Intentional learning – A type of learning that offers Career Advantage

Image Source: freepik.com

Intentional learning is a type of learning which is motivated by goals and treating every experience or incident as an opportunity to learn something. Intentional learning takes place when you go out to learn something specific. For example, you enroll yourself in a French training course or cooking classes. The mindset and skills of intentional learners are quite different from others.

Intentional learning is a fundamental skill required to succeed in the professional world. Unlocking the potential mindsets and skills to learn will benefit an individual in both personal and professional life.

Do you know?

Intentional learners have a higher career advantage in the corporate world compared to others. This is because I have a spontaneous and instinctive mindset.
Any common person can unlock intentionality in his/her life by just making changes to two critical mindsets – growth and curiosity.

Unlocking the power of intentionality

In the professional world, every individual requires learning as a part of his/her career to be successful.
Formal learning constitutes only a minuscule percentage of the real learning that is needed by a professional.
For intentional learners, every moment is a new learning opportunity.
They consider learning as a part of their work and not as a separate task.
Every meeting they attend, or even a conversation with colleagues, intentional learners find learning opportunities in everything.
All of us can become intentional learners by embracing two critical mindsets and five key practices.

The two critical mindsets

The growth mindset

For those individuals who want to invest in learning, adopting a growth mindset is a must.
Having a growth mindset means you can evolve, grow, expand, and change.
A growth mindset unleashes you from the expectations of being perfect.
It allows you to find happiness, success, and value in the process rather than worrying about the results.

Satisfy your curiosity

For developing learning opportunities, you need to have a curious mindset.
It is true that the element of curiosity is not innate in everyone. However, it can be acquired and cultivated in an individual.
Curiosity is the driving force for intentional learning.
Curiosity means being open to new ideas, awareness, and establishing a connection between two contrasting things.
Curiosity is a reflection that indicates you care about something, which in turn motivates you to take the necessary actions for finding out a solution.

Here is how you can build up the element of curiosity in yourself.

Face your fears and challenges.
Focus on your interests and things that you love doing.
Search for novel ideas and experiences.

Five key practices for intentional learning

Set small and tangible goals

Setting smaller and clear goals enables intentional learners to use curiosity as an effective tool rather than a means of distraction.
It is important to set specific goals that really matter to you.
Adopt a mindset where you won’t let any opportunities go to waste and make the most of them.

Eliminate distractions

Evaluate yourself and set your priorities right.
Minimize all distractions and concentrate on learning.
Conduct small experiments and see how things go.
Always be flexible.

Actively look for actionable feedback from others

Ask feedback from people around you on your performance.
Look carefully for actionable details about feedback.
Analyze how you want to approach the feedback.
Seek advice and help from experts you look up to.

Deliberate practice

Practice, practice, and practice in the areas that you wish to excel in.
The art of learning is all about trying, failing, learning, and then trying again and again until you achieve the desired outcome.
Deliberate practice helps you narrow down and focus on specific areas.

Reflection – practice it regularly

Reflection helps you to evaluate yourself and find out your learning needs.
Reflection allows you to learn at three crucial times – before, during, and after an event.
Developing a foundation based on reflection and self-efficacy will help you achieve the desired learning outcomes.

Fostering growth and an actively curious mindset will help open the doors to a lot of learning opportunities. Constant learning and exposing yourself to novel experiences will help you achieve the highest potential as an intentional learner.