Momentum - Business to Business Online Magazine MOMENTUM November 2018 | Page 31

The Business of Leadership Is Life Long Learning On Your Agenda? By: Bonnie Benkula, BSHCA, MBA Certified Coach, Speaker, Trainer The John Maxwell TEAM The Leaven Exchange [email protected] Most corporate leaders say the right things about learning and their human resources – “our people are our most valuable asset and their continued development is one of our top priorities.” However, actions speak louder than words and often training and development take a very small role in companies’ budgets and priorities. Is life-long learning on your agenda? Financial gain and “doing” seems to be the focus. Top talent want to develop critical thinking skills and be empowered decision makers. Top talent will leave companies to seek personal development, mentorship opportunities and be immersed in learning environments that grow them as a person as well as an employee. Times “they are a changing” and studies show that recent graduates and top talent are choosing firms that emphasize learning opportunities over money. The most highly sought out talent, such as AI engineers, MBA’s and IT developers, are choosing firms where they can learn to navigate the professional world by picking up soft skills such as negotiation, interpersonal interactions, mentorship and leadership skills. They want to continue to develop their professional tool box and they value that over money. Massive disruptions in business are set to occur as “doing” tasks are automated by artificial intelligence (AI) and automated software that can provide many of the standard tasks that have been traditionally done by people. A new emphasis on lifelong learning attitudes of both employees and employers will continue to be increasingly central to all jobs in order to maximize production and job satisfaction. There is a different type of loyalty and less intent of longevity on the new workforce. Let me coin a new term, continuous learning opportunity, (CLO). I like the acronym, it almost sounds like someone’s name, right? Ok well, CLO has taken on an even greater importance that the buzz words of the past like continuous quality improvement (CQI). Not because I created it, but because it hits the bottom line! To gain competitive advantage, companies can’t just have the latest gadgets or technology, they must prepare their work force to have the thinking tools to adapt to these new technologies. Companies must invest in leadership training to teach employees to positively react and to be able to continue to produce work in changing environments and multi- generational teams. Effective training and CLO in leadership teaches teams to interact dynamically as a productive team in the course of their changing work environment. This saves valuable time for executives trying to “sell” decisions and saves money on executives managing turnover for those who can’t or refuse to adapt. Leadership skills at all levels of a company’s work force differentiates that firm and gets their people ready. Ready to adopt new technology, ready to use complex cognitive skills for effective decision making and ready to interpret results and move faster to gaining market share ahead of their competition. One thing is clear, in the future, our work place will not be the same as it is today. Rapid advancement of technology will continue to be disruptive and there will be a need for talent that can develop and code for this technology. In that kind of world, learning does not stop in the classroom. The future of learning is in continuous life-long learning to develop the skills that allow our teams to find ways to do things better while doing the work. Leaders need to be developed that can model behavior and reactive behavior and this won’t happen by chance. Leaders need to take a humble stand now to face the challenges ahead by investing in leadership training, committing to lifelong learning and creating a highly dynamic learning environment in every aspect of their organizations. Senior leaders must rethink how they invest and prioritize the continuous improvement of skills in their employees. Investing in soft skills can be the differentiator and leaders who embrace this fact will grow teams that collaborate, have empathy and create jobs that have meaning. Meaning jobs are being sought out by the most talented. They search for skills that last a lifetime and enhance all areas of their life. Learning to lead through work challenges, resolve personal matters, understand themselves better and effectively work with others. Stand first and lead your people to be meaning seekers. Tap into developing winning mindsets and empathic hearts that contribute to your company, your employees and to the world. Leaders lead – that’s what we do. MOMENTUM / November 2018 30