Skill 5: Curiosity and Lifelong Learning

This article series explores each of the Top 10 Skills of 2023 identified by the World Economic Forum, offering a roadmap to make them accessible to every individual. In this article, we will delve into the fifth skill, “Curiosity and Lifelong Learning”. For information on the fourth skill, please refer to Motivation and Self-Awareness.

According to the Oxford dictionary:

“Curiosity is a robust desire to learn or know something.”

Valamis claims:

“Lifelong learning is a form of self-initiated education focused on personal development.”

Should we indeed concentrate on curiosity and other qualities?

This competency is linked to the willingness and curiosity to be in a constant state of learning throughout one’s life. But why do employees need to understand how to learn? The knowledge, skills, and behaviors required are evolving so rapidly that it is impossible for learning and development departments to guide the upskilling and reskilling of the workforce without the active participation of employees.

Imagine how agile an organization would be if everyone felt responsible and qualified enough to prepare themselves for their next role iteration.

There is a reason why curiosity and lifelong learning are paired on the World Economic Forum’s chart. Being curious is the foundation of learning. Firstly, one must have the desire to evolve their knowledge, understanding, or behavior. Something within an individual propels them to want to transition from a state of “ignorance” to a position of “expertise”. It is about being able to pose the right questions and then being confident that you can assess and apply potential answers.

However, other qualities are necessary to be a hungry learner. Confidence is required to believe that one can learn without the guidance of a teacher. Traditional schooling leads individuals to feel that learning is delivered by a “teacher,” and that there is a need for that expert — when, in reality, the learner is capable of being their best expert.

Here, I draw a parallel with the technology field; it is practically impossible not to adopt a mindset of lifelong learning because change is so intense in the area, requiring constant learning.

Continuing, courage is also needed as learning is often “uncomfortable.” It demands that individuals accept what they don’t know, understand, or cannot do well and commit to changing this reality. Along the way, when people learn, they encounter failures and obstacles, from which only the bravest are conditioned to steer clear.

Those who wish to learn must also be “open-minded” and have a “pioneering” spirit. Discipline is also required for learning, as most behavioral evolution demands habitual effort until it truly becomes learned.

This competency has a characteristic of pushing us out of our comfort zone. Making a correlation with the Big Five and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, we can mention dimensions such as Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, the Needs for Self-Actualization, Esteem, among others.

How can we encourage employees to be curious and develop other qualities?

Today, everything happens at a very rapid pace. Therefore, hiring a team of experts to teach something new and keep employees updated takes time.

Hence, it is important for employees to take responsibility for learning as the only practical way to keep them updated and at their “peak” performance. This requires a degree of courage, as these learning experts confer their expertise on those who would otherwise rely on them.

Establishing a culture where curiosity and the other qualities necessary for lifelong learning thrive is challenging. It means going against over a decade of muscle memory that tells individuals that ensuring they learn is someone else’s responsibility. It also means moving away from easy choices, such as buying extensive content libraries and believing that the existence of content means that learning is taking place.

Curiosity and these other qualities for learning come with “practice” and “discipline”. Just like in training for a marathon, the more a person runs, the further and faster they can go. The more space an employee has to question, challenge, reflect, etc., the faster the mind works in this way, and the more natural it becomes for the individual to develop themselves.

Conclusion

• Curiosity is the driving force behind this competency;
• Lifelong learning is the only way to manage the constant demands of upskilling and reskilling;
• Entrusting employees with the responsibility to learn for themselves means showing them how to be lifelong learners.

Written by: Ederson Corbari