Bringing Back That Lovin’ Feeling
Feb 17 • Written by Julie Dozier
How do we spark genuine passion and energy for learning in the workplace?
Photo by Aung Soe Min on Unsplash
You know that feeling when you’re learning something new? There’s that burst of passion and energy you feel. You get super-focused. You’re so motivated. You have the urge to read all the books, to look up all the information, to watch all the YouTube videos. It’s so fun. You’re on to something! You’re cracking the code.
It’s also contagious. You see other people who are excited about learning something and you think, Wait, I want to learn something new. Why do they get to have all the fun? I want to get as smart as they’re getting.
There’s nothing quite like it.
Why doesn’t that passion and energy extend to workplace learning? I know that question is depressing, but bear with me for a minute.
You shouldn’t have to work for a big tech company that gives you dedicated time to explore new ideas and try new things. And not everyone works for a creative company where uncovering new approaches is part of your job description. Plus, it’s not like those are perfect places to work. If we want to experience this love of learning on the job, are those places our only options?
We need to close that gap and find a way to ignite the love of learning in our own organizations. A good place to start is to think of something recent we learned in our personal lives and channel those feelings. Here are three observations I personally always come back to.
1. Ownership
It makes so much difference if you choose to learn something. This is not a fake choice where you are made to select from a list of focus areas. When you actually get to choose what (and where, when, and how) you learn, you feel invested. You are building something for yourself. And when you make progress toward your goal, that knowledge and those new skills are part of you. They’re forever yours. You chose to learn something, and you own the results.
2. Struggle
When you’re learning something new, the challenge of learning is part of what you love about it. You get frustrated. You want to quit sometimes. But it’s so rewarding when you get that glimmer of insight. You feel brilliant. And then you reach that higher level of thinking and realize how much there still is to learn. Those little stops and starts are part of the process. If the experience is too easy, you don’t even count it as learning for yourself. It’s just a check on your to-do list.
3. Pride
There’s something so satisfying about being uniquely knowledgeable and good at something, especially if you came by that knowledge through personal investment and sacrifice. You’re proud of what you’ve accomplished, and you’re proud to share it with others. You don’t even want other people to necessarily have to go through the struggle of learning it the hard way — you’re excited when they want to know your secrets and excited to see the way it changes their life, the way it’s changed yours. You want to make things a little easier for them by teaching them what you know with your own unique, expert spin.
There’s more, but for me it comes down to those three things — that’s what really sets apart authentic learning. This is a big focus for our consulting practice. There are always new things happening in the learning industry, but sometimes focusing on applying new techniques and technology distracts us from the fact that nothing has changed. The lackluster feelings about learning and the mediocre results are often the same. We want real change for the organizations we work with, not just smoke and mirrors.
There are genuine ways to spark these feelings of ownership, challenge, and pride in the workplace. Let us know how we can help you create that loving feeling. Together we can uncover the authentic passion and energy for learning that your organization is craving.