Open Field of Learning

While thinking of an imagery for learning environment my mind surprisingly went to the sports field. That is an odd choice for someone like me who is athletically challenged but nevertheless I find it a powerful analogy to the learning environments of tomorrow!

If you notice some public fields have a special feature: they have a section open for everyone to play on; young and old, skilled and unskilled all can come and enjoy and gain from the experience of playing the sport and alongside it is a section cordoned off with nets or posts and therein a coach trains a smaller set of athletes.

While the cordoned off field is structured with limited athletes playing and practising there, the open field tends to be chaotic with more players than the field can handle at time. And yet there is an energy and buzz on this side unmatched by the netted area.

In our organizations, management in all these years have stood for order and structure through the use of control. However, we have recently begun acknowledging the emergent and chaotic nature of management as well and the role it plays in shaping the organisation's culture. In that context, it seems natural to move away from the existing nomination based program-style training events and move towards a self explored, easily accessible intervention-styled learning journeys.

A learning environment where employees are given the full freedom to explore the content of their interest and need, where all are encouraged to reflect on the nuances of their skill gaps and where managers play a the role of talent architects for their team rather than leaders presiding on nomination choices.

Not only does that empower employees to take charge of their learning it also moves the Learning and Leadership teams to focus more on facilitation of groups towards right skills development, constructing unique learning journeys and engaging learners to apply their learning at work rather than worrying about program nominations, logistical arrangements and following up with  participants, managers and leaders.

So go ahead, open up your learning space to everyone and encourage people to manage their own learning journeys!

The Novelty of a Relationship

In every relationship we tend to recall the more memorable/traumatic moments of its timeline. The day your child was born, the day you got married, the day you first met the love of your life, the day you had a major fallout with a loved one, a day of accident or misfortune both of you suffered.

But just because the incident sticks in our memory doesn't make it the most important moments to frame the relationship. The day you profess your love to a loved one is just an outcome of the many days of conversations, going out, being in each others' company, finding ways to make each other happy. Or the day the manager reviews the individual is just an outcome of the many conversations before (or the lack of those conversations!) that big review day meeting.

And we tend to value them lesser because it isn't memorable or novel. And we could tend to dismiss them as unimportant. But is these little moments in high volume that cause the biggest impact on our relationships.

Conversely if you wish to foster a deep and meaningful relationship with someone, don't aim for the 'Grand Gestures' that are few and far between. Instead look to make those minute but multiple 'nudges' of kindness, compassion and love towards the other person/s to turn things around with them.

Only Mother Teresa could've put it so eloquently.
"Not all of us can do great things. But we can all do small things with great love."

The BIGGEST little Step

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" This quote always reminded me that something great begins with something small. But what it doesn't tell you that the first step is the hardest. And, well, how can it? It is a quote; that too by an ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu. Quotes are meant to inspire action, not instruct you towards it.

So how does one take that first step? We have all had our struggles with great endeavours we wanted to complete, good habits we wanted to inculcate, virtuous qualities we wanted to imbibe. I have had my own share of 'trying to gain weight' and then 'trying to shed it', of 'practising to play the piano' and then 'wean myself off the music obsession', of 'starting a blog' and, well, 'sticking on with it'!

There is however no bigger challenge than when you cannot even make a start: a start that has truly switched you from one state to the next. Not just of exercising but of going from being dormant to active; not just of practising the piano for 60 minutes each day but of going from being indifferent to passionate; and not just of writing a blog 3 times a week (contracted the number for myself using the Habit app) but from being stagnant to flowing in thoughts.

I am trying to get myself to care enough to lift that foot to take the first step. And if the cramps of apathy can be relieved from my mental leg, hopefully I can care enough to make a beginning each day and take that illusive last step of the thousand mile journey with the same zeal that I took the first one!