Intentional Learning: A Guide to Shifting Towards Growth and Success
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Being a learner is one of my top strengths and an activity I genuinely love. According to the Gallup Strengthfinders 2.0, people exceptionally talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. The process of learning, rather than the outcome, energizes them.
To grow we need to learn – whether by force or choice – but not all learning leads to growth. In the past, my goal was to accumulate knowledge. In the last fifteen years, I have shifted my focus to growing and effectively applying what I learn.
As we age, we must make learning and growing intentional. The first 18 to 25 years of our lives, we grow physically and intellectually with little deliberation. In school, college, and early work life, we learn our ABCs, colors, math, languages, science, and social interactions.
Once we finish our formal education, we must consciously strive for personal and professional growth to avoid stagnation. This requires shifting to intentional learning.
In his book The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, John C. Maxwell writes about having a growth plan and transitioning from accidental to intentional learning.
People who choose accidental growth lack a clear plan, wait for growth to happen by chance, and learn only after results fall short of expectations. They talk big, play it safe, and stop learning once formal education ends.
People who choose intentional growth, on the other hand, have a clear plan with timelines, actively seek learning and growth opportunities, and learn proactively, often before results unfold. They follow through, take risks, and never stop improving.
“The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential…these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.” Confucius, Chinese philosopher and politician
Here are the steps to start an intentional growth plan.
1) Change the question and mindset
Shift your mindset from “How long will this take?” to “How far can I go?”
I have been a victim of wanting to be an expert overnight. I wished to be fluent in a language after a few lessons or write beautiful stories like seasoned authors only after a couple of drafts.
Objectively, we know proficiency requires time and practice. For learners, like me, we need the thrill of progressing from novice to adept, so this can be especially frustrating for complex skills.
Like with many of the things I approach, I like to break it down into small actions where I can see progress.
For example, to improve my blog posts and website, I wanted to understand search engine optimization (SEO). I set a routine to read articles or watch videos on the topic for 30 minutes three times a week. Starting with the definition of SEO, I moved on to examples and then experimented with my posts. When the concept finally clicked, I was delighted.
“Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still.” Chinese Proverb
2) Do it now
Procrastination is the enemy of action. Waiting for perfect conditions means we will never start.
There will never be a perfect time to create your growth plan or take that online class you need for career advancement. There will always be obstacles.
A couple of years ago, I joined Toastmasters, a non-profit focused on public speaking skills. After attending a few meetings as a guest, I registered and delivered my first speech at the immediate next meeting. Why so fast? To take immediate action rather than delay to write and deliver the perfect speech.
“Though no one can go back and make a brand-new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand-new ending.” Unknown
3) Face your fears
Intentional learning often brings two main fears: fear of not performing proficiently and fear of new tribes.
By now we understand what it takes for us to become proficient. If we are learning about artificial intelligence, for example, we may watch videos, register for a class, or simply open ChatGPT and start exploring.
When we embark on the journey of intentional learning, we will move from starting point A, to B, to C, and the people we started with might choose different growth paths or remain stagnant.
This can feel isolating as we leave behind familiar social circles. However, we eventually meet new people at points B, C, etc., forming new groups.
It took me a long time to accept that not everyone shares my growth goals. Now I enjoy becoming part of new tribes and even building new ones. I still keep my close friends and I am devoted to my family. My concept of tribe is more fluid, and I have adjusted my expectations of the people I love; some are growing with me even if in different directions, others are not. And both are fine.
“One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.” Abraham Maslow, American psychologist
4) Seek learning opportunities
Instead of accidentally stumbling upon learning opportunities, seek them out.
Create an individual development plan (IDP) or a similar document if your company does not provide one. Identify your current skills, knowledge, and experience. Then outline your potential next job and the one after that. Determine the skills, relationships, and knowledge needed for those roles, and create and execute a plan to achieve them.
As part of my goals at work, I have one related to the main items on my own IDP to keep myself accountable and set an example for my team.
“We can’t become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” Oprah Winfrey, American talk show host, actress, producer, and author
One more thing before you go
Life can force us to grow, or we can choose to proactively grow and prepare for future events and opportunities. I prefer the latter. To me there is no better feeling than recognizing an opportunity and being ready for it.
The key to executing an intentional growth plan, like any goal, is consistency. Taking action every day, week, or month has a compound, cumulative effect that often comes all at once. Time will go by whether we take action or not.
For example, you identified increasing your professional network as an area of development. You can choose to start now, when you really do not need it, or later when there is a reorganization, and you must secure another position as soon as possible.
If you start when you need it (after your position is eliminated), you may get your next role by frantically reaching out to people and applying for jobs. There may not be too much ease and flow in the process. People in your network may feel “used” because there was not enough relationship capital invested before withdrawing favors.
If you start now, when it is not necessary, on the other hand, you can create the list of people you want to meet, think about how you want to approach them, and the questions you would like to ask them. You would have time to build and deposit into each relationship. When a reorg at work happens or when you decide you want to search for another job, you would have had enough relationship capital to ask for an introduction, guidance on the hiring process at a specific company, or feedback on your resume.
Opportunities involve a bit of luck – being in the right place at the right moment. However, the largest aspect of an opportunity is identifying it and being prepared for it. That preparation occurs in ease and flow through intentional growth.
What are other tips or strategies you use to intentionally grow? Please, let us know in the comments.
As a leadership coach, I enable talent to achieve bold goals with high standards. My mission is to empower underrepresented women in the financial industry transition from mid to senior level leadership positions using mental fitness to achieve peak performance, peace of mind, and healthier relationships.