Ongoing learning is important for a range of reasons, but here I’m focusing on three benefits. The first two relate to the workplace, with improvement in your job satisfaction, and your career prospects. The third is for your health.
1. Being continually stimulated at work
Starting a new job or career is exciting. This is largely because everything is new and your learning curve is often steep. You throw yourself into it with gusto and embrace the opportunity to learn new skills, with frequent feedback, giving you tips to succeed. As time goes by, your learning slows as you master your craft. You fine tune your skills, until you become highly competent. Do this again and again and complacency, coupled with boredom, may creep in to your working life. If you don’t arrest this, you may soon become frustrated with your job and, rather than jump out of bed excited by the day ahead, you drag yourself to work lacking enthusiasm.
To remain continually stimulated at work, keep learning. Your employer may offer ongoing training or have a mentoring program. Alternatively, you can seek out and take responsibility for your own learning.
There is no limit to what you can do. For example, think about the most talented people in your industry. What skills do they have that you don’t? What do they do better than others and how can you improve? My colleague frequently states, “where attention goes, energy flows”, so if you identify skills you want to develop, with a little research, you’ll be amazed at the number of learning opportunities around you. Many of these are free and easy for you to do yourself. Alternatively, seek some “old masters” (experienced and talented people in your workplace) who would be more than willing to help you get better by sharing their knowledge, giving you valuable advice.
Perhaps you could re-architect your job description. Think about what your organisation is trying to achieve, then consider how your job fits in with that. Is there a better way that could make your job more enjoyable? It’s worth consideration and perhaps a discussion with your peers and boss.
2. Getting a project or promotion opportunity
In my opinion, the most valuable employees are those who are reliable, hard-working, positive, resilient and adaptable. They love to try new things and aren’t afraid to break out of their comfort zone. People with these traits, combined with either deep specialist expertise, or a breadth of skill, are often those who are given project opportunities or promotions.
I accept, it is often the best performer who is promoted into a leadership role, rather than the most suitable person for the role. But the workplace, like many areas of life, is competitive. If you value job stimulation and variety, and you aspire to work on projects or gain a promotion, demonstrating a willingness to learn is key.
The skills needed to do your job today, will most likely, evolve over time, so taking initiative and being proactive about developing your skill set will ensure you remain in demand. Skill development will put you at the front of the queue for further career development opportunities.
3. Brain Health – Being open to learning new things
Ongoing learning helps keep our brains healthy. Previously, it was thought that our intelligence is static and our mental power declines as we get older, due to the loss of youthful brain plasticity. According to Professor Daniel Levitin, “You grow neurons your entire life”. Although “our processing speed slows down with every decade after 40… all that experience we’ve built up pretty much ensures that most 70 and 80 year olds are going to be better at solving problems… because new experiences, whether it’s meeting new people, learning a new language, learning to play an instrument, whatever it is, that’s what creates neuroplastic change. That’s what grows neural connections… You want to have your brain trained like an athlete is trained, you want to have extra capacity, so that if you do start to slow down, you won’t notice it because you’ve built up all this brain strength.”
If this is the case, why not invest in your brain health through ongoing learning. It’s a journey that never ends, but here are some ideas to help get you started:
- Listen to podcasts
- Watch TED talks
- Attend workshops or organised training
- Pick up a new hobby
- Learn a new language
- Learn a musical instrument
- Read and research new subjects
Learning doesn’t need to directly relate to your work. If learning makes you feel good and adds purpose to your day, it will benefit you and this may have flow-on benefits for your work.
BEN WALSH
General Manager – Recruitment
Ben commenced his recruitment career in Brisbane in 1998 before working internationally in Canada and Ireland, then returning to Australia he took up a leadership role in the Brisbane office of a listed national recruitment firm. Ben has proudly been with Optimum since our inception in 2003. As General Manager – Recruitment, he is responsible for leading a team of recruitment and resourcing specialists covering Executive Search, Engineering & Construction, Supply Chain, Logistics & Manufacturing, Accounting & Finance, IT & Digital, Administration & Office Support, and Professional Services.
