“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” – John F. Kennedy
Recently, I was closing out my grading for the semester and reviewing the final journal entries in two of my classes. Journaling is an important part of every class, something I use as a tool to help the students reflect on learning while adding context and perspective for applying that learning in the future. In many cases, the journaling experience proves valuable beyond my expectations, as students extend beyond the coursework and think aloud about fears, aspirations, and life in general.
In several instances, students wrote at length about developing a passion for lifelong learning. The spark of curiosity was lit, and they intended to follow the light. As a lifelong learner myself, I could relate. But I was an accidental learner. I can’t remember a time when anyone explained to me the importance of lifelong learning or why it was essential to my personal and professional success and well-being. I sort of blindly followed the light, never knowing with any certainty where I was going or what I would find when I arrived.
Why Learning Matters
Lifelong learning is an essential and indispensable element of personal and professional growth and development. Properly nurtured and focused, it spurs us toward our goals and aspirations while ensuring we remain relevant in our areas of expertise and cognizant of the changing world around us. Lifelong learning is a journey, not a destination. As a result, lifelong learners are explorers.
Rather than be content with familiar surroundings, they seek out new opportunities, new ideas. They rise above the bounds of their existing worldview to create new knowledge. They’re driven by natural curiosity and fueled by an inner passion to learn and grow. As Plutarch reminds us, “The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.”
But lifelong learning is more than a simple decision. It’s a habit. And habits take time and discipline to develop. Sixty-six days, on average. For a habit with such far-reaching implications, that time may be as much as three times longer and requires some deliberate planning and mindful cultivation.
Author and investor John Coleman, writing in a 2017 Harvard Business Review article, described five keys to transforming lifelong learning into a habit. First, articulate your desired outcomes. What is it that you really want to achieve with your learning? Identify 2-3 concrete outcomes and describe them in broad detail. Second, set realistic goals. Get quantitative, so they’re measurable and provide a means to assess progress toward your outcomes. Consider using a system like SMART goals to help frame your approach. Third, build a learning community. Surrounding yourself with like-minded learners is both important and incredibly helpful. A learning community will help you maintain focus, increase your commitment, and – if you’re lucky – have some fun along the way. Fourth, find your focus. As Coleman notes, “ditch the distractions.” Learning is hard work, so you need to set aside dedicated time for deep learning. Allow your mind to clear and your brain to focus. Finally, leverage technology to supplement learning. Increasingly, I lean on podcasts and audiobooks when doing what I might otherwise consider “mindless tasks”: driving to work, mowing the lawn, working out. While I sometimes miss my classic rock playlists, I’ve raised my learning game to a new level.
Leading, Learning, Loving
Each year on Memorial Day weekend, I rewatch the HBO miniseries, Band of Brothers. It’s become a tradition for me, the one time each year when I revisit the memories of those who have since made the journey to Fiddler’s Green. Based on the book of the same name by Stephen Ambrose, the story follows the World War II exploits of the 101st Airborne Division’s 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, focusing on one particular group of paratroopers: Easy Company, led by a young officer named Richard Winters.
Winters was a remarkable and introspective learner, in many ways reminiscent of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, who led the 20th Maine to an unlikely and decisive victory at Little Round Top during the Battle of Gettysburg. Like Chamberlain, Winters fused learning and leading to become a figure that commanded respect and admiration, from parachute training at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, to Operation Overlord, the Battle of the Bulge, and the eventual end of the war.
What makes the miniseries – and the book – so powerful is that it transcends the traditional genre to become a story about the men themselves. The bond they form over their time together is unshakable, cemented through shared experiences and lasting through the rest of their lives. It’s an incredible story that’s deeply rooted in learning and is as relevant today as it was then.
- Learn to learn. This can sound a little cliché, but it’s really not. Learning to learn involves igniting the inner spark of curiosity and then fanning the flame. Be inquisitive. Ask questions. Thrive in a learning space.
- Learn to be you. It’s surprising how few of us take the time to reflect inward to learn what inspires and drives us. Turn that inquisitive light on yourself. Find your passion. Find your purpose. Get out of your shell. Be you and enjoy doing so.
- Learn to communicate. Many of us assume we’re fluent (and fluid) communicators when the opposite is often true. Learn to listen with all your senses, ask questions, take a sincere interest in the answers. Share your thoughts with greater clarity. Engage the people around you with empathy and compassion.
- Learn to have fun. Ferris Bueller said it best: “Life moves pretty fast. You don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
- Learn to love. Leadership is a love language. Learning to love yourself for who you are makes it easier for others to respect and follow you. Returning that respect with sincerity and feeling forges a bond that will endure through the greatest hardships and challenges.
As Coleman notes in his article, “We’re all born with a natural curiosity. We want to learn.” But we often let life get in the way. We stagnate. We ossify. Instead, we need to find the discipline and desire to re-engage our natural curiosity. “Developing specific learning habits – consciously established and conscientiously cultivated – can be a route to both continued professional relevance and deep personal happiness.”
