Adele Lemm | Meritize
“If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.” – Confucius
Accepting that you don’t know all of the answers is critical to both personal and career growth.
Finishing an educational program is, no doubt, a relief. The thought of being “done” learning as you enter the workforce is exciting. You’ve received all of this new knowledge and are confidently ready to solve any problem thrown your way. While having confidence is both important and essential, remember that your education is not over – it will and should continue in your professional life, but only if you allow it.
If you limit yourself to a fixed-mindset, believing that you are finished learning once your student days are over, then they will be, and your growth will be stagnant. For some, this is adequate – settling into a comfortable situation is satisfying enough. However, there are others who see the world as an endless opportunity to learn.
These opportunities can present themselves at any time, so keep an open mindset as you go about your day-to-day life – how much you can learn from others can be surprising. You will never meet someone from whom you can’t learn something.
Maybe you’ll learn something from your boss and coworkers, or maybe it’s the person in front of you at the store. Maybe you’ll learn something that can help you with that project at work, or maybe you gain insight that can help you out personally. Embracing all education and learning opportunities will broaden your perspective, helping you to relate to people and situations in ways you might not have been able to before.
Great employers encourage their employees to continue to invest time in learning new skills to expand their career development and value to the company. Employees’ personal and professional growth will only make them happier when they are at work and when they are not, making them all around more productive.
As an employee, you shouldn’t be shy about asking your boss, your co-workers and even others in the company for their help and expertise. There is no shame in wanting to do better, and if handled correctly, people are generally glad to be helpful. In fact, asking for help so that you can improve shows not only your dedication but also your respect for the job you are doing.
Be someone who sees the world as an endless learning opportunity. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Sometimes not knowing is the answer to learning something new.
