Why I do what I do
I was watching a film with my 3 year old nephew which involved a car chase (and an inflatable robot). One of the characters, 'Go Go' was driving at speed to 'catch the bad guy' and was doing an amazing job of navigating narrow streets and avoiding obstacles and my sister commented on what a great driver Go Go was. My nephew then asked 'how come she's such a good driver?' and I replied that it must be because she practices and practices all the time and tries really hard to learn all the things that great drivers do. I'd love to say this led to a profound discussion about having a growth mindset and deliberate practice, but at that moment, he spilled his milkshake, so that became our focus and I still don't know whether Go Go caught the 'bad guys' or not.
It's the same with anyone. I strongly believe that anyone can do anything that they want to with the right training and support (except for turning into an inflatable robot). Why are some people in your organisation great managers? Some may have already had the right aptitude for management when they started, but regardless, I'd say that great managers continually develop their skills through learning and practice. Why are some people you work with so organised and great at admin? Again, it'll be because they're continuing to learn about what works and are continuously learning new techniques and tools and are practising that every day.
If we always do what we've always done, we'll always get what we always got.
My mission is to inspire a culture of continuous learning in the workplace, so that anyone can go on to do anything and so that we all become better and better at what we do. I believe that in order to have a culture of continuous learning, training must be available and accessible for any one at any time. People should be encouraged to learn, practice, make mistakes, ask for feedback and ask for help as part of their normal work. Training shouldn't be something they're 'sent on' once a year, but should be something they choose to access and share with others.
My mission is to help you create that culture of continuous learning in your workplace, with the resources and budgets that you already have. My mission is to help people plan their development, take responsibility for their own learning - no matter how busy they are - and apply what they learn to their work or life (or to help you to help them do that).
I'm sure that we all try to inspire our young relatives to keep learning and practising - why do we stop this when we get to work?
I know we're all busy juggling different priorities, but shouldn't learning and developing the skills and knowledge we need to increase productivity, improve performance and facilitate personal and professional growth be right at the top?
