Learning to succeed

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Learning to succeed
Take ownership of your career through constant renewal and reinvention
by Kamal Kant succeed@mediacorp.com.sg 05:55 AM Jun 07, 2010

The economic and social pressures today on organisations are so strong, they are changing the work world at a pace never encountered before.

Hardly have employees become familiar with new processes and work methodologies that they are asked to unlearn them and learn even newer and more sophisticated ways of working.

In the late '80s and early '90s, employees were principally selected to fill vacancies that required specified knowledge, skills and abilities to perform a specific job or combination of tasks.

Once employed, the person would probably do the same job for the rest of his career, climb the so-called career ladder and be remunerated on a seniority-based system.

But this career journey model is obsolete. Training and development have become a continuous process if one does not want to be rendered irrelevant in one's workplace.

Lifelong learning, acquisition of new knowledge, personal development, honing of competencies, skills upgrading and enhancement of abilities are now "must haves" in the working world. Ignore this at your career's peril.

In today's workplace, learning includes changing a broad spectrum of your work behaviour, ranging from developing new vocational skills to managing employees in ways that foster the greatest productivity, innovation and creativity.

The learning edge is how smart executives and managers stay ahead of the competition.

But what exactly is learning?

Certain key characteristics are obvious: Learning implies change. The change must be more than temporary - it must be the result of experience and repeated practice. Certainly, temporary change and performance cannot count as learning.

Learning is a difficult concept to understand, as it cannot be directly measured or observed. It is inferred from permanent changes in work behaviour, job performance and enhanced output after learning.

This is why certificates, diplomas and degrees are just the starting point in a job hunt or advancement in one's career.

The proof of learning is exhibited in your improved and enhanced performance.

Today, lifelong learning is about engaging your mind to bring creativity and innovation to your work so that you can become an employee of choice - not simply because of your paper qualifications, but for other forms of value you bring to the workplace.

It could range from a delightful, customer-lovable personality by developing your intrapersonal and interpersonal skills, to an effective and novel problem-solving technique using your engineering knowledge in resourceful and imaginative ways.

Exhibiting new learning is a major hurdle for many people. You do not want to be boastful nor arrogant in "advertising" your newly-acquired knowledge, skills and competencies.

The starting point must be your work itself. Apply the newly acquired learning in the task you do to ensure it works. Plan well ahead.

Before testing or practising the new learning at work, be sure you have an effective damage control or recovery strategy if something does not work and reverts back to the old way.

Offer to teach others in your workplace your new learning. Sharing knowledge is part of the lifelong learning journey. Share with others and they will share with you; be self-centred and conceited in today's multicultural team-based work environment and you probably will be an outcast at work. It will be to your detriment and loss.

Never lose sight of the definition of learning: It is about relatively permanent change in work behaviour occurring as a result of experience and practice.

Experience does not happen just from formal learning processes. It is also about doing it, feeling it and experiencing your learning outcomes in the workplace.

Learning is about changing the way you work and the way you think, analysing and solving problems. Learning includes improving your performance using newly-acquired knowledge, skills and abilities.

It is about making an attitudinal shift by taking ownership of your career and accepting that constant renewal and reinvention through a lifelong learning journey in the broadest sense is your passport to career satisfaction and success in tomorrow's world.

The writer is a career management professional and a lecturer in career-related courses at a local university.

Article from: http://www.todayonline.com/Business/Succeed/EDC100607-0000037/Learning-to-succeed