In this post, I’d like to stress the importance of maintaining a learning mindset regardless of our workload or our background. The key to a sustained success in the workplace is continuous learning. Instead of thinking that you’ve “arrived” in whatever field you’re in, focus on always “becoming,” or else you may miss an opportunity to become a better person or learn something new. Despite having an extensive background, both scholastic and in practice, there’s always room for improvements. Once you’ve learned to be a constant student, you’ll have the freedom from constantly proving yourself and to be free to start improving yourself.
| “One cannot learn that which they think they already know.” – Ryan Holiday
Growing up in a musically inclined family, I started playing the guitar at 5 years old. When I was in 5th grade, I started playing music from one of my favorite heavy metal bands, Metallica. The band’s lead guitarist, Kirk Hammett, was famous for being relentless in continuously learning his craft. After signing up full-time with the band and releasing their first studio album in 1983, he returned to his guitar instructor Joe Satriani. Despite being a member of a band on the verge of becoming one of the greatest heavy metal bands in the world, he returned to his instructor to learn more, focusing on “becoming” better in what he does. According to Satriani, “What separated Kirk among the rest was his willingness to endure the type of instruction that others wouldn’t.”
Five months ago, I ended my leadership rotation at our contact center, and returned to my previous role in IT operations. Returning to my previous role also meant reporting to a new vice president who transitioned over while I was on rotations. During our first one-on-one, he told me something that was never told to me before. I’m sure this was an implied expectation to me by my previous leaders, but there was something different about explicitly receiving this directive from him. He said, “Don, I want you to spend time for yourself. You take good care of your people and our service, but I want you to spend time focusing on YOU.” He wanted me to establish a development path, identify things I wanted to achieve to get to the next level. This directive made it so clear for me, and I complied. I spent sufficient time to focus on my development. Surprisingly enough, everything else fell into place. The past few months immediately after acting on his direction has been one of the most productive consecutive months in my career. Despite allocating some personal resources for “ME,” I became a much better manager to my team, and I was able to lead initiatives that moved our service forward. I believe that the intentional effort to learn and develop has been the catalyst of all the productivity lately. On top of work-related development, I was able to also structure my workouts into my daily activities. I’ve lost significant weight and inches around my waistline. Not to mention, that just a week ago, I got a promotion to a higher tier for my role.
With all the things I’ve shared today, I’m now an evangelist of “taking full control of our own development.”The constant learning, the mindset of constantly “becoming” is a healthy combination for success in both your professional and your personal aspirations.