We have all heard it, honesty is the best policy. Most of us probably agree with this statement. But when it comes to being honest with ourselves, especially in regards to our openness to learning in the business environment, why is it so difficult? Do you do your job each day willing to learn from others around you? Are you able to admit your mistakes and learn from them? Do you expect others to accept your opinions because you have a high level of education?
The success of an individual is often based on the environment in which he places himself. The success of a company is often based on the environment which it provides for its employees. As employers continue to search for the best and brightest employees, they must not only evaluate the knowledge set that one has upon entertaining their organization but also examine each individual’s ability to learn.
The culture of the today’s business environment is changing. Instead of employees coming into a new position at a company expecting to learn, more employees are hired holding degrees but having little or no experience in the field. With the education level of the workforce rising, it is important that the environment that these individuals choose to work in, encourages their growth.
I recently read an article, Teaching Smart People How to Learn, where the author recognized that to have an organization where highly people are encouraged to learn, the company as a whole must evaluate its own learning ability. The evaluation must start from the top down. If top management is not willing to learn, if there is a culture that attempts to solve problems by darting responsibility from one to another, then the company itself must recognize that it is not a culture that supports learning. If a senior employee expects to be respected for great knowledge he brings to an organization, he must be willing to learn from the perceptions of those below him. Just as easily as one can recognize the shortcomings of one’s co-worker or manager, it must be recognized that others can see our own inadequacies. As people, regardless of our position, level of experience or educational background we all must recognize that others notice our we inadequacies, often better than we do ourselves. We must remain an open slate to learning.
Unfortunately, fear, embarrassment and dishonesty with oneself hurts both people and our organizations. Until we can admit to ourselves that our best is not good enough and will never be, we will continuously interfere with our own ability to learn from both our mistakes and our successes.
I am putting this out there as a reminder to all of us. It is not the responsibility of our employers to educate us, instead it is our responsibility to make sure that we are spending our time in organizations where the environment promotes learning.
