There's Learning & There's Growth
By Prince Rahman, MSOLE
28 October 2007
This question came up the other day:
"Aren't learning and growth the same thing?"
My response:
"Not necessarily."
I break it down this way:
- Learning = acquisition of knowledge/ information;
- Growth = internally integrating that knowledge/ information in such a way that a shift in one's perspective occurs;
- Shift in perspective = creativity, innovation, and increased capacity for success.
In other words, it is one thing to know a bunch of stuff, to hold it in the intellectual space. It's quite another to make conscious choices about assimilating that stuff into who and how one is. You can know a bunch of stuff, but why should that matter at all if you don't do anything with it (beyond being able to regurgitate it on cue).
Making this distinction matters not only for individuals, but for organizations as well.
Maybe you've experienced how your department, division, company, employer (or whatever word/term best fits your situation) does a great job of gathering data. Then there are reports and presentations about that data. After which some item, policy, or procedure gets a different name, the equivalent of a face-lift (or liposuction), and in the long run things somehow actually stay the same.
"What's to be done?" you ask.
Well, if you're dealing with this whole "Learning => Growth => Shift in perspective" issue from the individual standpoint, I recommend Steve Harper's book The Ripple Effect: Maximizing the Power of Relationships for Your Life and Business. At first it'll seem completely off the topic of what I've been talking about in this article. The reason I'm recommending this book is that, as you journey along with him in exploring how quality relationships - recognizing and being open to them, intentionally cultivating them - has a profound effect on increasing personal and professional success, you will be experiencing the evolution of the "Learning => Growth => Shift in perspective" process.
For those of you dealing with the "Learning => Growth => Shift in perspective" issue from the organizational standpoint, all is not lost. You're best bet is to start with Linda Ford's book The Fourth Factor: Managing Corporate Culture. As the title suggests, Linda gets right down to the heart of the matter, the root of what affects any organization's ability (even if it consists of only two people) to learn, grow, and shift perspective: organizational culture. When leader's have the courage to address the fourth factor that is culture, amazing things start to happen.
Well, enthusiastic reader, I'd say it's time to take what you've learned here, do some growing with it, and experience a shift in perspective so you can pleasantly surprise yourself with even more success!
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