Making Learning Part of the Daily Routine

Most careers stall for 1 reason: People stop learning. They wait for the company to invest in them. Or for their manager to set up training. High performers, on the other hand, don't wait. They treat learning as part of the job - Even when the workday ends. Not endless study, Just small, repeatable habits - that compound. Here are 11 that make lifelong learning automatic: 1. Keep a "Questions" Note on Your Phone ↳Anytime you wonder about something, jot it down. Research one nightly 2. Replace the Doomscroll ↳Replace 30 minutes of dead scroll time with a course or podcast 3. Teach What You Learn ↳Write a short post, Loom, or explain it to a peer 4. Reverse Engineer Great Work ↳Take an article, pitch, or deck you admire and break down why it works 5. Shadow Someone 2 Steps Ahead ↳Don't ask for mentorship - just observe 6. Then, DO Ask for Mentorship ↳Say: "I admire how well you do X - would you mind coaching me on that?" 7. Run Tiny Experiments ↳Pick one skill and test it live this week 8. Force Repetitions by Tracking ↳For writing, word count. For sales, calls made. Progress is fuel 9. Do "Learning Sprints" ↳One focused topic for 30 days, then switch 10. Revisit Old Material ↳The second read often hits deeper than the first 11. End Your Day with Reflection ↳One line: "What did I learn today?" The compounding effect is real. Small reps + every day = Mastery. Agree? --- ♻️ Share this to inspire other life-long learners. And follow me George Stern for more personal growth content.

This week, I facilitated a manager workshop on how to grow and develop people and teams. One question sparked a great conversation: “How do you develop your people outside of formal programs?” It’s a great question. IMO, one of the highest leverage actions a leader can take is making small, but consistent actions to develop their people. While formal learning experiences absolutely a role, there are far more opportunities for growth outside of structured settings from an hours in the day perspective. Helping leaders recognize and embrace this is a major opportunity. I introduced the idea of Practices of Development (PODs) aka small, intentional activities integrated into everyday work that help employees build skills, flex new muscles, and increase their impact. Here are a few examples we discussed: 🌟 Paired Programming: Borrowed from software engineering, this involves pairing an employee with a peer to take on a new task—helping them ramp up quickly, cross-train, or learn by doing. 🌟 Learning Logs: Have team members track what they’re working on, learning, and questioning to encourage reflection. 🌟 Bullpen Sessions: Bring similar roles together for feedback, idea sharing, and collaborative problem-solving, where everyone both A) shares a deliverable they are working on, and B) gets feedback and suggestions for improvement 🌟 Each 1 Teach 1:  Give everyone a chance to teach one work-related skill or insight to the team. 🌟 I Do, We Do, You Do:Adapted from education, this scaffolding approach lets you model a task, then do it together, then hand it off. A simple and effective way to build confidence and skill. 🌟 Back Pocket Ideas:  During strategy/scoping work sessions, ask employees to submit ideas for initiatives tied to a customer problem or personal interest. Select the strongest ones and incorporate them into their role. These are a few examples that have worked well. If you’ve found creative ways to build development opportunities into your employees day to day work, I’d love to hear what’s worked for you!

Ever feel like keeping your team on track with learning commitments is a challenge? Check out the 5/5/5 Learning Roadmap—a quick, high-return practice that makes accountability fun and effective. Here's how it works: 💡5 Minutes of Sharing: Each team member kicks off by sharing a quick update on what they're learning or a cool insight they've picked up. 💡5 Minutes of Questions: Then, everyone fires off questions to dive a bit deeper, clearing up any confusion and sparking new ideas. 💡5 Minutes of Advice: Finally, the group wraps up by offering practical advice and suggestions, ensuring everyone leaves with actionable takeaways. In just 15 minutes, this routine builds a supportive space where learning is front and center. It keeps everyone aligned, boosts accountability, and even strengthens team bonds. Plus, it's a great way to turn continuous learning into a regular, easy habit.

It can be challenging to find time in the day for learning—unless it’s something that the full team does at the same time. TIP 3: Dedicate Time for Synchronized Personalized Learning Synchronous personalized learning is a great way to help a distributed team feel connected even when they’re apart. Here’s how to get started: Send out a calendar invite for one hour for team members to make progress on their own learning. Everyone works on their own during that time, but they know they’re in it together with their team. Team members can choose to work toward their annual learning goal (see TIP 1 from earlier this week) or another topic of interest that they share with their manager. This isn’t the time to use for a work project or deadline. Instead, it’s a chance to read, listen, or watch something to help them grow professionally. Your team members may choose to take a LinkedIn learning course or a webinar, read a book or article, write a thought leadership piece, or develop an idea for a conference workshop. By encouraging your entire team to dedicate this hour, you’ve elevated the expectation of learning to be a part of their job and you’ve built learning accountability partners across your team. Ready to extend the learning experience beyond the hour? You may choose to create a rotating schedule of team members to present their progress to their colleagues at one of your staff meetings. Teaching others is an effective way for team members to strengthen their own learning and lead from where they are. You can also set aside time for synchronous learning each quarter. Have you ever tried something like this with your team? _____ This is part III of a series I’m sharing all this week on how to build learning into your workday and grow your team’s skills—without adding more work to your plate.