Lifelong Learner

I have ALWAYS been passionate about 'Career Development' and brining this to every team I support as a professional in this so-called field of Human Resources.
 
However, what if we did a small shift and focused on being a life-long learner first?  

Recently I was happy to be a panel guest for an organization taking ‘Career Development’ a step further for their teams throughout Africa, the Middle East and Asia! The program discussion was ALL about what it means to be a life-longer leaner and how to tangibly do this. 

If we, as leaders can live out being a life-long learner and help grow THIS in the culture, wherever we are…I believe this will make a larger impact on ourselves and the lives of those around us.  

The learning will not stop at the job (though a huge chunk of learning can happen on the job), but will continue in all areas in life. This spills over to not only better career opportunities/performance…but also to better parenting, finances, being a better dancer, fill in the bank for yourself….and the list goes on! 

Here are 3 top take-aways I’m running with: 
1. Be comfortable, being uncomfortable - Do the next HARD thing! Even if you have to block time on your schedule to move the needle to that bigger goal (typically the one you keep putting off that is sitting outside of your daily emails/tasks/etc.) 
 
2. ‘Feed-FORWARD’ vs.‘Feedback’ – For ourselves and others, focusing on propelling forward in a needed growth area. This means leading with the belief that we can/will grow in this area and how to do it, instead of harping on what we did wrong in the past.  

3. Micro improvements – small baby steps that over time lead to exponential growth. For example, making a few intentional swaps. This reminds me of healthy eating – swapping a yogurt for ice cream…same thing - Swapping a Facebook scroll for a few pages of a good book!  
 
Thank you again to Marco and Nashlene for the impactful discussion and the key learnings that if put into practice are truly transformational. You are both incredible leaders and embody what it means to be a life-long learner!

Author: Erika Butler, CEO​

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