Learning to learn

Learning is possibly the only trait which differentiates human beings from other animals. We have this ability to assimilate knowledge and apply the same later for solving complex problems. We all notice that children are extremely good with this and as we grow up, we tend to loose this key ability of ours. It is those of us who continue to learn even after growing up, make a difference to our lives and those of others. Infact human history is a clear evidence that non linear growth has happened in his case due to assimilation of this knowledge and move/conquering new frontiers in development.

So why do we loose this important ability and how can we ensure that we do our best in this space? As far as loosing this ability is concerned, My personal experience is that it happens to most of us as we start believing that "learning" process is meant for children and what we know is good enough for what we do. Just imagine an accountant being told that he(she) should learn his(her) accounts again after working for 5 Years. but we must note that as part of job we continuously learn new tricks/gain more knowledge. Those of us who work in jobs where we have this opportunity are lucky as this forces to learn or else we would become redundant. A great example are sportsmen, they learn all their life. So how do we ensure that adults continue to learn as they do when they are children:

1. Ensure that they are on jobs which force them to do new activities and hence forces them to learn
2. Ensure that any learning process demonstrated by adults is rewarded. In the world of jobs a good example is possibly Software industry. Herein certifications are rewarded by the management with suitable rewards
3. Good Teams, nothing works better as an incentive to learn then having someone around who can demonstrate visible leadership in learning. People tend to follow that person out of sheet jealousy.
4. Finally, possibly the most important part is to ensure that anything one does counts as far as learning is concerned. It is here where contemplation/reflection either individually or in teams after completing activities/projects matters.

Once we get a team or group of people to start learning and ensuring that they do not repeat the same mistakes due to absence of knowledge. They start delivering newer things and finally bigger output starts flowing out. This would ultimately lead to non linear growth.

Every organization which craves for growth (higher than conventional) ones needs to focus on learning or more importantly "learning to learn".