With the rapid pace of change affecting both the workplace and the work we do, we will all need to become more adaptable. Get ready to up your learning game!
You have likely heard the story of the frog in the pot of water brought to boil. If the frog would only jump out early, it could avoid tragic consequences. Only, the frog does not notice anything changing. So . . . well, you know the ending.
Social, economic, and technological change is having a similar effect on your work. If you do not want to wind up like the frog, you must first take notice. You must develop an ability adapt to the change. That means that you must enhance your ability to learn.
“Industrial age” factory workers processed raw materials or manufacture parts using their hands. Companies trained their workers how to perform these manual processes. Workers had them down pat. When requirements changed, a manager would tell them how to change what they did. Workers performed work this way for years until retirement.
Today, most workers are in some way knowledge workers, even many of those in “blue color” jobs. They use their brains to manipulate information and solve embedded problems and challenges. Each day can present a new set of problems and challenges. Over time, the knowledge and skills required evolve. As you might expect, today’s workers are starting to become overwhelmed trying to keep up.
In the early 2000s, I used to work as a consultant for the U.S. Army’s Installation Management Command. I often heard the personnel with whom I worked use the expression “we should use this as a pivot point”. A soldier directed to pivot when marching will march in a new direction. This meant that we had reached a point in a project or situation where we needed to (wait for it!) turn in a new direction. (Forgive me, I was on the NROTC drill team in college).
If you work in an organization, especially one with a long history, you likely have arrived at a pivot point. To make the pivot, you will need to work on enhancing your learning capacity. The good news is that you are not alone.
We are all somewhere proximate to that pivot point. I reached mine a few years ago. I wanted to pursue the kind of consulting work that I could be passionate about. I am now focused on how to use adult learning theory to transform the organization. To do this I need to augment my knowledge (e.g., learning theory and org change). I must also build new skills to communicate what I’ve learned (e.g., blogging and public speaking).
What to do now? There are two separate pivots you need to consider:
- You (in parallel with fellow employees) must enhance your personal learning capacity; and
- Your organization must begin to enable, value, and leverage employee learning capacity
The first pivot you execute, as it is a personal one. It relies on your intrinsic motivation – a desire to pursue your purpose. No one stands in the way of you making this pivot, building your learning capacity. But you can always use some help. I established this blog with the hope of being one source of that help.
Your organization executes the other pivot, with you as a catalyst. Organizations operate through individual employees. They can only learn through their employees. Where employees become adaptive, so does the organization. An organization should expect all employees to enhance their learning capacity. This includes managers, executives, and support function employees. Particularly important is enhancing their ability to learn with and from each other.
We’ll talk more about these two pivots in future posts – what they look like, and how to make them. In addition I will post resource links to help you make sense of the learning journey ahead of you. Until then, you can rest assured that your future work will be more interesting and rewarding for having made the pivot.
Thanks much for visiting!