My clients who truly embody lifelong learning are the leaders with the strongest performance.
"Lifelong Learning" has become one of those buzz phrases we hear so much it’s starting to become white noise. But understanding what it means and how to embody it can fuel our success. Here’s what it really means and how to bring lifelong learning to life.
Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
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Hey, it’s Rachel Cooke, your Modern Mentor. I’m the founder of Lead Above Noise—a firm specializing in retaining, engaging, and developing talent. And today, we’re gonna talk about a concept called Lifelong Learning—a buzzy phrase making the rounds at work. But what it is, how does it differ from regular old learning, and how do we do it well? Those are the questions. So let’s do answers.
The mental highlight reel of my college years is chock full of some pretty amazing stuff—lifelong friends, a capella performances (my nickname was Snappy), a semester abroad… but you know what does not make that reel? That would be the freshman-level statistics class I had to take.
Stats and I don’t see eye-to-eye. But that’s OK. Because I’m not a capital-R- Researcher. But while I steer clear of spreadsheets and data sets, there’s a lot I can—and regularly do—with a pen and the back of a napkin.
My business affords me the privilege of working with a wide variety of leaders—across industries, functions, and levels—and I’ve made some statistically not-valid observations that I will stand by till the end. One of which is this: My clients who truly embody lifelong learning are the leaders with the strongest performance—the best results, the greatest followership, the ones who win at innovation, employee experience, and customer delight.
If you haven’t heard the term “lifelong learning” yet, you will soon. It’s become one of those buzzy phrases many of us have already started to tune out. But today I’d like to make the case for why it matters—for real—and how you can commit to your own lifelong learning journey.
What lifelong learning is
For me, learning is a thing you do in service of building the skills and competence to do something new. Learning is about dialing up what you know.
But lifelong learning is a way of being and believing. It has no beginning or end, but rather it’s an ongoing commitment to always staying open, curious, humble, and flexible. It’s a way of approaching life and work such that you’re never “there” and you’re always striving to grow, pivot, and expand. It’s about dialing up how you think and operate.
Lifelong learners don’t typically think of learning as an expenditure of time, but rather an investment in future success. And those who practice it most effectively really get that. They make space for and prioritize learning—not just in the classroom—but in a myriad of moments.
So if you’re in—and I hope you’re in—let’s talk about some approaches you can take to lean fully into lifelong learning.
When I speak at events about How to Lead Through Change, I’ll reference brands like Kodak, Polaroid, and Blockbuster (and yes, I realize you may not be old enough to recognize all of these). Each of these companies had achieved extraordinary success. They were the gold stars of their industries.
They became so comfortable and self-satisfied that they frankly stopped paying attention. And ultimately digital cameras and streaming TV took them down.
Lifelong learning begins with the recognition that success is fleeting, and we should never stop paying attention to what’s happening around us.
At the individual level, you may be the best copywriter on your team, but what are the trends happening in AI? Do you need to broaden your skillset to stay relevant?
Or maybe your team manages a product your customers rave about… but do you have an eye on what your competitors have been cooking up?
You’ll never have access to all the info you need, but by paying attention to cues around you, you’ll be on the early side of spotting trends. And that makes you invaluable.
Lifelong learning means learning every day. But this doesn’t have to mean sitting in a classroom. The key is to be broad in your view of when and how learning happens.
Formal learning is great—training programs, online courses, TED talks and podcasts (I do love a good podcast!) can all make us better. But these take time that we may not have every day.
So think more broadly about sources of insight and information.
There’s news—however you choose to consume it—there’s feedback from your boss, there’s chatter around the water cooler, trending hashtags, comments in meetings. Even silence can be a great teacher.
When I pose a question in a leadership meeting that leaves participants speechless, I stay there for a moment. Whether I’ve struck a nerve or uncovered the tension or raised an unfamiliar issue—silence always teaches me there is insight here, so don’t move on yet!
So, your turn. What are the sources of insight and information you’re swimming in every day that you’re not even seeing as your teachers? Be broad and mindful and you’ll find learning is available to you nearly everywhere.
Learning is an enabler of growth… until it becomes an obstacle. I know—a very Yoda-like thing to say. But this has been a game-changer for me.
Back to that mental college reel… I am a full-on lover of learning. I loved the world of sitting in classes all day. For some people—like me—learning can be almost addictive.
But lifelong learning isn’t just about what you know. It’s about what you do with what you know.
In the early days of running my business I got busy consuming everything I could find on strategy, sales, and marketing. One day I realized I’d filled up an entire notebook of things I could do—and I forgot to be doing them along the way!
I had to commit to balancing learning with doing. I started scheduling experiments to try in my calendar—seeing what worked and what didn’t. And I didn’t let myself start consuming again until I’d leaned into execution.
Does this resonate for you? How many ideas have you consumed since you last put one into practice? Start with 10 minutes a week. Tweak an email or reformat a spreadsheet. Switch up your morning and afternoon activities, ask a fresh question in a meeting.
Experiments can be small. They just have to be.
Ultimately the most successful lifelong learners are those who live in an ecosystem of like-minded people. So as you journey, pull your friends and colleagues into the spin with you.
Be the giver of feedback, the bringer of compelling articles, the tinkerer, the experimenter, the facilitator of reflection on your team. And most critically, point out how each of these things is making you better, stronger, more creative and impactful. Label these as learning.
The more you can engage others in the journey with you—not by preaching, but by sharing your own enthusiasm for being pushed and grown—the more you’ll find yourself in a community of lifelong learners. And as Jim Rohn once famously said, “you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.”
Join me next week for another great episode. Until then, visit my website at leadabovenoise.com if your organization is looking to dial up its Employee Experience or deliver some leadership development that activates change.