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

Getting Ready for 2020

There seems to be something about years that end in zeros that get more attention than those that don’t. Like the tweet reminding us that there are only a certain number of days left in the decade and to make them count.  We have no idea why this is, but since 2020 is fast approaching, it’s time to give thought about what to do differently in the year ahead. We don’t mean those pesky resolutions.  We mean big questions, such as:

• Who and what might inspire us in 2020?
• What do we want to learn in 2020?
• How can we contribute to make the world a better place in 2020?

For any of us, the first thing that needs to happen is to clear out some of the current noise to make room for more creativity. When we focus our attention on daily activities—routine tasks that we think are important but maybe aren’t that critical—we don’t allow time for creative thought or learning.

Jettison some of the activities that eat up so much time, so we can add new and exciting adventures.  Get rid of some things we don’t need to do.  For Barbara, maybe this is the year to take that French class she’s been talking about for years. For Cornelia, maybe traveling with her husband. For both of us, 2020 will be the year for us to publish a new and very different book. What about you?

In 2020, let new ideas inspire you. We plan to research and uncover some podcasts and blogs to not only follow but contribute to. Following a few people like Brene Brown and Seth Godin will provide inspiration and lots to think about. Like most writers, we are avid readers, so we’ll likely put together lists of books to read for pleasure, for research, and for life-long learning.  What about you?

Then there is the really big question—what am I going to do to make our world a better place? It’s so easy to put that aside. What can I do? I’m just one person? Italicized 

While that may be true, one person can make a difference in our world. Think about 16-year-old Greta Thunberg. She’s an environmental activist whose work on climate change has gained international recognition at the United Nations and so many other places.  She’s making a real impact on the world, and she’s a teenager! 

We live in a chaotic world, and since 2020 is a presidential election year in the U.S., it stands to reason it will be a time of great change and potential animosity.  Maybe each of us can contribute to making the world less chaotic in 2020 by being a better listener and treating everyone with kindness and respect. What about you?

Barbara and Cornelia

“Bumpy Roads Lead to Beautiful Places”

I’m a loyal Washington Nationals fan so I must write about their amazing 2019 World Series win. No one, except for the players and management, ever thought this would happen—especially in late May when their record was 19 wins and 31 losses.

Nationals’ manager, Dave Martinez, credits his mother for the quote “Bumpy roads lead to beautiful places.”  Perhaps it’s an adaptation of Zig Ziglar’s “Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations. The best is yet to come.” Nevertheless, it certainly has proven true for the Washington Nationals.

There isn’t one, single thing that made the difference between a 19 and 31 record in May and a World Series win. The owners increased their contribution so that the General Manager could add players to the roster. Every player and every coach had to step up, and they did.

It’s common for managers who encounter adversity to blame others or want to take drastic action such as fire people, but the Nationals did it differently. In addition to adding strength to the pitching, especially in the bull pen, the Nationals took a simple but powerful action that most likely made the biggest difference. It is the manager’s challenge to the players to go 1 and 0 every day.  Rather than obsess about the 19 and 31 record, he focused them on winning one game at a time—keep winning so that they could be World Champions.  He didn’t let them get ahead of themselves, and he certainly didn’t let them beat themselves up about the losses. The goal was, “Let’s focus on today and go 1 and 0.”

And then there was the fun element. If you saw any of the post-game coverage or the amazing parade the Saturday after game seven and the win, you saw and heard that this is a team that loves each other and loves to have fun.  While the Baby Shark music can drive me crazy in 11 seconds, it was something that was electric at Nat’s Park and got people from any age group, kids to grandparents, involved. 

There’s a lesson in all of this for managers. How could you adapt this strategy to your team? Do you set realistic goals? Do you celebrate when your employees meet or exceed their productivity goals? When you hit a bump in the road, what do you do?

Do you allow your employees to have some fun at work? Building in some time for people to get to know each other and have some fun may make your organization more productive. Give it a try!

When you hit a bumpy road—whether as a manager or in your personal life—focus on where you’re headed and celebrate when you get to the beautiful destination. Adversity can be a great motivator, or it can stop us in our tracks. It is up to you.

Barbara Mitchell