Ready for School?

I really don’t know when it happened, but it’s now August and the hazy days of summer are almost over. Excuse me?!

Once I move past the initial outrage and sadness, it’s helpful for me to consider all the positive things that the end of summer means: cooler temperatures, Labor Day weekend, and – excuse the innate nerdiness – the start of a new school year. (Oh yes, I’m one of those people).

While most of us are not saddled to a classroom for eight hours a day anymore, I still carry very fond and vivid memories of those first few weeks in a new school year. The anticipation of finding out where your new locker is, discovering what classes you’re taking and who your teachers are, the excitement of spending everyday with your friends, the sense of belongingness I always seemed to find in a classroom decked out with brightly colored world maps and informational posters.

Perhaps best of all was the sensation at the beginning of every new school year that I was moving up in the world – learning new skills, discovering more of my interests, strengths, and even weaknesses. School meant not only learning more about new topics and taking on challenges and projects, but also meant learning more about myself – an end result that is a very powerful driver of success.

Too often in business, we treat this kind of active and purposeful learning as an afterthought. It’s nice when it happens, but it’s rarely the ultimate goal. And the need for learning is frequently trumped by the need for business results. But every August, I’m reminded again of the joy and intellect that is a result of learning for the sake of learning.

To be clear, learning programs and processes in companies should be accompanied by a goal or a set of goals to make it both personally meaningful and organizationally relevant. Creating this alignment ensures that business results are positively impacted by the time and energy that employees and leaders dedicate to expanding their skill-sets. It’s also important that program leaders have a basic understanding of learning styles so techniques can be tailored to the individuals who are participating. While some leaders and employees may be visual learners, others may be more hands-on and learn more effectively by doing. Being flexible with learning approaches will ensure the best possible outcome, no matter the situation.

Most important to this discussion is the fact that learning begets learning. When organizations and leaders actively endorse programs built around knowledge transfer and acquiring new abilities, they are not only solving for current skills-gaps in the workforce, but they are putting fundamental measures in place that create and support a culture of knowledge sharing. Who doesn’t want to be a part of that?

Until then, you can find me at Staples, stocking up on school - er, um, office supplies.