Hosts Merv Jersak and Tim Jerome explore the importance of self-learning and self-directed learning for project managers. Emphasizing the learnable nature of learning itself, they discuss cultivating a learning mindset, the benefits of adaptability, and how making and reflecting on mistakes contributes to growth. The conversation touches on strategies such as practice, active reading, effective notetaking, and time management. They highlight the value of curiosity, motivation, and setting up a conducive learning environment, along with the significance of emotional intelligence and self-awareness. The episode concludes with a discussion on creating guardrails and recognizing the importance of learning from failure to provide value to oneself, teams, and customers.

Main Take-Aways

The benefits of self-learning:

• to keep up with the changes
• to understand that mistakes are not bad
• to apply emotional intelligence
• to use your natural curiosity and motivation
• to increase your self-confidence

How to learn how to learn:

• put your learning into practice immediately
• apply learning strategies
• consolidate new learnings into a journal
• cultivate a growth mindset
• follow your natural curiosity
• learn to self-reflect
• apply lessons learned
• learn to contribute to and share ideas in group situations
• learn from your mistakes
• focus on what you don’t understand
• develop strong learning habits
• embrace your failures
• establish guardrails
• analyze failures and mistakes and identify areas for change and growth
• don’t berate yourself for failures or mistakes

Show Notes

Today’s Project Managers Coffee Chat: Why Self-Learning is Important

00:27 Introducing the importance of learning and cultivating a learning mindset. Learning to learn is learnable! Yet so often we are taught to learn through memorization which is less effective.

01:33 The benefits of learning how to learn:

02:21     … to keep up with the fast pace of your changing world

02:45     … to understand that making mistakes is not a bad thing; it helps you learn

03:55     … to apply your emotional intelligence to spur on learning

04:21     … to use your natural curiosity and motivation to aid in self-learning

05:38     … to increase your self-confidence

06:06 Ideas you can implement to help you learn how to learn:

06:24     … put your learning into practice immediately

07:34     … apply learning strategies such as active reading, note-taking, time management, organization

08:18     … consolidate new learnings into a journal

08:47     … cultivate a growth mindset

09:18     … follow your natural curiosity

10:04     … learn to self-reflect to determine how you best learn

10:46     … consider lessons learned (and learn from them!)

11:28     … learn to contribute to and share ideas in group situations

12:08     … learn from your mistakes

13:07     … focus your studies on what you don’t understand

14:01     … develop strong learning habits that work for you (e.g., dedicated time and place, quiet time, Pomodoro technique, etc.)

16:01     … embrace your failures as learning opportunities

16:28     … establish guardrails to guide your actions

17:46     … analyze failures and mistakes and identify areas for change and growth

18:40     … don’t berate yourself for failures or mistakes