Rapid learning is a necessity of next culture

Our ordinary attitude towards learning will not let us be sustainable!

I am a passionate learner. I love learning so much that I made learning even my profession. And yet I recently found out in a session with a trainer colleague - and I can hardly believe I'm writing this now - that deep in me there is an unconscious dislike towards learning. This was an unexpected discovery.

During this session, we realized that the way in which learning is happening in our current culture and the experiences we both have had with learning have engraved deep beliefs in our systems that prevent us from fully and openheartedly engaging in the process of learning.

Learning in our culture today usually means that we are not quite ready, still not good enough. Learning takes place in institutions such as schools, which shall prepare us for life. In our culture learning is separated from life, it comes before living - first we need to learn and then we can live. Yet in these institutions they mainly stuff knowledge into our heads, which does not prepare us in any way for real life.

The continuous judgment, which goes along with learning (good/bad, pass/fail , etc.) and the punishment that is also associated with it (having to repeat a year, etc.), transforms learning into a winner/loser game, based on competition, where we are delivered to the judgment of so-called authorities (teacher, professor, etc.). No wonder, that we are happy, when we are finally ‘ready’ and ,have finished learning'. This state in the future we constantly long for. But when we finally have reached so far, we have already developed such a conscious or unconscious aversion towards learning, so we try to avoid new learning situations.

This happened not only to people who hated school! I personally loved school - but only because I was on the winners side! I had the advantage that I could rapidly memorize knowledge and therefore I was able to use the game in my favor. But it had nothing to do with real life. I was not in any way better prepared for life, as any of my classmates. And although I was a winner, it didn’t prevent me from developing an aversion towards learning.

This widespread ‘learning disorder' can be fatal for us today. And with that I don’t mean only my little personal life. The speed in which the circumstances in our world are changing, grows constantly. The global challenges that are to be mastered in the near future, require the ability to learn rapidly and to discover new possibilities in due time. But if we are unconsciously not willing to learn, meaning to make mistakes, to experiment, to fail and get up again, it will be difficult for us to shape our future. But life does not stop just because we have lost the joy of learning. And if we do not shape our future, then the future will shape us - whatever that may look like.

The state we so much yearn for, to be ,done' and 'have finished learning' is an illusion! It means to be dead! Life equals learning! And learning is one of the most beautiful and magical abilities of human nature! Everyone who has ever watched a small child learning to walk – full of passion, patience, courage, tenacity and fun – know’s what I'm talking about. To be fit for the future, we have to win back this attitude towards learning and have to develop a new perspective on the process of learning.

This map shows a distinction between the traditional and the new perspective on learning:

Learning - traditional perspective	Learning - new perspective
takes place in our head (intellectual)	takes place in all four bodies (physical, intellectual, emotional, energetic)
comes before living / is separated from life (first I have to learn, than I can live)	learning is living
is linear (first A, than B, than C)	is nonlinear
the purpose of learning is to be ‚ready‘ and to be fully educated (it is a state in the future)	learning belongs to living like breathing (from the first breath to the last)
our centre is in the future, because we want to reach the state of being ‚perfect‘	We are always able to act, even when we‘re learning – our centre is in the present – we can do it now
we are judged with grades (good/bad, A to D)	we are getting feedback: what did work, what did not work, which other options do we have
is tyring / is always serious and hard	is high level fun
it is about passing or failing (= winning or losing)	is an ongoing process: go – beep – shift – go – go - go
you have to prove, that you are capable	no proves are necessary
is depending on the judgment of ‚authorities‘ (teachers, professors, gurus, …)	I’m my own authority and ask others for feedback
I should already be able to do it, that means learning is not ok / is a weakness	not knowing is ok / starting is ok / learning is ok
means, that I am not yet good enough	means, I am alive
comes along with emotional fear of failing and being punished	comes along with authentic adult fear, which informs us that we are about to try something new
fear is bad – fear causes a black out	fear is useful – it is the motor of new experiments and innovation – fear is ok
who does not get it at once, needs tutoring	life continues offering opportunities to learn
who get’s it at once, is the winner	rapid learning is a natural human ability
knowledge is power / control	knowledge without action is useless; knowledge leads to responsibility
there is a given curriculum and a clear concept of what a person has to know, to be a recognized member of society	something completely new and unusual is possible; contains unlimited possibilities
makes us fighting and competing	creates teamwork

Which side of the map are you living in?

With love
Patrizia


Useful questions:

• What are your deep (and maybe unconscious) beliefs regarding the process of learning?
• How do you react on feedback from others? Do you avoid feedback or do you ask for it?
• Have you created your life as a learning space for yourself, where you get ongoing feedback or as a feedback free zone?
• Did you learn something new today or have you improved any ability of yours? Look carefully, because learning happens everywhere and ongoing – even if we are not aware of it.
• Do you still avoid to enter new situations because of the fear of being not good enough or the fear of failing?

To be a leader means to go ahead

Leadership is the highest form of service

Part 2: To be a leader means to go ahead

We have all kinds of ideas, what a leader should be like. And these ideas are usually based on the currently valid culture in which we live, even if we are not really aware of it. Our current management culture is still based on the principles of the industrial revolution – dating back hundreds of years - and on the foundations of patriarchy - which dates back much further. The global impact this form of leadership has brought with it, we can all see looking at the state of our planet and our society.

The traditional style of leadership is an obsolete model, whose days are numbered. I know many people who say that they do not want to lead because it is too exhausting and they could not enjoy their private life anymore, because they will be held accountable if something goes wrong. This attitude becomes obvious when we look at the old management model in detail. Leaders in this model are alone - because the model is based on hierarchical pyramid structures, which means that upwards the air gets thinner and the leadership positions get increasingly rare. On the other hand, it goes along with higher wages, reward and glory, the further into the pyramid you climb to the top. This reward is considered as a compensation for pain and suffering for the fact that the higher up you climb, the more you can be drawn to account for mistakes that happen. This leads for example to the following behavior of leaders:

• A leader has to know everything better and has to do everything better than anybody else, so that no one else can compete for his position.
• The creativity of the team is dangerous and must be kept small, so that a leader has everything under control and his position is safe.
• A leader creates a team of customized, yes-saying followers, who do their work, follow rules and don’t ask questions.
• A leader is not allowed to make any mistakes and if he does, he must try to cover it up.
• The only joy that a leader in the old model can obtain from his work is power and money. That means to keep a reasonable balance for this exhausting work as a leader he has to make use of his position as good as he can.
• A leader is not allowed to feel anything - else he is not able to make hard decisions.
• ...

And the system maintains itself by the fact that under these circumstances the ones rather mutate to adapted followers, who have their peace, and the others are rather lonely and in danger, but enjoy power, fame and money. It fits well together, right?

The good - or bad - message: more and more people realize that this ancient form of leadership does not work and is not sustainable. Dictators are overthrown, irresponsible politicians go to jail and employees leave their companies because they are not satisfied with their leaders. All signals are clear – but what kind of leadership culture comes next? We do not know! And to achieve the transition into the next unknown culture, we need leaders of a different kind. People who are willing and able to go ahead, into unknown territory without already knowing how it goes! The leaders of the next generation are edge workers, boundary walkers, pioneers and culture (r)evolutionaries! Perhaps you are such a person?

What will characterize next generation leadership? The following map is a first attempt to answer this question:

traditional leadership vs. next generation leadership
traditional leadership	next generation leadership
heteronomy	self-organization
improvement, optimization	change, transformation, development
command & control	inspiration & motivation
guidelines & rules	vision & context
push (objectives, goals, reward and punishment)	pull (spirit, trust, community, coaching)
instructions & the leader does it himself	holding space
need to know everything	release of the intelligence of the team
standing alone	creative collaboration
processes & standards	rapid learning & fantasy
property and profit orientation	human and destiny orientation
analyzing	inventing
linear thinking and actions	non-linear thinking and actions
reactive managing of change	proactiv leading through change
managing limited resources	being an unlimited resource of options
urgent / short term	long term / sustainable
avoiding risks	taking advantage of opportunities
using the power of the position	create meaning

Such edge workers are needed not only in business! No matter which project you serve, what game world you have created for yourself - be it a family, a certain matter, you have committed yourself to, a social project, a department, a group of people with a common purpose, a company or perhaps a country - any type of game world needs edge workers who go ahead into the unknown and create a new reality, which the game world can unfold into, to serve its purpose.

It is clear that leaders of the next culture require unusual skills and soft skills that are not available in our 'normal' schools and training programs, as they themselves are still subject to the old paradigm of traditional leadership. Here are a few examples of this new soft skills required:

The new generation of leaders

• have access to their four feelings and use them responsible:
  Fear - to be able to go ahead into unknown territories and to really innovate.
  Anger – to be able to create clarity, to make boundaries and to keep things going.
  Sadness - to be able to connect and be in contact with the people in their game world and to be authentic.
  Gladness - to be able to inspire and motivate people and to create a real team.
• are willing to make mistakes and learn rapidly by feedback and coaching in order to stay effective in unknown territory,
• have gone through their personal initiation process into responsible adulthood and see responsibility not as a burden but as a source of power to create their game world according to their vision,
• put themselves at the service of something bigger than themselves (bright principles)
• are aware of their underworld and their gremlin
• are able to create possibilities for themselves and for their game world
• are willing to break rules generally accepted and to question the conventional and the normal for a higher purpose (e.g. for evolution)
• are willing to make themselves unpopular because as edge workers they are considered as the representatives of change and change is generally considered as uncomfortable

etc.

 

How about it? Does this job sound exciting for you?

Sincerely

Patrizia Servidio

P.S.: Trainings for edge workers, see at www.nextculture.org