Love of Learning—A Life-Long Challenge

I am honored to be one of more than 6,000 volunteers at The Smithsonian Institution.  As a docent at The Smithsonian American Art Museum, I conduct video conferences with school children and adults across America.  We share the art that tells America’s stories in two-way video conferences where I can see them, and they can see me along with the works of art I choose to show.

The Smithsonian Institution named a new leader in 2019, and the ceremony was both informational and emotional.  Many of the distinguished speakers talked about the new Secretary, Dr. Lonnie Bunch’s, passion for learning, and that’s what The Smithsonian is all about.

At a time when learning doesn’t seem as valued as I think it should be, it was refreshing to hear speakers at the ceremony, including Chief Justice Roberts, talk about the importance and the power of life-long learning.  We need to continue to learn both as individuals and as business leaders or in whatever vocation we’ve chosen. And, the best part of learning today is that it has never been easier.

Consider how easy it is for anyone to listen to a podcast while sitting in traffic while commuting or while on a long road trip. Think about what’s available on YouTube—not just to entertain us but to inform and educate us and our children.

As business leaders, it is extremely important that we provide development opportunities to our employees. They want to expand their knowledge, and we need to make it easy for them to take advantage of the learning that will make them better at their jobs and better as people. Employee development is a powerful engagement and retention tool.

Developing the skills and abilities of our employees does not necessarily mean sending them to training, or bringing training in-house. While training can be valuable, we need to open our minds to what other ways we can encourage our employees to love learning.

Here’s a challenge for you: Be an example to your employees by letting them see you expanding your skills and knowledge. They need to see you reading books and articles. They need to see you attending industry events where learning is emphasized. They need to see you demonstrate your love of learning.  I hope you’ll accept this challenge and make 2020 a year in which you revisit your own love of learning and motivate others to do the same.

And, if you’re in DC for any reason, take time to visit us at one of the many Smithsonian instillations.

Barbara Mitchell

Lifelong Learning A Tip from The Manager’s Answer Book

The May-June, 2018 issue of The Harvard Business Review has an article titled, “Why Lifelong Learning Matters More than Ever” which contains a powerful statement, “Lifelong learning is fundamental to building strong communities, companies, and economies.”

The article discusses how life long learning can go a long way toward helping us solve the skills shortage. While there are more and more learning possibilities available to our employees, not enough people take advantage of what’s available to them.

Organizations need to commit to providing learning opportunities and to make it possible for their employees to have the time to develop their skills through learning.

Manager’s Tip:  Life-long learning is a critical issue which we discuss in The Manager’s Answer Book:

Question: “I want to encourage my employees t continue to learn and grow. What can I do to help them see the importance of continuous learning?”

Answer: “Share what you’re learning with your staff. You can do this in a staff meeting by taking a few minutes to share a book, article, or other resource you’ve found to be helpful. If your employees seem receptive, it is a great idea to ask everyone to read a particular article or watch a specific video and then discuss it when you next meet. This is an easy way to get your employees interested in expanding their knowledge or skill base.”

There are so many ways to learn using available technologies, including:

• Webcasts
• Podcasts
• YouTube
• Online articles
• Audio books
• TED Talks

For more on this subject, see page 99 of The Manager’s Answer Book, available from Amazon -- https://tinyurl.com/y8umaqpz - Barnes & Noble or your local independent bookstore.