But we all know that self-development is critical for career progression – not to mention our sense of self-worth and job satisfaction. So we all need to find that time!

This week is Learning at Work Week in the U.K. It's an annual event designed to promote lifelong learning in the workplace.

This is what we're all about here at Mind Tools. Lifelong learning is the key to successful and satisfying careers. And for organizations, cultivating a strong learning culture is good for business and keeps employees happy and engaged: it's literally win–win. 

The Importance of Soft Skills

Workplace learning is not exclusively about gaining hard skills, like mastering a new piece of software or machinery. Soft skills are also crucial to a thriving career and an organization's success (arguably even more so). Conflict resolution, communication skills, change management, coaching – and that’s just the Cs! There's more to work than technical proficiency.

Project managers need a healthy arsenal of problem-solving skills; a good boss needs to know how to keep a team working together; leadership teams need to be able to delegate effectively. You can have all the technical proficiency in the world, but without these kinds of "soft" skills, you're not going to get far. 

A Case in Point

We regularly receive real-world tales from our subscribers on just how much of an impact mastering soft skills has on their work. Like this story from Mind Tools subscriber Sharon, a supervisor from Canada.

"I'd been having significant difficulty with staff members," Sharon said. "I was finding I was no longer able to effectively lead my team. I needed to enhance and hone my skills as a leader."

The solution? Improving her soft skills in leadership. (With a little help from Mind Tools.)

Our resources "... allowed me to focus in on my needs as well as the needs of my team," Sharon continued. "I've used a lot of the team-building tools, which have placed a focus on moving forward, not looking back." 

Top Tips for Learning at Work 

So if learning is so crucial to individuals and organizations alike, why do we struggle to find time for it and what can we do about it?  

To celebrate Learning at Work Week, here are some top tips for making time for learning.

Prioritize and Schedule 

First up: prioritize.  

You'll never find time for learning unless you make it a priority. One of my favorite of our resources is Eisenhower's Urgent/Important Principle. The 34^th U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower astutely distinguished between problems that are "urgent" and those that are "important." He said, "The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent."

The point is that it's easy to spend all your time on "urgent" things that demand all of your attention and lose sight of the "important" ones that don't have a set deadline – like learning. To combat this, you need to prioritize your development and schedule in your learning.  

Make Time

Scheduling requires carving out time in your calendar. When we think of learning at work, it's easy to picture a laborious in-person group course, taking up a whole day of the week, or even longer. But this is no longer the case. 

At Mind Tools, we've designed our resources to be consumed "on-the-go," whenever and wherever you need them, making it easier to schedule learning into a busy working week. So it's never been simpler to dedicate time to development. 

Talking about the "bite-sized" nature of Mind Tools resources, Spencer Holt, Global Director of Leader and Enterprise Development at AstraZeneca said, "Having a tool that you can access at any time – and, more importantly, meets your development needs – starts to help us build our culture of lifelong learning."

So build time into your week to focus on learning in a way that suits you. Block out your calendar, switch off alerts, and dedicate time to the "important" – you and your future. 

Use Online Resources 

Because learning is now liberated from the classroom, you can access information online at the point of need, at an appropriate level, and in a format that suits your learning preferences.  

Looking for an audio resource on presentation tips before a big speech? Want a video breaking down a complex strategy tool as you plot next quarter's KPIs? Online self-directed learning empowers people to chart their own course and make learning work for them. 

Combine Activities 

Learning isn't all dense textbooks and PowerPoint karaoke. There are so many ways to learn – and you can even combine it with other activities. You can listen to a podcast while on your commute or out on a run (check out the excellent Mind Tools Expert Voices Podcast while you're at it), or you could watch a video while you do some ironing or while having a quick pause from your work tasks.

A word of caution here, though. Generally, it's good practice to focus on one thing at a time. We're healthily suspicious of multitasking here at Mind Tools, as the evidence suggests that the human brain can't really focus on more than one thing at a time. 

But still, we're all different, and you may find that certain activities combine well for you. And that's the beauty of on-the-go learning – how you learn is up to you.

Learning at Work Week

A final word from our subscriber Sanya Selak. She's a CEO at an Austrian company and a convert to the benefits of soft skills and self-directed workplace learning.

Referring to the impact she's seen it have on her people, she told us: "Skills such as managing conflict, giving balanced feedback, working well with others, making well-informed decisions… [they're] all extremely valuable in our everyday life."

And Sanya's seen how learning like this benefits people outside work, too. "These skills will also help them manage their private lives much better," she says.

So try to make learning a core part of your working week by prioritizing it, scheduling the time, using online resources, and (if possible) combining it with other activities.  

Meanwhile, join our mailing list to stay up to date with workplace learning and start your development journey.

Happy learning at work week! 

Useful Resources

Here's a curated list of Mind Tools resources, themed around learning at work (please keep in mind you may need to be a member of the Mind Tools Club to access certain resources):

Self-Directed Learning Video
8 Ways to Prioritize Your Professional Development
Effective Scheduling
To-Do Lists
Eisenhower's Urgent/Important Principle Infographic
Why Soft Skills Matter
Learning Styles
The Learning Zone Model
Learning Curves Video

About the Author:

Matthew has 10 years of experience writing, editing and commissioning online content. As a content editor, he's worked in several industries – including charity, culture and travel – before finding his calling in L&D at Mind Tools, where he creates accessible, timely and engaging content for learners, across resource types.

The post Learning at Work Week – Tips For Workplace Learning appeared first on Mind Tools.

Fortunately, our latest bundle of videos addresses these very issues, and more! And whether you're studying a course alongside work, running a project, or managing a team through change, they can help your learning and innovation too. Here's how.

Become a Self-Directed Learner

Studying as an adult usually means being independent in your learning. No one else will hand you all the answers – you have to go out and get them yourself!

The good news is, we learn best when we know what we need to learn, and how we can learn it. And when we have more autonomy over our learning, we're more likely to enjoy it and retain the information. That's why self-directed learners are so effective. Watch the full Self-Directed Learning Video to discover seven ways you can take control of your learning!

Beware of Cognitive Overload

Once you've committed to a learning plan, it will feel exciting to start learning. But you can have too much of a good thing! If you notice yourself "switching off" or struggling to take in all the information you need, it may be that you're attempting to learn too much in one go. Our animated video explains why this happens – it's all to do with cognitive load theory. Watch a teaser below, or learn more with the full Cognitive Load Theory Video.

Use Learning Curves to Your Advantage!

Learning curves are especially useful tools if you're supporting a team to learn something new. Gaining a new skill can be a huge challenge at first. Usually, it will take a lot of time and resource for your team members to master it, but once they do, it's like second nature. That's what learning curves are all about, and you can use these graphs to track and support your team's learning.

First, learning curves are a helpful tool to prove that the learning process gets easier. So if your team is struggling to get to grips with new software for example, you can reassure them that with practice, they'll soon be using it with confidence. Plotting your own learning curve can also help you estimate different needs, like training, staff and materials. Find out how with our video.

Unlock the Potential of Diverse Teams

Because my master's course is run online, it's open to students all over the world. My peers come from all corners of the globe, and so by talking to them, I get really rich insights into different trends and cultures. My research and writing are all the better for it, because I'm able to explore ideas I never otherwise would have considered!

Diverse teams are hugely beneficial for the workplace, too. They spark innovation, minimize bias, and drive profit! But recruiting a diverse team isn't enough to benefit from diversity of thought. You need to promote and encourage their different ideas. So, to get the most out of your diverse team, watch our How to Encourage Diverse Perspectives Video.

About the Video Presenter

Our Self-Directed Learning and Learning Curves videos are presented by Jonathan Hancock. After 15 years as a BBC current affairs presenter and producer, Jonathan spent a decade in education, progressing from classroom teacher to school leader. He’s passionate about all aspects of learning, but has a special interest in memory, having won two Guinness World Records and the title of World Memory Champion. Jonathan has published 14 books on thinking and learning, designed training programs and competitions, and consulted for TV shows.

The post 4 Essential Learning Tools – Our NEW Learning and Innovation Videos! appeared first on Mind Tools.

My grandfather was my first mentor and taught me what it means to be a lifelong learner. Or, more importantly, how to enjoy learning for learning's sake.

He was an avid reader, learner and storyteller, and he approached every experience as an opportunity to grow and develop. I can clearly remember myself, eight years old, squatting down in his garden, helping him plant seeds. I'd learn about gardening and so much more: about the weather, seasons, soil, plants, and vegetables; about caring for nature; and about how we're all part of the same lifecycle.

Come to think of it, what I remember most about my grandfather (besides his gentleness, calming voice and good nature) are the countless life lessons I received from him. In the words of John Dewey, "Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself." My "Deda" (grandfather in the Slovene language) was the perfect embodiment of that.

Fast forward many years, and I often reflect on my childhood – when the seeds of lifelong learning were sown. I think about the factors, circumstances, motivators, and mindset that contributed to that.

Becoming a Lifelong Learner

Here are the questions I often refer to when it comes to promoting, supporting and inspiring lifelong learning:

• Can anyone be a lifelong learner?
• Can you master the art of lifelong learning?
• What are some ways we can all become lifelong learners?
• Is lifelong learning connected with a specific mindset?
• Are there principles or a framework for lifelong learning?
• Do we "need" to be(come) lifelong learners?
• What are the benefits of being a lifelong learner?
• How can the principles of lifelong learning support traditional learning, in the classroom and in the workplace?

What Are Your Learning Values?

When you reflect on those questions, you might discover a lot about your attitudes toward learning, and the values you attach to it.

And that might help you to pinpoint and define the different types of motivation that drive your learning.

Which activities do you choose because they bring you pleasure, for example? When do you learn in order to improve your effectiveness or achieve key goals? And do you ever learn for a purpose bigger than yourself or your job?

Confronting Your Learning Roadblocks

You may even become aware of some generalized beliefs about learning. For example, you might realize that there are thinking patterns that hold you back from continuous learning. Or you may recall some unpleasant memories that have been preventing you from finding joy in learning new things.

Talking about unpleasant memories takes me right back to my piano lessons in primary school. I wanted to play the piano for fun, not professionally. (I knew how concert pianists lived and how hard they worked for their careers, so being a young Pogorelić wasn't what I desired for myself!) As much as I enjoyed playing Bach, Beethoven and Handel, I wanted to play contemporary music. I even wanted to learn to play the Pink Panther theme!

Unfortunately, as my teachers were keen for me to pursue a music career professionally, but I wasn't, I stopped playing entirely after 10 years, and never touched the piano again.

The Recipe for Learning Success

Lifelong learning is not rocket science. It doesn't need to be perfect and polished. There are, however, two decisive factors that we need to consider when it comes to the success of lifelong learning.

As every good chef will tell you, without salt and pepper, any dish might fail. So, what are the salt and pepper of lifelong learning?

The Salt: Motivation

Not just any type of motivation, though: it's intrinsic motivation that plays a crucial role in any learning. It comes down to the reasons why we do the things that we do. Is it because of the outcome and the results we expect (extrinsic motivation) or because of our interest and enjoyment in the task itself (intrinsic motivation)?

When our actions stem from intrinsic motivation, we learn because of the joy of learning. We enjoy expanding our knowledge and skills and broadening our views. Our purpose for learning is enjoyment, growth, curiosity, self-expression, and fun – not getting good grades, winning prizes, or receiving perks.

When we're motivated by non-material benefits – the sheer joy of learning, any time, any place, and by our own choice – then we're also influencing our learning capacity. If we look at our children and their desire and need to learn daily – be it their first steps, first words, eating with a spoon, walking up and down the stairs, exploring the world around them – we can see that their desire to learn is unstoppable and insatiable. In fact, children have a "fluid" capacity for learning, otherwise known as a growth mindset.

As we grow older and our lives become more intertwined with formal learning and acquiring new skills on demand, our mindset can become fixed. We begin to believe that we've reached the limit of our creativity and skills. We may have become tired of formal, institutionalized learning, or might think that there's simply nothing left to learn (in terms of accredited/certified learning).

Perhaps Albert Einstein worded it better: "Once you stop learning, you start dying."

The Pepper: Mindset

"Learning is about living, and as such is lifelong."

Bente Elkjaer, professor at the Danish School of Education

More than anything else we must embrace all opportunities to learn. Not all knowledge lies in books, nor does all learning happen in the classroom. There are small changes in your thinking that will have an impact. I practice these simple tricks with my students regularly.

For example, replace "I'm not smart" with "I'm really smart when it comes to _________."

Instead of saying "I don't like challenges" say "Overcoming challenges makes me grow."

Change "I don't know how" to "I can learn."

Reframe "I give up" to "I can't succeed if I don't try."

Add to these a few simple personalized goals:

• Lifelong learning is your responsibility.
• Identify your learning style and adapt your approach to suit your individual needs.
• Try new things regularly.
• Ask (many) questions.
• Find a mentor and become a mentor to others.
• Start or join a learning group or find an accountability partner.
• Put your knowledge and skills into practice (whenever possible).
• Keep a record of your learning journey.
• Take advantage of tools, technologies and digital spaces that support learning.

Oh, and don't forget to have fun!

#MTtalk Roundup: The Art of Lifelong Learning

During Friday's #MTtalk Twitter chat, we discussed why it's important to be a lifelong learner; why you want to keep on learning; and how to accomplish it. Here are all the questions we asked, and some of the best responses:

Q1. Is lifelong learning a state of mind, an art, or a matter of chance? Please explain.

@JennaDrei I think it's a state of mind! Anyone who is open to new things is always learning and taking lessons from them!

@BrainBlenderTec It's a matter of acceptance. Every moment can be one of learning if you are open to it.

@Midgie_MT Lifelong learning is both a state of mind and an art. It is about having an attitude of curiosity and questioning, exploring and discovering. The approach that [some]one takes towards their learning may be an art form in how they do their learning.

Q2. What did you most value from required/formal learning in school and at work?

@jaxgaither I valued the experiences I was given and learning from other people's ideas. It was cool to see others' thoughts in different subjects.

@MikeB_MT I'm a believer in "perspective by incongruity" (I think that's a Kenneth Burke construct). Always bringing ideas from other disciplines and industries into my work, combining what feels like two disparate ideas, trying to create something new and fresh.

Q3. What was of least value from your required/formal learning at school and work?

@NWarind Learning has a value, and if learned well, the value will be ever increasing.

@ZalaB_MT Learning by memorizing. I know that some studies require it – medicine or law, but not all. I "hated" memorizing theories that were not "put into practice". It's just words, with no context or substance.

Q4. In your experience, what or who has been an unexpected source of learning?

@CaptRajeshwar Villagers supplying milk to a cooperative dairy. They knew more than what we learned about technology: fat, rates, mixing, difference of test in time gap, etc. Never take a ground man lightly; they know more than you studied.

@J_Stephens_CPA As I wrap up the formal philosophy side of ethics, I'm looking forward to looking at more of the professional side of ethics again.

Q5. What would you most like to learn now, at this stage in your life/career?

@KarinnaSimmons I want to learn a new language! Being a polyglot is on my bucket list.

@gabrielle_lohr I would like to set aside some more time for myself outside of my career & dive into the art of French cooking!

Q6. How could learning unrelated skills from unrelated industries/roles benefit you?

@ColfaxInsurance (Alyx) Even if it feels unrelated, the skills you learn can easily translate to your career and other aspects of your life! Over the past couple years I learned how to incubate chicken eggs, which also taught me patience, and boy is that handy for everything!

@SarahH_MT I love how learning something unrelated to my work can spark more creativity in me. And it's amazing how seemingly unrelated skills are super-transferable to other areas.

Q7. What non-traditional methods of learning have you tried?

@Yolande_MT One method of learning that has served me well is to commit to doing something I know nothing about – and then to start learning and applying at a furious pace. It gives me immense satisfaction. (This Twitter chat falls in that category...)

@CaptRajeshwar Worked in organization as a hidden worker to know the tricks, gaps, road blocks, igniters, catalysts... It solved most of the issues.

Q8. What are some of the rewards of being a lifelong learner?

@gabrielle_lohr The biggest reward is constant growth. Every time you learn, you're adding more knowledge to the database inside your mind! Without lifelong learning, you miss out on new ideas, methods & innovations.

@KarinnaSimmons Keeping your brain active to help prevent any memory loss! It's something I think about often and try to practice every day. Yay, brain health!

Q9. What are some good tips to apply lifelong learning in our life/work?

@jaxgaither Be curious! You never know what you'll find if you don't question things.

@Midgie_MT Simple tip... make regular time in your diary for the learning to take place. Also, make a plan if you have a specific objective or goal to be achieved (like a date when I am going to Italy this summer!)

Q10. How will you encourage others to become lifelong learners?

@SoniaH_MT To encourage others to become lifelong learners, I will keep asking, "why?" This will help us all to learn by seeking answers and debunking myths or inaccuracies.

@NWarind By telling your story with the aspect of teaching.

To read all the tweets, have a look at the Wakelet collection of this chat.

Coming Up: Food and Work

Lifelong learning opens up opportunities to gain new and unexpected knowledge. When we add food to the activity, we gain a chance to bond, learn and accept. Next time on #MTtalk we're going to discuss how to build community and culture in the workplace through food. In our Twitter poll this week we'd like to know how you feel when there's food at work and you're invited to eat.

"The Art of Lifelong Learning" Resources

Note that you'll need to be a Mind Tools Club or Corporate member to see all of the resources in full.

Learning Curves

How to Boost Your Self-Motivation Video

Learning Styles

Building Expert Power

Enabling Genius

How to Create a Personal Learning Plan

Journaling for Professional Development

70:20:10

Purposeful Practice

Staying Challenged

Five Moments of Learning Need Video

Virtual Learning

Never Stop Learning

Gagné's Nine Levels of Learning

The Learning Zone Model

The Five Elements of Effective Thinking

How to Learn From Your Mistakes

The post The Art of Lifelong Learning – #MTtalk Roundup appeared first on Mind Tools.

I was on a writing retreat – a learning holiday.

Learning holidays combine instruction and skill development with exploration of a destination. And they're growing in popularity.

Educational Vacations

If you yearn to learn while traveling, there are plenty of options to explore: you can find group or solo trips; you can practice a language; learn a new art form; explore history; try a new sport; or engage in a combination of activities.

This wasn't my first time mixing education with travel. As the U.K. began to open up from COVID-19 restrictions, I did a couple of budget-friendly "eduvacations."

I used the Workaway website – which matches travelers with hosts offering accommodation in exchange for labor – to spend two weeks on an estate in South Wales. I helped with chores around the bed-and-breakfast and garden while learning about farming and the local area from my gracious hosts (and their pigs, ducks and chickens).

On another trip, I spent a week working on a farm in the Scottish Highlands, learning how to care for horses – and sleeping in an actual barn. Both experiences were a lot of fun!

I thought of those travels as I contemplated holiday destinations last year. I'd been saying for years, "Someday I'll go on a writing retreat." With travel restrictions lessened, it felt like time to take the plunge.

Writing in Good Company

I'd been drafting a novel for a year and a half and wanted to get it done. A writing retreat seemed like the ideal way to focus on my goal while traveling and finding a social community.

I researched retreats and decided on Chez Castillon, a gorgeous 18^th-century home owned by two U.K. expats who host creative retreats in France's wine country. The September retreat was led by Julie Cohen, author of award-winning novels that have sold over a million copies worldwide. I figured I'd learn a lot from someone with that experience.

The first surprise of the retreat was the age gap!

I'm in my mid-thirties. The other participants? Some of them had children my age. I felt a little awkward edging my way into the group, but everyone was welcoming. After some wine and cheese by the pool, I relaxed considerably!

The participants ranged from someone brand new to creative writing to a seasoned author of multiple self-published books. We all had things to learn from each other.

Discipline and Accountability

Having heard stories of writers who went on retreats and didn't end up writing, I wasn't sure how much work I'd do poolside in the balmy French climate. But I chose a retreat where I'd be happy with either outcome. Work or no work, it would be great to spend time in a beautiful house, eating delicious food and chatting around town in the fluent French I don't get many chances to use.

I enjoyed all of those things – and learned more about writing than I'd thought possible. Before the retreat, Julie had read outlines and chapters for participants' projects, so she was able to give individualized feedback. As a mentor, she zeroed in on my challenge of complicating my story while struggling to articulate its heart.

Another day, she led a workshop on plotting novels with the help of sticky notes. She showed me that the structure of my novel wasn't working as intended. I spent a morning organizing colorful notes as I reorganized the plot. It's a much more coherent manuscript now.

I learned much about self-publishing from one participant, and a great deal about thinking through plot structure from others. I found activity partners to swim or run with in the mornings. And in a group of peers who took their writing seriously, I took mine more seriously, too.

Toward the Future

I'm glad to have gone on a writing retreat last year. In terms of both enjoyment and accomplishment, it was more than I'd hoped for. I'd love to go on another learning holiday and experience that unique mix of culture and activity engagement. Maybe I'll do something language-related next time!

If the idea of a learning holiday piques your interest, consider looking for something that matches what you already love to do (like writing for me), something you've always wanted to do, or a challenge you'd like to take on. Do your research and find options that seem exciting – not just educational.

And once you're on the road, stay open-minded. Part of the fun of learning on vacation is that you don't know what you're going to learn until you learn it!

Have you been on a learning holiday? How did it work out? Let us know in the Comments, below!

The post My Learning Holiday – an Education on Vacation appeared first on Mind Tools.

Looking Back – Your Top Tips!

There's so much I've learned personally and professionally, a lot of which would have come in handy at the start of my career! So, with this in mind, I asked our followers "What career advice would you give your younger self?"

Although asking questions and taking risks was top for some, 67 percent of our social media followers said that they would tell their younger selves to believe in themselves. Negative self-talk is very common, but it’s crucial to overcome pessimistic thinking and believe more in ourselves and our abilities.

Many of our followers also chimed in with their own valuable advice that they had gathered throughout their careers.

Listen and Learn

Recruitment Officer, Beata Gowland said to "Remember it's never too late to learn new things." The working landscape is constantly evolving, so make sure that you’re keeping up-to-date with the latest tools, trends and technologies.

In any stage of your career, you can't be expected to know everything. State Manager, John Tan, said that he would tell his younger self to "have purpose and listen to those around you." Take stock of the people around you. You might be surprised how much knowledge they have to share. Listen to others and absorb as much as you can in order to develop and grow throughout your career.

Create a Happy Balance

Senior Marketing and Communications Manager, Simone H, would advise her younger self not to "give up your career completely to raise a family." Balancing work and life can be tricky, especially for women in the workplace. But with the right tools and skills, you can find harmony between the two. You may not even have to choose between work and your personal life – you can have both.

Zala Bricelj on Twitter included four suggestions for striking a good work-life balance.

"Protect your personal boundaries, don't overwork yourself into exhaustion – speak up before that. Be mindful of your work-life balance – hustling won't bring any add value in the long run." And finally, "Work is work, fun is fun."

All good advice – a lot of what I've learned over these past years has to do with work-life balance, and prioritization is a big part of that. For example, my perception of "working hard" is very different now than it was at the start of my career. I know now that you don't have to work long into the night to show your dedication to your job. And that what I once thought was "going the extra mile" was actually just bad time management.

Get Planning

Looking back and reflecting on how far you've come can make you think about what lies ahead. Setting yourself goals that you really want to achieve, and planning out how to reach them, is an energizing and empowering experience, so why not get started now?

The 2023 Life Plan helps examine where you are now, explore your dreams, create powerful goals, and start preparing for the future. Join the Mind Tools Club before January 17 and get our Life Plan workbook for FREE!

The post What Career Advice Would You Give Your Younger Self? appeared first on Mind Tools.

This year's Black History Month is about moving beyond a focus on the past by highlighting the Black history that's being made every day, taking action against racism, and celebrating the stories and achievements of Black people from all walks of life.

Given the thematic focus, it might seem ironic that we've put together a reading list! But we want to highlight some wonderful books that do exactly as the theme suggests – spotlight the contributions of Black people today and celebrate African heritage. Learning is the first step toward taking action, and for readers outside of Black communities, it can facilitate understanding, which helps with being a good ally.

Here are four books to learn from and enjoy this month:

"I Am a Girl From Africa" by Elizabeth Nyamayaro

Nyamayaro is a senior U.N. advisor and award-winning humanitarian. Her moving memoir begins with her experience of drought in Zimbabwe at age eight, when a U.N. worker saved her life with a bowl of porridge.

Nyamayaro was inspired to pursue humanitarian work herself, seeking to uplift others just as her life was uplifted. Her dream – persistently pursued through travel across Africa, to the U.K., and beyond – is rooted in the African idea of ubuntu, "I am because we are." Nyamayaro founded the HeForShe Global Solidarity Movement for Gender Equality, and she's now the Special Advisor for the U.N. World Food Programme.

"A Bigger Picture" by Vanessa Nakate

When Vanessa Nakate, the only Black African activist photographed with four white Europeans at a climate conference, was cropped out of a press photo, she realized just how vital her presence and recognition were in the climate movement. "They hadn't just cropped me out," she writes. "They'd cropped out a whole continent."

Despite having lower carbon emissions, African countries are dealing with the harshest consequences of climate change, such as food scarcity, floods, droughts, and deaths. In her book, Nakate explains why it's important for the fight against climate change to include perspectives like hers, how she became a climate activist, how the climate emergency is connected to multiple forms of equality, and why it's so important to take action.

She highlights the voices of activists, from Africa and beyond, and shares solutions that you can implement now.

"Africa Is Not a Country" by Dipo Faloyin

We're all familiar with the stereotypes about Africa: footage of suffering people in stunning landscapes. Faloyin looks beyond these hackneyed narratives, using humor and history to present a modern portrait of a diverse, vibrant continent.

Readers will learn about African nations' colonial pasts, and their continued struggles for democracy. Faloyin introduces us to Lagos' urban scene, we learn the places Africans would need to travel to visit their cultural artifacts (90 percent of which are outside the continent), and we discover the rivalry over which West African country makes the best jollof rice.

Faloyin's love of Africa's many different cultures shines through the pages. It's a compelling corrective to the dangers of collapsing our ideas about an entire continent into a single story.

"New Daughters of Africa" by Margaret Busby

A follow-up to Busby's 1992 landmark anthology, "Daughters of Africa," this ground-breaking international collection brings together writing from over 200 women of African descent.

From 1900 to the present day, it collects work from Antigua to Zimbabwe, celebrating the wide-ranging voices of the African diaspora. While common themes emerge, celebrating shared heritage and continued battles against obstacles of gender, class and race, the included works display richness and multiplicity. Genres range from memoir to poetry to humor to journalism.

The anthology includes writing by both well-known and overlooked writers. Contributors include Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Malorie Blackman, Zadie Smith, Bernardine Evaristo, and Warsan Shire. Not to be missed!

Take Action

These books are fantastic for learning about Black history. But only through action can we create change. Keep an eye out for our upcoming blog on how to be an anti-racist ally.

And in the meantime, learn more from our blogs about racism in the workplace: Our First Conversation and No Laughing Matter. You can also learn how to tackle discrimination or bullying with our articles.

What are you reading for Black History Month? Is your organization doing anything to mark it? Let us know in the Comments, below!

© Original artwork by Anna Montgomery.

The post Black History Month U.K. Reads appeared first on Mind Tools.

She thought she'd turned it on, and when she accidentally touched the metal, she expected to get burned. To her brain, that expectation mattered more than the fact that there was no heat at all.

This is an example of the "nocebo" effect, when a negative expectation delivers a negative result. It's the opposite of the placebo effect, when belief in a positive outcome creates a positive outcome.

Getting What You Expect

The science writer David Robson has been exploring how these phenomena can help us in all sorts of ways.

He's recently brought his research together in a fascinating new book, "The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Transform Your Life," which I discussed with him in our Expert Interview podcast.

In this audio clip, David outlines the history and science behind the placebo effect, which first emerged in the world of medicine.

Robson's research shows that "expectation effects" – where expectation has a measurable and significant impact on effect – can happen in all areas of life.

"When we're doing exercise, when we're dieting... [expectation] can affect our sleep and how we deal with sleep loss, how we respond to stress – all of these things can be shaped by our expectations with really profound results," he says.

Don't Stress About Stress!

In Robson's book, there's a whole chapter on "de-stressing stress," where I was surprised to read that worrying about being anxious, which feels so modern, actually stretches back more than 100 years. Foreshadowing Bobby McFerrin's hit song urging us to "be happy," some people in the 19th century established Don't Worry Clubs. These were intended to combat unnecessary stress and generate the happiness that members believed was essential for good health.

"There was always this idea that stress and anxiety, however we experience them, are inherently bad for us... and what the recent research says is that's not necessarily true," David Robson says. "It actually depends on your attitudes and beliefs about stress and anxiety [as to] whether they harm you or whether they might actually sometimes be quite useful sources of energy."

Specifically, we can harness the "adaptive value of anxious feelings" – and then tap into their potential advantages.

Make Your Anxiety Work for You

"One of these advantages is when your heart is beating really quickly, it's pumping lots of blood to your brain," Robson explains. "It's carrying oxygen and glucose to your brain cells, which will sharpen your thinking. Similarly, even the stress hormones like cortisol can actually help to improve your mental acuity."

So rather than being worried about being worried, creating a downward spiral of negativity, we can reframe anxiety as helpful – with surprising results.

"When you shift [into] that mindset… what happens is that people do actually start to use the anxiety as a source of energy," Robson says. "And that can be seen in things like their performance on exams, their performance at public speaking."

Robson tells me that he uses this technique himself, and to good effect. He used to be more of a worrier.

"It's just so much easier for me to reconfigure my thoughts in that way, to just feel the feelings and to acknowledge them and to not try to deny them. But to also just recognize that they could be useful to me," he shares.

Don't Worry, Be Happy?

That debunks "don't worry." What about "be happy"? Robson has some thoughts.

He argues that the relentless pursuit of happiness creates "a negative expectation effect." If we labor under the belief that we should always try to be happy, when we feel anger, disappointment or frustration, we experience a sense of failure and even shame. It's another downward spiral.

His advice is to recast those negative emotions as useful messengers of something important.

Take feeling disappointment, for example. "Disappointment is really horrible to experience, but actually it's helping to tell you that the goal that you were trying to achieve really mattered, and that maybe you can learn something from your failure," David Robson suggests.

So just as with anxiety, we should sit with unexpected unhappiness, however uncomfortable, and think about how it might be beneficial.

"What the research shows is that people who do that, who have a more accepting attitude to negative feelings and who see meaning in their negative feelings, they actually show a lot better kind of mental health and physical health," Robson says.

It's refreshing to think that both stress and unhappiness can be good for the mind and body – if we change the way we deal with them, and change our expectations around them. It might not prevent us from burning ourselves on a cold oven, but it could make a positive difference to our mood and productivity in our everyday lives.

Listen to My Interview With David Robson

Discover fascinating insights from some of the world's leading business figures with my series of Mind Tools Expert Interviews.

If you're not a Mind Tools Club member, you can join here, and access over 2,400 resources, including more than 200 Expert Interviews. For enterprise licensing, request a demo from one of our team.

The post David Robson's Expectation Effect: My Expert Interview appeared first on Mind Tools.

Certain that a fake news article had sent people into overdrive, I switched on my computer. But it was true. There were major riots breaking out across South Africa.

Immediately, my mind was spinning. Is my family OK? Do I have enough fuel in my car? Is the grocery cupboard stocked? Do I have enough broccoli (my food addiction) and milk (for my coffee addiction)? Most importantly: do I have enough dog food to keep a 45 kg Rottweiler going for a few weeks?

Driven to Distraction

So I sped over to the grocery store, followed by a frantic trip to the vet to get dog food, and piled back into my car. But then it all went south.

As I slowly backed out of the parking spot, and my car's parking sensor beeped to a steady rhythm, my mind was racing. I checked items off the growing to-do list in my head, remembered that I had to phone my aunt when I got home, and worried about being home alone since my husband was out of the country.

I looked at the image on the console from the reverse-view camera as I wondered if I should have picked up more bottled water at the grocery store, and how I'd work if the Wi-Fi went down.

But even as the sensor's beeping became faster, and a large metal pole loomed into the camera's view, my mind was on other things.

My car's fender met the pole. My stomach echoed the thud – and my heart, too.

Repeating the Cycle

This wasn't the first time I'd had a small accident when feeling stressed. The car had already suffered a few bumps and scrapes, I'd dropped a weight on my foot, and I'd even been catapulted off a treadmill because I wasn't concentrating. It's funny now. It wasn't funny then.

I was convinced I'd learned my lesson that I needed to be extra careful when I feel overwhelmed – but obviously I hadn't. I'd heard the beeping of the parking sensor and I'd been watching the camera image. But I'd still dented the fender.

I had identified the lesson after previous incidents, but clearly I hadn't learned it.

If it was truly a lesson learned, I would have applied the knowledge. I would have taken a few seconds to breathe, return to the present, and get my thoughts under control before I started the car.

More Lessons Identified

Burnout

Many people suffer from repeated burnout. They'll tell you that their body often warns them to slow down – and they know that they should listen. Yet, they have to get to the brink of burnout (or worse) before they slow down.

Boundaries

Perhaps you're a people pleaser. Despite learning the hard way that there are some people you can't trust, you continue to compromise your own boundaries for the sake of "keeping the peace." But you can only protect yourself from toxic people if you learn to keep your boundaries firmly in place.

Procrastination

Procrastination causes a specific type of stress: you feel anxious, restless, you can't enjoy anything, and you feel terrible about yourself. After a particularly bad and stressful experience, you promise yourself that you've learned the lesson. You also know how much better you feel when you stay on top of your tasks instead of working through the night. But, slowly, you start procrastinating again until the next crisis hits. Does that sound familiar?

Lessons Identified Vs. Lessons Learned

During Friday's #MTtalk Twitter chat, we discussed the difference between identifying a lesson and learning a lesson. Here are all the questions we asked, and some of the best responses:

Q1. How do we usually identify life lessons? What happens?

@HloniphileDlam7 When we stumble we learn the most. Pain also teaches us a lot.

@carriemaslen We can only identify life lessons after we've learned them first hand!

Q2 What's the difference between a lesson identified and a lesson learned?

@SoniaH_MT Lesson Identified + Action Taken or Modified Behavior = Lesson Learned

@SarahH_MT  Lesson identified requires looking back. It's reflecting on what happened and what needs to change. Lesson learned is looking forward and in the present moment. It's also active. By changing x, y, z I got a better outcome. I'll do more of that in the future.

@MarkC_Avgi Burning your hand on something hot, once, is a lesson identified. Burning your hand on something hot, more than once, you only identified it. Obviously, you did not learn anything after you identified the initial lesson.

Q3. Why might we think we've learned the lesson when in fact we've only identified it?

@Yolande_MT I think myself to exhaustion about lessons identified. I think myself so tired that it feels as if I've learned them.

@TheTomGReid Until the lesson is internalized and made part of our belief structure, it is not learned. We might be aware of a certain gap in our logic or sentiment and not be able to explain it. Could be due to it being an ugly truth we are not ready to accept.

Q4. When you hear a business or community leader say "lessons have been learned" what do you see happen next? What would you advise?

@Midgie_MT Often times those are empty words because it is not followed up with tangible, visible action to address the problem/ issue. My advice is to take action and demonstrate what concrete things are being done.

@J_Stephens_CPA More often than not, it only means a lesson has been identified.  Corrective actions need to be taken (not blame).

Q5. What type of lessons seem easy to identify but harder to learn?

@Dwyka_Consult It's very easy to identify lessons that other people need to learn... that's my lesson that's easy to identify and hard to learn: to remember that other people will learn what they learn.

@Tanjiskas For me it's the lessons that require me to change my beliefs, the deepest fibre of my being. Those are really hard because most of the time it is something I have learned in childhood.

Q6. What strategies or techniques have you discovered to learn lessons more quickly?

@TheTomGReid Rather than make resolutions based on your "resolve" set up systems that modify your behavior. Keep the cookies on the top shelf until you stop buying them at all. All your goals can be achieved if you set up the systems that modify your behavior. Willpower is weak.

@SoniaH_MT Asking or researching someone else who has successfully conquered the issue you're dealing with can help you learn lessons more quickly.

Q7. How and when do you know if you've learned the lesson?

@lg217 You will know when your life lesson is learned once you are able to identify the lesson as well as understand the life lesson to the point when you know the ins and outs as well if what you learned is right or wrong to do.

@ZalkaB When you are in a similar situation or faced with similar circumstances, and it doesn't trigger you anymore and/ or you react differently, because you've changed.

Q8. What lessons have you identified that you're still struggling to learn?

@J_Stephens_CPA  I keep "volunteering."

@MarkC_Avgi To not get "sucked in" to topics on Twitter by responding to tweets which I have strong opinions about, or to attend every argument I am invited to.

Q9. How do you begin to move from lesson learned to lesson applied?

@yehiadief When you teach the lesson to others.

@SarahH_MT By being more mindful, building in more time to notice earlier what's working and what isn't, building self-awareness, setting personal goals and commitments, creating habits and routines that support/ reinforce the learning, being prepared for imperfection.

Q10. In what way can you help others identify and learn life lessons?

@ColfaxInsurance Ultimately, the power to identify and learn those lessons is up to them. You can offer advice, share your own experiences, and point out patterns, but they will need to do the learning on their own.

@HloniphileDlam7 First, find them; connect to what drives them and you will understand their path, share experience, warn and caution, and also be there when they learn their lessons – usually there are tears involved. By just being there they will learn the most from you.

To read all the tweets, have a look at the Wakelet collection of this chat over here.

Coming Up

If you're struggling to move from lesson identified to lesson learned to lesson applied, an accountability partner might be just what you need. Next time on #MTtalk we'll be discussing accountability partners. In our Twitter poll this week, we want to know which characteristics you'd like to see in an accountability partner.

Resources

Note that you will need to be a Mind Tools Club or Corporate member to see all of the resources in full.

Developing Self-Awareness

10 Common Leadership and Management Mistakes

The Power of Good Habits

Intentional Change Theory

How to Defeat Self-Sabotage Video

Self-Mastery

How to Learn From Your Mistakes

Breaking Bad Habits

Self-Sabotage

8 Ways to Improve Self-Regulation

Golden Rules of Goal-Setting

Mindfulness in the Workplace

The post Lessons Identified Vs. Lessons Learned – #MTtalk Roundup appeared first on Mind Tools.

But bad teachers are just as memorable and influential, though for all the wrong reasons. I remember a few teachers I've had that have taught me that teaching isn't for everyone.

"I Don't Enjoy Teaching"

As a kid, I really wanted to be able to sing and play the guitar. I envisioned myself performing on a sold-out tour to a crowd of adoring fans, my name in lights. (I was a bit of a fantasist back then.)

But considering I'd never even held a guitar before, I was probably going to need a few lessons first. So, after making some inquiries in our area, my mom found a local guitar tutor with a good reputation. Apparently, he even made his own guitars. Promising... So my mom got in touch and arranged an introductory lesson. Worldwide tour, here I come!

We arrived at the tutor's house, and he let us both in. He showed us his workshop and all his beautiful handcrafted guitars. First impressions were good so far. He showed me the different strings and frets (I really was starting from scratch!) and a few basic chords. "This is great," I thought. "I can already taste the fame!" We immediately scheduled another lesson.

But that was about as good as it got. Just as we were about to leave, he told me, "I don't enjoy teaching." Oh.

A Demotivation Spiral

And unfortunately, that quickly became apparent in our lessons. He never seemed fully present or particularly happy. He would check his phone every so often, and I felt like I was just wasting his time – he obviously had better things to get on with. Neither of us enjoyed the hour-long sessions, and, as a result, I would never practice at home.

I found myself stuck in a catch-22: I was unwilling to put in the effort outside of lessons because they were so unenjoyable, but that made them all the more tedious because I never made any progress!

My plans for stardom faded away, and I simply didn't care enough to try anymore. Who wants a Grammy anyway?!

Hitting the Right Note

But one week I had a burst of motivation and, for once, sat down to practice. I tried to remember what he'd taught me – practice the bars slowly and gradually build up speed – and I repeated it over and over until it came easily.

The following lesson was the best we ever had. He could see that I had applied myself and practiced, and he could now help me move on to something harder. I felt a sense of pride and achievement, and he was evidently more enthused to teach.

Looking back, I can understand how demotivating and almost insulting it must have been for him to see that I hadn't bothered to practice each week. In truth, he wasn't a bad teacher – he had the skills and expertise to teach, after all. He just lacked passion for teaching, which was exacerbated in large part by my unwillingness to do my bit.

Teaching When You Don't Want to Teach

On the other hand, I recall having a Film Studies tutor at university who was reluctant to teach, despite the fact that his students were fully committed.

He was a Ph.D. student, and in order to attain his qualification he had to lead undergraduate seminars. You'd think that since he was teaching his chosen topic of European Cinema, he'd be enthusiastic and inspired, eager to discuss the great early filmmakers like Jean-Luc Goddard and Roberto Rossellini with like-minded individuals. But you'd be wrong.

Every two-hour class was the same: we'd watch part of a film that we'd already seen, and then sit in almost complete silence. It was agonizing.

The tutor barely attempted to fuel the discussion, seldom asking questions to spark debate and never responding to our contributions. It was like trying to get blood from a stone!

It was no surprise that by the end of the term, only a handful of us would come to his seminars – and we only showed up for a good attendance score!

He struck me as a bad teacher not only because he lacked mentoring skills – there was no teaching strategy, and he seemed too nervous to speak, unable to lead the class effectively – but also because he wasn't willing to put any effort in. We all did the reading each week, but he never enabled us to discuss it properly. Likely he only ran the classes to get a good attendance score, too. He was doing the bare minimum to achieve his Ph.D..

Bad Student or Bad Teacher?

Now I'm having driving lessons and I've been through a number of different instructors.

One of them, like my guitar teacher, made it very clear that he didn't enjoy teaching. He would often cancel the lesson at short notice and give a half-hearted excuse. "Am I so bad that he can't face another lesson with me?" I often wondered. "Am I just unteachable?!"

But whenever he did give me a lesson, he always seemed bored and annoyed when I made a mistake (and I made a lot of mistakes). I lost my confidence, which of course made me a worse learner. I wouldn't ask questions – too afraid I might look stupid. And I would constantly second-guess myself. Before a lesson was over, I'd already be dreading the next.

Then a COVID-19 lockdown put an emergency stop to our lessons, and I was secretly quite relieved. We never scheduled another.

How to Avoid Being a Bad Teacher

My current driving instructor is the complete opposite. He always seems happy to see me, he welcomes questions, and he focuses each lesson on what I want to cover. He gives me lots of constructive feedback and encouragement, and he always seems eager to begin.

Better yet, he uses a variety of teaching strategies to accommodate me. Sometimes he'll use diagrams to explain maneuvers, or he'll even do a demonstration so that I know what an emergency stop should feel like, for example. (I was always a little too tentative on the brakes.)

In contrast, my "bad" teachers all lacked passion for teaching. I think they forgot why they were teaching in the first place. A reluctant teacher isn't necessarily a bad teacher, but I've learned that enthusiasm is required for students to flourish.

Certain jobs evidently aren't for everyone. But while it may not be easy to change your career in the fallout of COVID-19, there are small changes you can make to improve your job satisfaction. If you're feeling stuck in a role that you don't enjoy, download our 2021 Life Plan.

Have you had any bad teachers who hindered your learning? Were you able to make it a better experience? Let us know in the comments!

The post Teachers – The Good, the Bad, and the Unwilling appeared first on Mind Tools.

"In the highest-performing organizations, managers recognized excellence," he tells me, in our Expert Interview podcast. "That's how their employees defined this over and over again: 'When I go above and beyond, my manager notices and rewards that behavior in a way that is meaningful to me.'"

Unexpected Thanks

This certainly rings true for me.

I still have a note from a radio station manager, handwritten years ago, thanking me for creating a "consistently good" radio show, with interesting content and high-quality sound. "He listens!" I thought at the time, delighted. "To me!"

This unexpected expression of thanks boosted my motivation and kept me working hard on the graveyard shift, night after night.

According to Adrian Gostick, bespoke, personal thanks like this packs a powerful punch. It's one of the tips in his new book, "Leading with Gratitude: Eight Leadership Practices for Extraordinary Business Results," which is co-written with his long-time collaborator, Chester Elton.

The Two Sides of Gratitude

The authors see gratitude as a two-part process. The first part is seeing – not just what a person is doing, but how that work adds value to the team and the organization.

Beyond that, you also need to see past the work, all the way to the individual and what's important to them.

This is crucial to the second part of the process – expressing gratitude. This must be personalized, whether it's a hand-written thank you (like the one I received), a quick word in a corridor, or a thoughtful reward.

If the thanks isn't tailored to the person receiving it, it's barely worth expressing. To illustrate, Gostick recalled an anecdote about a manager who liked to show his gratitude with Starbucks cards. "It didn't matter if you cleaned out the supply cabinet or you saved a $1 million client, you got the $5 coffee card," Gostick recounts.

The manager insisted that people loved this system. Skeptical, Gostick suggested he ask a few of them, just to check.

So he did, and discovered that one of his team, who didn't like coffee, had been giving the gift cards to a neighbor. With a jolt, the manager realized he'd been rewarding his employee's neighbor for years.

Peer-to-Peer Recognition

One of Gostick's most useful tips is that anyone can help to build a culture of gratitude in the workplace, not just team leaders.

In fact, "Peer-to-peer recognition and gratitude is overtaking top-down," he says. And he shares a perfect example from his own company, the Culture Works.

One day, Gostick dropped by the office to collect something and found the team gathered in a group. One of his trainers, Chris, was thanking their logistics person, Barbanne.

"Chris had got to a city and realized he had no training materials," Gostick says. "The materials hadn't arrived, so he called in a panic. It's after five, Barbanne was still there and said, 'I'll take care of you.'"

"She grabbed some materials and found the last FedEx location out by the airport which would take a delivery at 7 p.m. and at 9 o'clock the next morning Chris had his materials in a different city, and he felt, 'Oh my gosh, I'm saved.' So [now], he is recognizing her… he's just thanking her for her dependability, for her ownership of that issue."

Gostick had stumbled upon this "recognition moment" by accident, and he was moved by how meaningful it was for his team.

Breaking Silos With Gratitude

In another memorable example, he tells us how peer-to-peer recognition helped one company break down silos. Weekly staff meetings, which included all 60 employees, always started with recognition. Random people would be asked to recognize somebody in another department who had helped them the previous week.

"So, John in sales was asked, who are you going to recognize today? And he said, 'I think I will recognize Aaron in accounting, because when I sell a deal Aaron always jumps in and talks to the client and makes them feel great about their purchase and gets the accounting working, so I want to recognize Aaron.' So, the boss would give Aaron a gift certificate," Gostick recalls.

This created a sense of one big team, "because everybody was worrying about who else they could help during a given week."

Gostick makes a strong case for the power of gratitude at work. Maybe the way to get more recognition is to give more. Who can you thank today?

Listen to Our Interview With Adrian Gostick

Discover fascinating insights from some of the world's leading business figures with our monthly Expert Interviews.

Mind Tools Premium and corporate members can listen to the full 30-minute interview with Adrian Gostick in the Mind Tools Club.

If you're not a Mind Tools member, you can join the Mind Tools Club and gain access to our 2,400+ resources. For our corporate solutions, take a look at our Emerald Works site.

The post The Power of Gratitude: Our Expert Interview With Adrian Gostick appeared first on Mind Tools.