Too Good To Improve

“I’ve managed staff for over 20 years. There’s nothing you can teach me.”

At what point do you stop learning?

I consult with dozens of managers and leaders, across different industries and of varying experience. In my leadership workshops, the focus is on helping and improving every single person who attends. Be that the fresh-faced new manager, right through to the seasoned veteran CEO.

The above quote was something said to me last week. My response?

I laughed.

“No problem,” I said. “If you ever change your mind, you know where to find me.”

Regular training, development, growth is something the very best teams and individual performers do. All the time. Having that inner drive to realise that no matter how good you are (or think you are), no matter how well your business is tracking … that you can, and should, push yourself and your team to think, question, and improve … is a gift. Not everyone has it, I’ve come to realise. And that’s fine.

But if you are driven: with 30 June at the door, now is the time to book in some training for your people. When I managed full-time, I liked to run formal training with my teams once or twice a year. Too expensive? Not an issue; if you can’t afford to bring in an external facilitator to teach/guide/push/cajole you and your team, then be innovative; create your own in-house programs, and run them yourself. Better still, challenge one of your staff to create a mini-course for everyone else – that, in itself, is fantastic personal development for them.

Why bother? To improve, I mean? Because society, the world of work, your competitors – they are constantly changing. It’s on you to adapt to that, to ensure you stay relevant, to protect your team and the business.

Let’s not forget: learning should also be fun. I enjoy seeing people’s faces light up when they have an “Aha!” moment during a workshop. That tell-tale sign that they “get it”; that they have indeed just learnt something. I, too, enjoy the moments when I learn something from them; it’s a two-way street.

When do we stop learning?

You know when.

👇

Keen to become a great manager? Register for our next Manager Essentials workshop. Network with like-minded managers and leaders, and share the drive to continually learn, improve, and upskill.