and life holistically (i.e., spiritual, emotional, healthy, relationships, etc.).

Create a theme:

I adopted the concept of creating an annual “theme” from a podcaster I heard many years ago.  Each year the theme encapsulates my development focus areas. For instance, my themes in the past have been "the year of leadership accountability and ownership" and "the year of entrepreneurial leadership and rapid response learning." Themes provide a vision and guide for your development journey.  A theme also helps me check in to ensure that I stay in alignment with the scope of my learning objectives for the year.

Build and execute a learning plan:

To achieve the goals, I need a plan.  I recommend developing your learning plan in accordance with your preferred learning style and design a framework that suits you best. My preferred approach is to curate reading lists, explore podcasts, seek mentorship from experts in my desired areas, and create accountability by sharing my growth objectives with trusted advisors. Wherever possible, I also find ways to incorporate teaching others and sharing my knowledge to reinforce my learning and pay it forward. 

Set goals and measures:

I set goals each year that allow me to measure the outcomes of my learning. My goals are aligned with my theme and intertwine team development, personal achievements, and milestones that contribute to my growth in each area. I continue to work on this, but my ultimate objective is to ensure a holistic approach to progress of learning and professional outcomes. Progress can be measured in terms of results at work, or the completion of learning tasks that I set out (i.e. did I read the 5 books I curated for my reading list?). Ideally, the purpose is to set out a roadmap that you can measure in order to determine your progress and growth.  

Afford yourself grace – learning is a journey:

Self-grace is key, I am always reminding myself to be patient and embrace the fact that learning new skills takes time and effort. It’s crucial that we avoid the allure of instant gratification and acknowledge that growth requires practice, failure, resilience, and continuous learning. A learning framework designed as a journey over time ensures long-term success in our personal and professional development. 

How my personal learning journey has shaped Leadership In Focus:

"The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice."

~ Brian Herbert

At Leadership In Focus, we understand the challenges of sporadic bursts of learning without ongoing reinforcement. That's why we've launched Empower 365, a comprehensive leadership development program. Our program unleashes the full potential of your team through carefully crafted leadership building blocks.  

Over the course of 365 days, participants establish a solid foundation of values, principles, and leadership skills. They learn to identify and address the "Problem Monsters" that hinder organizational progress. Our emphasis on experiential learning allows leaders to learn, apply, assess, and teach their skills within their own teams.

If you're interested in learning more about the Empower 365 Program, click HERE.

Don't miss out on this opportunity! We have limited organization cohorts available for our Fall 2023 launch. Contact us now at contact@leadershipinfocus.ca to reserve the Empower 365 program exclusively for your team.

Keep learning, one step at a time!

Apply the Learning:

Here are three practical steps you can take this week to apply the concepts from this article:

Build awareness around your learning activities:

Take a proactive approach to tracking your learning experiences. Formally log all the different learning activities you engage in this week, such as researching a topic, reading a book, or watching how-to videos. Additionally, raise your level of awareness to recognize the valuable knowledge and skills you acquire informally throughout each day. Whether it's learning a new shortcut on Excel from a co-worker or discovering insights during a conversation, acknowledge and celebrate these learning moments.

Take stock and evaluate your progress:

Pause and reflect on your personal development journey. Use the following questions to prompt your assessment:

• What has gone well for me over the past six months? Why do I think that is?

• What did not go well over the past six months? Why do I think that is?

Based on these reflections, identify the specific skills or abilities you need to develop to build on your strengths and overcome any shortcomings. Consider the growth areas crucial for success in your current role and the emerging subjects that will keep your skills relevant in the long term. Take note of any new or interesting topics you want to explore, and consider how to improve yourself spiritually, emotionally, physically, and professionally. If you have a manager, consider their feedback on your development areas. Lastly, anticipate major themes that will impact your personal and professional life in the coming months.

Write a theme for the next three months:

Integrate your personal and professional goals by creating a thematic thread. For example, if you're focused on improving discipline, being present for your family, and fostering accountability within your team, identify resonating words like "accountability," "discipline," and "ownership" across these areas. Take it a step further and craft a theme for the next three months, such as "Three Months of Disciplined and Accountable Leadership." To make it even more powerful and memorable, add the phrase "I will" to declare your commitment, like "I will live three months of disciplined and accountable leadership." Embrace this theme as your guiding principle and infuse it into your daily actions and decisions.

By implementing these action steps, you can propel your learning journey and accelerate your growth. Start today and make the most of the opportunities that await you.