1: Getting better at getting better is what RiseWithDrew is all about.
Monday through Thursday, we explore ideas from authors, thought leaders, and exemplary organizations. On Friday, I share something about myself or what we are working on at PCI.
Last month, here and here we explored the strategic importance of being a great place to work.
Where do we start if our goal is to have a dynamic and engaging workplace culture?
At PCI, we’ve identified four secrets to being a great workplace. Four pillars of our workplace culture.
So far, we’ve looked at the first two pillars: First, a set of shared organizational values, and second, a powerful purpose which clarifies the meaning in our work.
2: Today, we turn to Pillar #3: Becoming a learning organization.
There’s an expression I like: The day we stop learning is the day we start dying.
That can happen when we are 17.
Or 97.
Becoming a learning organization—Learning, growing, getting better, getting better at getting better—is the best strategy to stay ahead of the frantic and unpredictable change that characterizes modern life.
It’s also a lot of fun. Growth is never boring!
3: There are two primary strategies to pursue continuous learning in our lives and in our organizations.
Strategy #1 is to invest ourselves in our own self-development. In prior RiseWithDrew posts, we’ve looked at the power of the Miracle Morning, where we get up an hour earlier and start our day with intention. This time is “our time.” We can read, watch a TED talk, envision the type of person we want to be, or journal about our goals.
Strategy #2 is to pay attention and learn from our mistakes. Otherwise known as the “school of hard knocks.”
Yes, reading and learning from others is smart. But we are wise to be intentional about learning and growing from our own experiences.
In her brilliant book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Stanford Professor Carol Dweck encourages us to understand that our intelligence can be significantly increased through effort, to embrace experimentation, to be proactive about seeking feedback, and to realize setbacks and mistakes are part of the learning process and to persist when we are frustrated.
Carol calls this approach the “growth mindset.” Our goal is to learn, improve, and get better. She contrasts the growth mindset with the “fixed mindset,” where our primary goal is to look smart. Here, we experience setbacks as frustrating failures and often give up. Or worse, stay in our comfort zone and resist new approaches altogether.
As leaders, we set the tone for our organizations. We can encourage our teams to experiment and learn. We can also be transparent about our mistakes and what we learned from them.
The seeds of tomorrow’s success are many times found in today’s failure.
More next week!
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Reflection: When has a lesson learned from a failure or setback ultimately resulted in a much better outcome?
Action: Journal my answer to the question above.
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