As an employee, Alex was beginning to feel a sense of desperation at the number of times he’d given generously to employers only to see how they promoted others ahead of him. The voice in his head told him he was being taken for a ride. What’s more, Alex noticed that those colleagues who were being promoted ahead of him were people he didn’t rate. He couldn’t see what work they were doing and they seemed to be taking all the glory.

Alex was married with young children and he was beginning to feel particularly sour about the impact on his wife and children. He felt he deserved faster promotion and higher pay. One day, when he shared his feelings with a colleague, his colleague asked him if he’d made any enquiries to find out what was slowing his promotion prospects. Only then did Alex think to ask his manager what he could do to achieve promotion.

Whilst Alex was nervous about asking for feedback, the feedback his manager gave him enabled him to understand some of the assumptions he was making and to adjust his approach in the light of new information. For Alex, this was the beginning of learning to learn.

The committed learner brings an approach to all situations which is open to learning. This approach presupposes that fears are there to be faced, that those people whom we find most challenging are our best teachers, that those situations we find most difficult provide opportunities to learn. These are the people who, in our current recession, are looking for the learning that adversity can bring.

Here are some questions to help you to explore how “match fit” you are in the area of learning:

• As you look back over recent years, what have been your biggest areas of learning?
• What does your learning in recent years tell you about your readiness to learn – or learning “muscle”?
• To what extent do you look for the learning in situations you find challenging or when faced with people you find difficult?
• How would you describe yourself as a learner?
• How does learning support you in making progress towards your aspirations?

What additional questions would you offer in relation to learning to learn?