Personal Development Archives - Page 22 of 23

Being Open to Informal Learning Experiences

It’s all too easy for us as adults to tend to think that learning ends as soon as we finish our formal qualifications or training. We may recognise that we are still learning when we participate in classroom or even online learning events related to our work but beyond that I wonder how often we consider that we are learning? If we don’t think that we are learning then there is little chance that we will stop and reflect on the learning we have experienced, evaluate the outcomes and even validate what we have learnt.

The reality is that the little thing called “life” has many ways of keeping the learning process alive and kicking. The problem is that we don’t necessarily see these informal learning experiences for what they are. Instead we view them as occurrences which can either result in something good or bad. We never really consider how we grow from them.

More importantly, we don’t always recognise the opportunities they present. There is a lot of truth in the saying “You are never too old to learn”. As someone who is genuinely passionate about encouraging awareness of continuous learning and development I wanted to take a look at some of the opportunities that we may miss for experiencing learning.

In the Workplace

One of the best examples when it comes to the workplace has to be the decisions you have to make. When the odds are stacked against you to finish a project or simply to perform your normal duties, when you have to respond to suggestions in meetings, when your boss suddenly asks you to do something different in a rush the likeliehood is that you will may need to find methods you hadn’t previously used. It may be that you use an approach that you have observed someone else use effectively or you may come up with a completely different approach. Whichever it, I would encourage you to take a few minutes towards the end of each working day or perhaps at home to think about “What did I learn today?”

What did you do differently? What new skills did you develop? Did you use any different approaches than what you would normally use? You may well be astounded to know how many new things you learn on a daily basis if you just pay attention.

In Public

What lessons can you possibly learn from being out in public? First of all, keep in mind that learning experiences don’t necessarily have to happen to you. Just observing the actions of others can be tremendously informative. . How many times have you found yourself just observing your environment? More often than not you will see or hear something you didn’t know or realise before.

Inside Family and Personal Circles

Relationships are probably the most valuable situations for learning something new. It opens up different points of view you never even considered. It might teach you how to become more patient or daring. It can also teach you to be more compassionate. These interactions will greatly affect how you interact with other people. Communication skills are developed with every conversation, especially if you don’t know the person already. Your friends and family provides a safe platform for trying new jokes and topics. By using this safe platform you learn what to say and when to say it.

Home Alone

Yes, even being alone can be a learning experience. Taking the time to reflect on your life opens the door to finding new things you didn’t know about yourself. For instance, 10 years ago you used to love gossip and telling stories. Now all of a sudden you don’t really care for rumours that much. Many elements or habits that you had fade away without you really noticing. In turn you discover that you’re actually good with something that used to be a weakness. All of this informal learning so often takes place without us even realising it’s happening.

Social Media

Let’s not forget one of my favourite places for informal learning experiences which is social media. News and opinions are available at the blink of an eye. Even better are the opportunities social media provides. Finding a nice job or getting your music video in public view is now easier than ever. It is also a place where we don’t really notice how much we learn. We find ourselves reading a blog post about learning and development or whatever is our own field of work, whilst a few minutes earlier we were looking at the obligatory cat or dog pictures. Endless information resides at our fingertips and we don’t necessarily consider the impact it has.

Just like every action leads to a reaction, so does waking up in the morning and allowing ourselves to be open to learning something. The human brain truly acts like a sponge and in the end you decide to use what has been soaked up; most of the time you won’t even notice that you are learning something. What makes these experiences so valuable? Why do you need to become more conscious about what you learn every hour?

The main reason is opportunity. All these situations usually result in some kind of opportunity. Job promotions are given to those who think further than the rest. More specifically, those who pay attention to the new skills they develop and use them at the correct time are going to reap the rewards. Ultimately it is up to us to see these opportunities when they occur, because these informal learning experiences prepared us for it.

Just about everything you do can be turned into an informal learning experience and whilst it might be a little bit too much to analyse everything, do try to reflect a little bit more on things you would normally see as insignificant. Chances are your opportunities in life will increase dramatically if you are open to and aware of the informal learning experiences that are all around you.

Embrace The Joy of Learning

The other day I briefly became involved in a discussion on Twitter about the need for people within Human Resources (HR) and Learning and Development (L&D) to engage in Continuous Professional Development (CPD.) That’s something I fully support because all of us need to keep abreast of developments within our own fields of expertise. However, there’s another reason I firmly believe that we should be engaged in CPD and that’s because we can have an impact on those we work with throughout our organisations.

I am passionate about what I tend to refer to as the sheer “joy of learning” and that it is something which can become infectious. By showing a real commitment, engagement with and joy at learning new things we can encourage others to engage with their own learning and development. If we act as role models for continuous professional development or learning then others can be influenced by us and the organisation as a whole will continue to grow.

I know that when it comes to ongoing learning and development in the workplace, the prospect of keeping your skills relevant on a continual basis may seem daunting. However, learning new things and increasing our marketable skills doesn’t have to be an laborious task it really can be a pleasure endeavour. The attitude which we adopt about the process can have a large impact upon our experience and that of those we work with. Continuing education can be an opportunity to discover the joy of learning with the right outlook. Let’s take a look at how rewarding it can truly be.

Not Just a Means To An End

You may feel that you must constantly hone your skills through continuing professional development, in order to remain competitive in the workplace. Or, perhaps your professional body or your company requires you to complete a minimum number of CPD hours each year. Either way, when you think of this as another hoop that you must jump through, it is likely to diminish your experience and even the amount of benefit that you receive from the development.

In contrast, whether taken voluntarily or mandated by your profession or organisation, continuing development can enrich your professional life. You will have access to the latest information, trends and techniques in your chosen field – allowing you to stay on the cutting edge. This will not only give you an advantage over your peers, but it can help you to become more efficient and effective as well. In addition, with new methods and ideas to try, it can provide you with more outlets to be creative and proactive about your daily tasks. All of these can work to bring you more joy in your professional duties, as you enjoy your career more.
Enjoy the Process

Yet, while the end result can be increased productivity, marketability and knowledge, part of the joy of learning comes from the process itself. Many people rarely get the opportunity to take time out just to learn in their adult life, and continuing development in the workplace provides you with the perfect chance.

You will be able to investigate areas of interest to you, or delve deeper into topics regarding your work that you’ve always been curious about. Learning new tips and skills also helps to keep your mind working well, and your cognitive abilities sharp. That’s why I would encourage you to approach your continuing professional development as a fun challenge, rather than just a necessary task.

The Benefits

Not only can ongoing learning and professional development provide you with new information and greater marketability – it can increase your earning power as well. This can work in several ways, the first being the greater mastery of your occupation. You’ll have more expertise to offer your employer, which can often translate into a bigger role or the opportunity to move on to a bigger role.

In addition, by keeping your work varied and your interest piqued, you’ll likely derive more pleasure from your job as well. How can this affect your earning capability? People who enjoy their work tend to do a better job, and invest more of themselves into their projects. Simply put, the more you enjoy your work and the more you learn about it, the greater your chances of advancement are.

Finally, by constantly improving and expanding your skills, you’ll have an advantage in the job market as well. You may find yourself being contacted by recruiters, or if you were to suddenly need another job, you should have less trouble finding a new position.

In summary, I firmly believe that ongoing learning and professional development in the workplace can be both a pleasurable and a beneficial experience. Rather than a duty that you must perform, it can be something that you should enjoy. It can not only enhance your understanding of your occupation, and provide you with valuable techniques and strategies for success, but it can inspire those you work with to embrace their own opportunities for learning and development. For all of these reasons, approaching your continuing professional development with a positive attitide is an opportunity to enrich your professional life and to embrace the the joy of learning.

Carry On Learning

Don’t worry Carry on Learning isn’t the next in the “Carry On” series of films which many in the UK will be familiar with. It’s rather a suggestion that if, like me (at the time of writing), you are searching for a new job then now is the perfect time to also look at gaining some new skills. I know that when I talk to other people who have been made redundant and are looking for a new role one of the comments I hear a lot is around how tedious they find constant scouring for a new job.

So rather than let that tedium get you down why not think about some things that you have always wanted to learn and set to it. So many effective and affordable online courses are available and some of them include a form of certification which you can then add to your CV. As an example I have enrolled on a couple of Coaching and Mentoring courses which will enable me to refresh my knowledge of current ideas and techniques which I know will be invaluable when I return to full time employment.

Or why not learn to use a piece of software that you have kept meaning to take a look at? I want to suggest one that I think you will find invaluable and which can also let you showcase your skills on many different levels. That piece of software is Prezi! If you haven’t yet come across Prezi then I think you are going to be impressed.

If you work in Learning and Development or have attended a training course then you will no doubt be familiar with PowerPoint. Indeed it has become the default presentation tool for many presenters in many organisations. Powerpoint is a great tool, however it has become boring and I am sure that you have heard the phrase “Death by PowerPoint” to describe the experience of sitting through slide after slide of a presentation. However, there is still a place for sharing information through slides, and that’s why I think you might want to take some time to learn how to use Prezi.

It is a web-based tool that has both free and paid for options. It provides much more flexibility, and it veers away from the usual slide-by-slide, linear way of presenting information. Prezi gives you the opportunity to create more dynamic presentations which will better capture your audience’s interest and attention.

A short while ago I suggested that you should learn something to add to your CV and that also enables you to showcase your newly learnt skills. That was what I had in mind when I decided that as part of my commitment to Carry on Learning I would learn how to use Prezi. Having read that people were creating Prezumes (Resumes or as we call them in the UK CVs) using Prezi I decided that was the route I would take in terms of applying my learning.

Having created it I shared it with a number of recruitment agencies and asked for their feedback. They acknowledged that as a standalone CV submission it could struggle in the context of the standard recruitment practices – which is a whole other discussion(!) their feedback was:

“super innovative & would make for a memorable candidate!” from Oasis HR and “a really eye catching method!” from Ashley Kate HR.

I will share some of the other benefits of using Prezi in another post and how to go about creating your first Prezi but for now here’s what I created: Paul Duxbury Learning and Development Professional CV. If you are not familiar with Prezi simply click on “Start Prezi” and then use the arrows at the bottom of the presentation screen to navigate through it. As I said at the outset now is a great opportunity to Carry On Learning!

Learning Isn’t Just For Learning At Work Week

As I write it’s Learning at Work Week here in the UK and that set me thinking about how much learning takes place without there needing to be a formal structure to it.

I can think of so many instances where I have learnt something which I have then been able to apply in my own work. As an example I well recall being in a meeting where the discussion was getting quite heated and noticing how the person chairing the meeting dealt with it to diffuse the situation and leave all parties happy. That was real learning at work which I was able to observe, reflect on, implement when I encountered a similar situation and then evaluate the learning that had occurred.

Now, I am not suggesting that for Learning at Work Week you go in search of heated discussions in meetings! However, I want to look at some ways in which you and I can learn without having to participate in a formal “learning” event.

Start With a Personal Learning Journal or Portfolio.

Learning at Work is not a simple A to B journey from a single goal to a single outcome, it is a process of continuous discovery and a Personal Learning Portfolio or Learning Journal helps you to keep track of and reflect on what you have learnt and discovered as you progress. You might be thinking that it seem a little time consuming to record your findings and thoughts but I have consistently found that being able to revisit the notes I have made over the years has sparked new learning and new avenues to investigate so it is something I highly recommend to you.

Engage With Your Colleagues

Talking to colleagues about what they are doing, what they have learnt or discovered, how they have tackled issues and so offers a wealth of opportunities to learn from them. People love to talk about their successes and as you establish a rapport with people they will be more open to talking about the failures that led to their successes. Engage with your colleagues at work and talk about how they overcame problems, what approaches they took to particular issues and challenges and how they managed to deal with them. Look around you now, if you are reading this at work, and just consider for a moment the amazing opportunities for personal learning that are available from the collective experience and knowledge of your colleagues!

Chat with them about their experiences, so that you can learn from past problems, develop potential solutions and work towards improving your performance – both as an individual and ultimately as a department or organisation.

Informal Group/Social Interactions

Following on from this idea of learning at work by talking with colleagues, there are many ways to use social, informal learning to interact with others in the workplace. If there are a group of you who would like to learn about the role of an individual within the organisation or perhaps discover how someone deals with their challenges then why not invite them to a lunchtime or after work session with a whiteboard in the staffroom? It can be a great way to share ideas and to learn new things. The results achieved are not just about personal, individual gains; the group effort can also improve interpersonal skills and even help with communication between departments.

Keep Your Eyes Open

Obviously you are keeping up to date with what is happening within your own workplace and staying on top of the goals of the organisation and the challenges it faces. However think about expanding your horizons,to keep up to date with news and events in your industry as a whole.

This can be done in many ways: social media is a great tool for engaging with other in the industry which I talked about in my post Social Media for Learning. But in summary, online discussion groups with others in similar roles offer an informal forum for discussion, news outlets are a constant source of up-to-date information and blogs can offer insights on potential trends and forecasts with alternative viewpoints. Gather as much information as possible and don’t be put off by the source – speculation on a niche blog from a real professional in your industry can be a great way of learning new things and stretching your mind.

I wrote about taking up the opportunities which many organisations offer to learn new things outside of work. If that is something that appeals to you and you want or need to learn aboout project management, public speaking, leadership and much more do take a look at A World of Learning Opportunities.

Enjoy Learning at Work week if you are in the UK! Take the opportunity to start the incredible journey available to you and remember Learning isn’t just for Learning at Work Week – it’s for ever!

A World Of Learning Opportunities With JCI

I have quite often talked about JCI (Junior Chamber International) and the opportunities that it presented me with. It opened up a whole world of learning opportunities for me and helped me to develop many of the skills which I highlight on my CV Website at Paul Duxbury – Learning and Development Professional.

I have always been a keen advocate of people taking responsibility for their own learning opportunities especially if they are keen to progress in their careers. If you haven’t considered getting involved in something like JCI then let me tell you a little about it and my experience of being a member.

Junior Chamber International is one of the largest non-political and non-sectarian youth service organizations. It is an international organisation for men and women between the ages of 18 to 40 which has the aim and purpose of creating positive change in the world. They provide the opportunity to develop management and leadership skills through practical involvement in projects complimented by formal training sessions, conferences and other activities.

During my time as a member and in time a local, regional and national officer I was involved in projects which enabled me to develop and improve my knowledge and skills whilst at the same time contributing to improving the communities in which we worked. From being involved in, leading or organising training conferences, Manchester’s Lord Mayor’s Parade, The Outstanding Young People Programme, Prison Visiting, Schools Public Speaking competitions I was able to develop many skills as I took advantage of the world of learning opportunities which JCI offered.

I had the opportunity to hold various offices including Local Chamber President, Regional Group Chairman North West; National Awards Manager, National Public Speaking Project Manager, National Chamber Development Director and National Assigned Officer to Northern Ireland. Each of these roles afforded me the opportunity to learn and develop skills in public speaking, project management, team leadership and development, networking and negotiating and so many more.

JCI also offered me the opportunity to gain recognition taking part in National Debating Championships and National Public Speaking Championships and to train as a Trainer with JCI delivering training locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. I was also awarded the highest JCI Accolade a JCI Senatorship in recognition of the level of involvement and contribution to the organisation.

I credit JCI with enabling me to move into the Learning and Development profession at a management level. I well recall that when I applied for my first Training Management role I was competing with nearly 100 other applicants. Almost all of them had a formal Institute of Training and Development qualification and I was one of the few who didn’t. However, the experience and knowledge I had acquired through JCI coupled with my commitment to seeking out learning opportunities secured me the role.

So if you are open to learning opportunities why now take a look at JCI UK or if you are outside the UK start at JCI. You will discover a world of learning opportunities and you will not regret it!