The Power of Lifelong Learning and Personal Development - Workology

The Power of Lifelong Learning and Personal Development - Workology Learning to Disrupt HR I just finished a book called Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and DiscoveI just finished a book called Mindshift. Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover your Potential by Dr. Barbara Oakley. Drawing on the lastest..r Your Hidden Potential by Dr. Barbara Oakley. Drawing on the latest neuroscientific insights, Dr. Oakley drives past simplistic ideas of “aptitude” and “ability,” which provide only a snapshot of who we are nowâ€"with little consideration about how we can change. The main impression I took away is that we must focus on learning (in whatever industry we’re in) and that failure is an important part of understanding how to fuel your own development and personal growth. Fear of failure aside, as leaders in the human resources space, we must not only focus on our own learning and development but also encourage learning and development opportunities for employees to help keep them engaged in their jobs and happier in life. This is what I’ve been working so hard to do with my business and Workology.com. I want to offer different perspectives and points of view that drive learning and thinking outside of the norm. Only then can we really push ourselves to work, live, and grow differently. Specifically speaking to the human resources industry and our industry leaders, change through learning and development is the only way we can serve as strategic partners in talent acquisition for the companies with whom we work and consult. We have to innovate and grow or our industry or ourselves ceasing to be of importance and value to the businesses we support.   Learning to Disrupt HR In order for human resources to move forward on the evolutionary scale, we must be disruptive, ready to fail, and capable of shaking things up. I feel like we are at an impasse in which HR has a lot of administrative professionals who are deeply rooted in compliance and paperwork, which isn’t necessarily wrong. It’s part of our history and our roles in HR, however, it is in direct opposition of the strategic business partner role of HR that helps to grow the most important asset of the organization: Talent. I keep returning to Paul Kearn’s chart from his book Evaluating the ROI from Learning  (seen above) that talks about the role of education and evolution in human resources. Being a strategic partner means getting out of our comfort zone, saying no and engaging learning and development in different ways outside of conference, events, and even in the books and meetups that we attend. We can’t keep going to the same old local SHRM chapter and push boundaries if they are inviting the same speakers they did 10 years ago. That’s exactly the realization I had when I was attending a local SHRM chapter event. It was the same topic and discussion about Millennials in the workplace (sigh) where it was pretty much an “us versus them” thing. There is no us versus them. We’re all in this together and if we keep thinking that we’re not, we will never move forward. This was compounded by the fact that I was the only person in the room tweeting about the same topic circa 2009. And replace “Millennials” with “Gen X” and it’s the same topic from 1999. Are we going to remain caught up in a 20-year loop with recruiting innovation and development? I hope not, and I’m working hard to disrupt this within my industry. If we are going to be a strategic asset to the business of HR, we can’t keep doing this. We need to push ourselves and move to a very uncomfortable place, especially when it comes to learning and growing as a business, as a team, as an HR department and as individuals. Getting Comfortable With Discomfort We have to develop a level of comfort with discomfort (as uncomfortable as it might be) in order to have conversations with C-level executives and hiring managers on what’s broken so that we can help fix it. If we continue to propel forward with an “emperor’s new clothes” mindset, fearing failure or judgment if we point out what and where processes are not working, we’re setting ourselves back into a rubber-stamp role that (for most of us) isn’t innovative or interesting. Having uncomfortable conversations is part of our job descriptions. Teaching other people how to accept constructive criticism is another. If you haven’t had a difficult conversation with your CEO or department head in the past year, you might be overlooking a terribly important facet of your job, again being a strategic partner in talent acquisition. We have to push the envelope when it comes to diversity, accessibility, and other topics that make people (including ourselves) uncomfortable. There are problems in these areas that will never be fixed unless they become part of an everyday conversation in human resources. Disagreement can be uncomfortable. Questioning the status quo can be uncomfortable. Being the only person in a conference session who points out that a panel on diversity and inclusion is not exactly diverse and inclusive if it’s comprised of 100% men can be really uncomfortable (ask me about it sometime). But it’s those of us who are willing to be “that person” that can affect change in human resources. Question away. It’s part of our jobs. Settling for what’s comfortable only sets us back. Where Learning and Development Comes In Sometimes it seems that certain people are “naturals” when it comes to recruiting leadership. I’ve had many conversations with influencers in our industry over the years, particularly on the Workology podcast, and I can share a secret with you: None of this comes “naturally.” Every single innovator or leader in our industry has a backstory that includes failure, and one common thread is that their failures taught them something important. They learned from taking risks, from introducing uncomfortable discussions, from pointing out the elephants in the room. Oftentimes they were the only person willing to do so, but it led them to affect change, to find their passion, and to make a genuine impact on our industry. I love hearing about “try and fail” when I interview recruiting leaders, because it says a lot about their ability to adapt and become innovators. Innovation in any industry is a necessary part of evolution, and we’ve never gotten anywhere by being resistant t o change. The LEARN by Workology product I’ve developed (now in beta), was created with all of the above in mind. It’s on-demand learning for HR and recruiting, and covers HRCI and SHRM approved courses, as well as a robust course catalog that includes disruption in HR, diversity, and inclusion, accessibility, introducing programs in a change-resistant culture, innovating human resources processes, conflict resolution, along with many of the topics I’ve mentioned in this post. Join LEARN beta, check out the course catalog, and see how embracing ongoing learning and development can change your perception and the way you work.   In order to really drive and innovate in the businesses we support, we need to first start with ourself. Its critical to personal and professional growth for your most important asset, yourself.