We tend to assume everyone is up for learning, but they might well not be. Why is that exactly?
Learning is part and parcel of change so it matters if we are closed to learning. That’ll be an obstacle to progress, especially in a leader. Our unwillingness to open ourselves up will have a debilitating effect.
So why the reluctance then?
Well, like many things, it comes down to our ego. Our ego’s purpose is to preserve our separateness; our sense of being an individual. Accepting learning means taking something in from someone else, allowing them to come into our space, in effect, and accepting that we maybe aren’t so separate after all. This may not be so easy to do, unless we’re in the habit of accepting a better future lies beyond new awareness brought into our everyday life.
The benefits of learning outweigh the downsides of accepting some “loss of face” in admitting we don’t know, if it really is a loss of face. Maybe the difficult admission we need to make is to ourselves. And perhaps there’s kudos with others in being mature enough to be real with our not-knowing.
What about you? Are you ever reluctant to learn?
