I’m Too Busy to Keep Learning

How do you inspire your professionals and keep them mentally sharp? One characteristic of highly effective organizations like yours is a culture that nurtures your employees’ minds as well as their skills. In his 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey addresses this on the personal level, advocating for individuals to be proactive about the seventh habit “Sharpen the Saw,” which includes “mental renewal.” He wrote,

“Most of our mental development and study discipline comes through formal education. But as soon as we leave the external discipline of school, many of us let our minds atrophy. We don't do any more serious reading, we don't explore new subjects in any real depth outside our action fields.”

His point is well taken. As professionals, we need to keep learning inside and outside of our “action fields” throughout our careers to be our best. The truth is, however, that for many of us the pressure to be productive at work, engaged with families and friends in our personal lives, and get some sleep and exercise too, seem to make it all but impossible to keep learning beyond the required behavioral competencies and product knowledge that our careers demand.

This is one area where our clients step in and set themselves apart:

They set their people up to be great by fostering a culture that not only includes competency management, but also complements it by continuously developing their people’s mindsets.

Indeed, progressive organizations such as yours have made significant investments in managing the competencies that have been identified as characteristics of your high performers. The question is though, are you also providing your professionals with “systematized study programs” (to quote Covey) that keep them current with emerging research? Do you regularly socialize innovative thinking and great outside and institutional stories? Are you inspiring employees’ creativity and empowering them to differentiate themselves and your firm by the depth and breadth of their knowledge and how they apply it?

As you review your resources for complementing your skills-based learning and product training with programs that nurture your people’s mindsets, I invite you to schedule a discussion with me about the benefits of the Kilyx learning system for your organization. Our virtual and on-site Learning Cohorts empower professionals at leading organizations to keep learning outside their specialties so they can make a difference for your company and clients through the practice of their specialties.

Dane Cannon
President, Kilyx

415.766.7995 | connect@kilyx.com