Recently, Petra Coach presented a webinar, “Learning: The #1 Meta-Habit for You, Your Organization and Your Team” with McKeel Hagerty.
If you’re a business leader, this information is crucial to sharpening your skills and growing as a leader and team member.
You can find the full recording here.
To augment the recording, we noted takeaways and tips from the presentation.
Top Takeaways
VUCA
- Volatile
- Uncertain
- Complex
- Ambiguous
A.K.A. The reality of the world right now
Journaling
When: Morning and evening
What: Write a topic down to journal about
- Morning about a topic – when you have a clear head
- Evening is more like a diary and what happened that day
Questions for Journaling:
- What accelerations have I observed?
- How have I reset what is necessary in my life?
- How have my values been challenged or reinforced?
- What feedback is the world giving me about my choices?
- What are the major lessons of 2020?
Learning is what you do for yourself. Education is done for you.
Your brain is wired for survival
- i.e. Pattern recognition, seeing threats, continuation of the species, pleasure seeking
The brain of a leader has all of the same things, it’s just applied to more people
The Ultimate Metta Skills
- Fostering curiosity and learning
- Executive function – discerning and deciding
- Communication – giving context/storytelling
- Relationship/network building
Fostering Curiosity:
- Open to ideas
- Emotional Flexibility
Leadership Discernment:
- Reliable perspective
- Wise judgement
Questions for Journaling:
- How would someone describe my ability to make wise judgements?
- How aware am I of my biases and reflexive responses?
- How do I best communicate?
- How do I discuss principles and values with others?
- How do I build trust?
Learning Hacks
Think of your mind like a swiss army knife – If you only use one tool, that’s all you’re going to get
The mind is also like a sieve – ideas just pour right through it
Memory is reinforced by meaning
The Rational Optimist – Matt Ridley
We benefit from the knowledge of others without having to learn it ourselves
The Leaders’ Learning Goal
Functional, high-level performance
- Choose things you care about
- Learn to love practice
- Deliberate practice
- Talents are not innate
- Field with proven performers and track record of achievement
- Finding a coach or teacher for high-quality feedback
- Finding super learners
Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise – Anders Ericsson & Robert Pool
Learning to love practice – Everyone who performs at a high-level practices more than you think
- i.e. Steph Curry or Eddie Van Halen
Once you master it, it’s going to get boring and you need to work through that
The Gifts of Peak Performance
- Adaptability
- Neuroplasticity
- Mental representations
- Creativity
Reading Recommendations
Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions when you don’t have all the facts – Annie Duke
- Separate decision making from the outcomes, it sets you free
- We’re always thinking in bets
Thinking Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman
- Two ways of thinking – quick and slow
- When our minds plays tricks on us, we have to train our mind to make decisions
- Learning to explain our thinking
- Explaining the thought behind your decision
- Filled with learning hacks
The Science of Rapid Skill Acquisition – Peter Hollins
The Self-Learning Blueprint – Peter Hollins
- Make a plan of how to learn something
The Learning Plan
Download your Learning Plan Worksheets HERE.
Before You Begin
- Choose a subject you are naturally curious about
- Draw a ‘map’
- Example: You’re not becoming a concert pianist, choose a song that you want to perfect. Do you need to buy a piano? Do you need to learn how to read music? Carve out time in your day when you will actively work on this.
- Develop a deliberate learning practice
- Carve out time in your day when you will actively work on this
- Know your learning hacks
- What are the tools you use?
- Examples: The Great Courses, Evernote, Audible, Apple Podcasts, Blinkist, Get Abstract
Pomodoro Method: 25 minute brain blocks, separated by short breaks
- Once you’ve done this, synthesize and self-test
Identify and connect with guides and coaches
Learning is the skill that we all need – especially in these VUCA times
Like what you see? Register for our upcoming webinars today!
