The learning equation
This week’s guest blog is from Lesley Morrissey, Managing Director of Inside News.
When you need to learn new information you can approach it in a number of ways – and each of us has our own preferences for the way we like to learn.
The ‘Get stuck in’ approach
People who are outgoing and have bags of energy are usually keen to get started and will just jump in and try things. The downside is that sometimes you can overlook some of the basic essentials and suffer from frustration when things don’t go the way you’d expected. The upside is that you aren’t afraid to try new things and explore the unknown.
The ‘What’s in it for me’ approach
When there are business needs to address it is sensible to check out how the new learning benefits you and the organisation. This may result in rejecting anything where the advantages cannot immediately be seen, but on the plus side means that you are very focused on how to make learning work in practice.
The ‘I need to think about this’ approach
When presented with new information some people need to take their time in considering the detail, the impact and the long term implications. The problem can be that they delay taking action and the new learning isn’t applied quickly, but if you have completed the thinking process and have a real appreciation of the value of the new learning, you’ll almost certainly make it work effectively.
The ‘Every little detail’ approach
Information is power! Sometimes people need to be in possession of ALL the facts before they’re prepared to take action. This can irritate those around them, especially the Get Stuck In brigade, as they see them as ‘picky’ or ‘detail freaks’. On the positive end of the scale, if you’ve examined all the information and can see clearly how it will make a real difference, you can be sure that it’s going to work when you put it all into action.
Of course, we don’t all fit neatly into one of these slots – you may find that you have elements of two or more in your approach. Recognising the pros and cons of each approach will help you to take advantage of any learning opportunity and apply the positives whilst taking care that the negatives don’t stop getting the best from your learning opportunities.
Whichever type of learner you are – The IT Training Surgery has an approach to suit you. Give us a call on 020 8203 1774 for a chat.