Learning – And Learners | Knowledge Management

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Learning is for a lifetime. Learn from your mistakes. Learn, learn and learn. Do you ever stop listening to such suggestions or at times, sermons? Be it office or home, professional or personal, the aspect of learning never ceases. Unbeknown to us, don’t we learn?  We do. But do we apply? That’s questionable. Take it from day-to-day life; there are many facets of learning. In fact, we are shocked at the level of our learning and also of ignorance. ‘My son’s sixth grade teaches me a lot many things which I didn’t know it existed’ remarked a colleague. ‘I was ignorant until this moment, but no more’, said another.

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Learning Passionately

Some have never-quenching thirst to learn – willfully, without any constraints. They spend the time liking what they do - the kind of people who are passionate and take pride and personal ownership in their engagement.  There is self-investment in the form of time, energy and other utilities. The one interested to learn won’t mind the investment. For the learned and informed are more equipped and well-prepared to make good of opportunities. In the best-seller, ‘Corner Office’, the same subject is taken up the author while asking some 700 leading CEOs about their success and the response amazingly was “passionate curiosity.”

There are the kinds that can view ‘failures’ as part of learning. Nothing succeeds like success but there can be no better trainer than failure. To take failure in your stride and move on with learning is the mark of an experienced mind. It is easier said than done. All it takes is just a stone to break the glass ceiling. There are many examples of the most successful when stricken with failure to fumble and fall down. And there are some who can still stand up and face it – the notables. Check with them and they will attribute learning as key takeaway.

 “Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will do in the next moment. By the same token, every human being has the freedom to change at any instant… One of the main features of human existence is the capacity to rise above [our] conditions, to grow beyond them.”  -Victor Frankl

The Reluctant Learner

Not all have the same interest or inclination. Not all are interested in reading, which doesn’t discount their abilities. But there are some poor learners- failing to learn from mistakes and past experience. Some need to be enticed with incentives, for instance, ‘promotion’, ‘pay hike’ and other perks. Some companies, these days, are making it a mandate for working professionals to be ‘professionally certified’ to be ‘eligible’. Some companies make certification a prerequisite in screening resume – this type of pruning can be observed when there exists a skill gap, whereby the supply greatly exceeds the demand. For want of better profile, certification is set as a criterion, failing which you don’t make the cut. The typical carrot-on-top method employed by some companies is to ‘make them learn’ by enlisting for programs or become certified in some practices. PMP is one typical example for companies of repute to insist as a minimum requirement for their Project Managers or only hire those who are PMP certified. 

To their defense, not all are reluctant. "Show me the space to allocate bandwidth for learning and I will gladly enrol." And to some extent, it cannot be denied that those wanting to pursue higher education or certification