Leaders are Learners
5 Practical Lessons from my own learning journey
“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”
Since childhood, I've always been curious to learn about things that interest me. When I was a pre-teen, I aspired to be a heart surgeon and even built a model of the heart using FIMO clay. My father had many books on leadership in his office, but it wasn't until I started my career that I understood their value. My mom was also a curious learner who enrolled in university while raising our family, and she encouraged my own creativity and curiosity. My dad taught me the importance of leadership and hard work by modelling it and encouraging accountability.
After finishing university, I landed my first job helping coordinate political fundraising events, but I realized that politics was not my passion. My sister helped me secure an interview for a sales role at her former company, but I felt apprehensive going in as I lacked practical sales experience. To prepare for my interview, I bought a sales book and devoured its contents, applying what I learned during the interview. My practical learning experience helped me secure the job and ignited a passion for lifelong applied learning.
Here are five practical lessons from my learning journey:
Lesson #1: Learn by doing, to acquire new skills
“I am always doing things I can’t do — that’s how I get to do them.”
The best way to learn something new is to do it. But, when I want to learn something new, I approach it with a learner's mindset, researching how best to learn the skill and mapping out my learning journey. When I was given the opportunity to develop a loyalty program several years ago, I didn’t have the skills or knowledge at first, I had to learn as I went and eventually I built the knowledge I needed. The key to acquiring a new skill is curiosity and the desire to learn, followed by immersing oneself in the subject matter.
Lesson #2: Learn by staying focused
“Everything is hard before it is easy.”
With infinite sources of knowledge available today, it's important to focus. I've always aligned my learning goals with the job I'm in at the moment. When I was building a customer loyalty program and an online learning portal, I focused on learning all I could about loyalty and customer engagement. When I’ve been in team leadership roles I focus my learning on coaching and leadership skills. My applied learning has helped me prioritize and avoid costly mistakes.
Lesson #3: Learn by doing it continuously
“Learning is not a one-time event or a periodic luxury. Great leaders in great companies recognize that the ability to constantly learn, innovate, and improve is vital to their success.”
Great leaders understand that learning is not a one-time event or a periodic luxury. Constant learning, innovation, and improvement are vital to success. To continue learning, I read books and articles, attend conferences, take courses, listen to podcasts, and surround myself with people who challenge me. Podcasts are particularly great because you can hear directly from the leaders and thought leaders.
Lesson #4: Learn by creating a learning culture
“If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then you are an excellent leader.”
As a people leader, I've encouraged a learning culture within my teams because I know the positive impact it has on personal and career growth. Creating a learning culture involves fostering an environment where learning is encouraged, providing opportunities for learning, and celebrating successes.
Lesson #5: Learn by investing in yourself
“Knowledge and productivity are like compound interest. The more you know, the more you learn; the more you learn, the more you can do; the more you can do, the more the opportunity.”
Acquiring new skills requires an investment of time, money, or effort. Every year I set aside part of our personal budget to invest in learning (mostly to buy books). I’m also willing to spend a bit more than the budget because I know it’s an investment in myself. Some people are willing to go even bigger on their learning investments.
I recently met someone who had invested in an AI startup because they wanted to learn as much as they could about this new technology. When you determine the right type of investment in skill acquisition, you can accelerate your path to learning or reduce the pitfalls.
The journey to becoming a leader involves a commitment to lifelong learning. By following these five practical lessons, you can acquire new skills, narrow your focus, understand that learning is continuous, create a learning culture, and invest in learning.
