Continuous Learning

Much has been written on the benefits of continuous learning and over the course of my career I've gone in and out of the practice of continuous learning. I call it a practice because it really is a discipline that needs continuous work in order to be built it into our daily lives. I'd like to touch on one aspect of continuous learning that I've recently become engaged in and that's self reflection.

I recently took part in the "Executive Program" at the University of Alberta - Alberta School of Business and this course has kick started my continuous learning practice. One of the biggest takeaways from this program was the focus on you and you as a leader. We often get caught up in the tactical day to day activities of our jobs that we spend little to no time for self-reflection. This is just one tool used for continuous learning where we need to take a few minutes a day to reflect on the previous day and the day ahead. How can we improve as leaders if we do not spend some quality time looking at where we've been and where we are going?

In response to this new found respect for self reflection, I've taken it upon myself to read and reflect on at least one interesting article a day be it from HBR, McKenzie, or other sources on LinkedIn. LinkedIn has been a great tool for me to facilitate that and as some have seen, I regularly share what I've been reading because getting additional perspective or insight from other leaders (those potentially reading this) is of huge value.

Here are just a few things I've recently added to my daily routine to help with self-reflection. It doesn't have to look like this but it's what I've found works. There are a number of great articles on the topic. HBR - Why You Should Make Time For Self Reflection Even If You Hate Doing It and a somewhat related article I recently posted from HBR - 6 Ways to Weave Self-Care Into Your Workday

• Write it Down. I've started jotting a few notes into OneNote each day on some of the accomplishments or missed opportunities. This way I can start the next day seeing where I left off and or seeing where there are opportunities
• Make The Time. I make the time right before I go home for the day. This way more times than not, work stays at work as it's written down ready for reflection the next day. For some this might mean scheduling this directly into your calendar.
• Read and Reflect. I've been able to get back into reading a lot more and have built a routine before work to read something small and then if worthwhile share it and reflect on it. Hence the sharing here on LinkedIn. Personally I think we should share and reflect a lot more to help provide good discussion to what we share and like. To often it's just like, like, like, like and really I have no idea why people just liked it. It takes a few minutes and it's a good practice.
• Start Small. Lastly, I just started small and didn't get frustrated if I missed a day. The goal is to just do it. If it's just once a week then so be it. The goal is to start a practice and work towards a regular routine that fits into your daily schedule.

In the end what value does continuous learning provide? Well that really depends on the person but I believe it provides us with the ability to personally grow as leaders which in turn provides value to those we lead. The ability to reflect on the previous day, a great article, or an experience we've had, gives us insight into how we can better prepare for the next day. It doesn't take much time and it's all something we can do with little effort.

#leadership #learning #growth #selfreflection