Across many of the leadership headlines in the media, I see pushback in adopting systems for the learning process – the sacredness and humanness of the process; the inherent need to apply skills (an integral part of knowledge) derived from us (not a system).
I built a patent allowed system to manage and track skills. The system is used to define learning expectations (and job requirements) and provide a guide or roadmap through the process – so not at all something to fear.
To complement the system (around the same time), I introduced Skills Culture – a growth mindset for learning and personal growth. I call this a growth mindset because working in the medium of skills is enabling, most people feel they will learn a skill if the put in the time and effort. This is as opposed to talents, which (I feel) are limiting.
And this is the other motivation in starting Skills Culture: promote skills rather than talents. If you want to use talents, interpret them into skills; the process is surprisingly easy to do.
To quickly understand the mindset, here is the central premise:
Every Experience is an Opportunity to Apply Skills
This means there are times when learners / workers need to put away the smartphones and devices to be cognizant and in the moment. Work on applying skills properly. I reiterate, in any given experience, we are applying more than a single skill (with varying intensities and frequencies).
(I know some practitioners are going to hate to hear this) there are also experiences when learners should be actively working with their smartphones, game consoles, VR devices, and technologies.
Anyways, I am suggesting balance.
My goal is to create an online community to share best practices with this concept:
- What are best ways to combine skills together in an experience. Significantly different than the norm of one skill at a time.
- Work on defining skills with the goal of applying them. Not the boilerplate definitions found on many of the skill databases and websites.
- Work on defining methods behind skills. (Like the previous point) methods are one layer deeper than skills.
- How to construct experiences for optimal skill performance.
I also think my first book Skills Based Approach (2013 and 2020) is a significant body of work for context. The book introduces the methodology and includes research, observations, and insights on how to navigate through the stages to acquire skills.
Looking for help in possibly rewriting, editing, and infusing fresh ideas in a new release of the book Skills Culture SM: A growth mindset for learning and personal development.
The website is also good introduction. My team is also looking to relaunch the website. Contact us with any thoughts or questions.