In an interview, Yuval Noah Harari, the author of the popular science bestsellers Sapiens, claims that most of the professional skills that people have might not be relevant in the coming 20-30 years due to the rise of AI and ML. He further advises that continuous learning and is the key to staying relevant to the job market in future.
However, learning for working professionals is quite a task as they either have to compromise with their work or learn during personal leisure time. Luckily, organizations across the globe have realized that they need adaptive and proactive learners to stay relevant in this ever-changing business environment
In our increasing wriggled careers, where we change roles more frequently, it is essential to procure the ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn. Following are some of the tools and techniques that will help you make learning a part of your life.
How do you learn?
When you become a working professional, learning doesn’t remain a standalone practice. In fact, your daily jobs can provide you with the most significant opportunities to learn. Here is how you can incorporate learning into your day to day work life.
Learn from your peer
You don’t necessarily require books to learn. In fact, the people you spend most of your daily workday are a significant source of knowledge. Your organization will most likely have a diverse workforce and this diversity will provide you with new perspectives.
Your goal can be setting up one curiosity coffee meeting (virtually or in-person) a month, with a co-worker you’ve never met before.
Experiment with your working methods
You can experiment, test, and learn along the way. For example, using different tools to collaborate with your team and exploring different communication methods with your clients can definitely help you evolve. In order to make your experiment effective, make sure it’s your conscious choice and considered as an opportunity for learning.
Always remember that not all of your experiments will succeed, some may fail and you should learn why they failed. That’s the nature of experimentation.
Create a collective curriculum
Skill swaps are already a trend among organizations where individuals share skills they’re willing to help others learn. Some organizations call it cross-team learning sessions as well. No matter what you call it, but skill swaps are a perfect way to democratize personnel development; because, everyone has something to contribute and this is the beauty of it.
What is unlearning and how do you do it?
Skills and behaviours that got you where you are can literally restrain you from growing further. Hence, unlearning the familiar stuff and replacing it with the latest and trending skills is essential. For example, a leader should probably unlearn the habit of always speaking first in meetings. Here is how you can unlearn the familiar stuff.
Connect with opposite mindsets
We only find our current state when we look at ourselves from different lenses. Hence spending more time with people who think differently from you is a good start. Do remember that the purpose is not to debate, but to listen to their ideas and way of working.
For example, if you are a senior employee, it can be advantageous for you to learn from someone who is just starting out.
Know the habits that hold you back
We all have habits and that got us at the position we are today. At some point, these habits were necessary for our growth but they can create a blind spot that will stop us from broadening our perspective. Habits are shortcuts for our brain that can make us miss opportunities.
Here are some action steps for unlearning your habits: Write down your habits and activities you do as default over the course of maybe a week. Pick two to three of them to unlearn and replace them with new and innovative techniques. Testing your own habits will create self-awareness.
Wrapping Up
Although we can’t predict the future, we can help ourselves be prepared for that. Investing in our ability to learn and relearn things can certainly help us increase our readiness for the uncertain future work environment.
