What do Bill Gates,
Mark Zuckerberg and I have in common?
We're all
self-directed learners. I've proudly been a self-directed learner since 1994
when I realised that no employer of mine was ever going to provide me with the
training and development that I needed to make a success of my fledgling
career. Twenty-five years' of self-directed learning and I do feel I've
succeeded in evolving myself for the future and have done so through
self-employment where I didn't officially have a training budget.
It's worked for me
and will work for all future learners in the workplace, gone are the days when
students gorged on company training programmes. The future is for
those that make it happen.
Here are ten traits
that you need to master to become a self-directed learner. In no particular
order
1. The first trait is
initiative. If your learner has set themselves a goal to learn something, they
have the initiative and capability to find suitable learning. They are adept at
searching the internet for reading materials as well as audio and video and can
also venture offline as well. They just seem to find what they're looking for.
Care your "Great Wall of China" doesn't block anything of use value -
most corporate IT departments block useful sites, they don't trust people.
2. Independence comes
next. With their learning goals in tow, self-directed learners don't need
permission to learn; they feel empowered to do so. Some companies even provide
a budget to further their independence. My employed position in 1997 awarded me
with a training budget of £1,000, a year and I was trusted and empowered to use
this to buy training. I used it to part fund my early NLP training.
3. They network well.
Possibly members of various associations and unions that provide relevant
learning and development. Networking with fellow members and others provides
ample learning opportunities sometimes over a coffee or fireside chat. Learning
doesn't have to be formal. My best ideas and insights have come from
spontaneous chats with people in my network, and my superior education events
have come from my membership of three associations - PSA, SPA and AAISP. Google
them.
4. They embrace
responsibility for their learning. The buck stops with them; no one else is
going to help them develop, it's something they're accountable for.
5. Self-directed
learners plan their own development time. I devote a day a week to personal
development, not every week, but on average. Only with this amount of time
investment can I achieve my learning goals.
6. They're curious to
learn things. A goal can lead anywhere. Back in 2012, I committed to master how
to create video for my business and boy was this a giant learning curve for me.
Seven years' later I'm producing some half decent videos, but my curiosity took
me to other areas beyond just video production. I'm currently exploring and
using live streaming, so my video work streams live to YouTube and Vimeo. My
curiosity also took me into Research and Development grants and tax advantages
which have saved me a packet over the years.
7. Self-learners don't
mind starting something at 80% ready. Too many people start projects or
activities when they believe they are 100% ready to go. Self-learners believe
in learning as you go, and this often requires that you start something and
learn/improve as you progress. That's the modern way. I watch some of my early
incarnations of videos which are still on YouTube and compared to my current
videos are quite awful. But at the time, they were new, interesting and
achieved my objectives.
8. Self-directed
learners are good at erudition and can adopt basic study skills. I'm aware of
my learning style acutely. I know that reading works for me, listening to
podcasts gives me the freedom to learn where I want. I know I have to make
notes when I learn, I use mindmaps (that's a technique I learnt way back in the
nineties by reading some books). I work well in conferences and can listen to a
really good speaker for hours. Incidentally, I don't do learning activities in
groups - that's not my cup of tea. I'm very aware of how I learn.
9. Self-directed
learners understand the unlearning process. When you learn something new, you
have to unlearn the old first. Otherwise, you're just piling on new on top of
old, and you will struggle to see new ideas and innovations. Before you decide
to learn something new, you unlearn the old. For example, when I was learning
about trainer video, I had to unlearn all the presentation skills I learnt when
performing in front of a group - interaction, questioning, eye contact,
movement, gestures - do these things when being videoed and it'll all go wrong.
On the video you look at the lens, keep your gestures minimal preferably nil
and maximise your facial expressions and voice.
10. Finally, I enjoy my
learning. It can be hard work, tiring and prone to errors and mistakes but this
is what gives me the benefits I seek. There's always a point, a scary moment
when you don't understand what it is you're learning. This can cause stress,
and you feel vulnerable. You have to drive yourself through this because with a
tenacious attitude you will learn it.
With your people
committed to self-directing and controlling their learning, the next step is to
re-organise your learning and development offering to fit this learner. That'll
come later once you've influenced the culture of your workforce first.
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