The early weeks of the new year are an ideal time to reflect, revise, and rejuvenate. What professional goals do I want to accomplish in the new year? Where am I in my career trajectory? Do I have the skills and knowledge to meet my objectives? These are all relevant and important questions when assessing one’s professional future. However, what if you could keep those questions at the forefront all year, every year, throughout your professional life — with goal assessment and attainment a constant? Adopting a lifelong learning mentality makes professional development a daily driver and career advancement a priority.

Adaptability to Shifting Trends

Lifelong learning is a growing aspect of the Future of Work as shifting workplace trends require greater adaptability. As such, workers are taking more control of reskilling and upskilling efforts to remain ahead of the curve. In fact, according to ManpowerGroup’s 2023 Workplace Trends Report, 57% of employees are pursuing training outside of work.

“What’s important to people is that they have the relevancy of skills that are marketable today as the world of work evolves,” says Nimo Shah, director of MyPath and Experis Academy for ManpowerGroup.

Personal Growth, Employee Retention

Becoming a lifelong learner involves making professional development and discovery an ongoing initiative. It can mean dedicating a portion of the week to reading about new technologies or trends online, joining a networking or professional group, or enrolling in a class or certificate/degree program to learn new skills. Whatever the path, it’s about commitment to personal and professional growth. This can pay dividends when growing one’s professional brand and deeper connections within the enterprise.

An article by Georgia Tech’s Professional Education department, states, “As employees’ expectations change, lifelong learning can play an integral role in helping them integrate more deeply into the workplace. …If companies invest in lifelong learning options and advocate for the personal and professional development of their teams, it could help with employee retention.”

Journey Toward Professional Discovery

Need some guidance on your lifelong learning journey? The following are strategies to incorporate (one or all) into your daily, weekly, or monthly self-development regimen.

Maintain stretch goals. Setting goals and achieving them provides a sense of accomplishment. However, having stretch goals provides direction and motivation to go beyond what is already achieved. Typically, stretch goals are difficult to reach, if not impossible, but having more attainable goals that are related to a stretch goal can result in some unexpected and positive results — as well as innovative thinking. A stretch goal on the lifelong learning path could be to read 50 business books in a year when your annual average is five books. But with certain goals in place, you’re able to read 12 books (one per month).

Utilize learning channels. Whether it’s online or in-person learning, there are several options to reskill, upskill, or pursue a second career. Udemy, for example, has 57 million users and more than 213,000 courses covering a wide range of categories. LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com) is another excellent e-learning option boasting more than 22,000 courses. If earning a certificate in a specified area of study is your goal, consider a community college. Certificate programs can be completed within months and provide the essential skills for career advancement.

Recalibrate network strategies. How many of us use LinkedIn mostly to approve or make the occasional connection request, browse posts, and tinker with our profile? Commit to recalibrating our networking strategy (particularly on LinkedIn) to really connect. Use the platform to join groups and engage with members. Like posts and leave comments. Reach out to prolific LinkedIn members and subject matter experts to ask questions and initiate dialogue. Attend LinkedIn live events on topics of interest. LinkedIn is populated with tens of thousands of members who are eager to share their knowledge and provide insight into your journey of lifelong learning.

Chase curiosity and wonder. Simply put, if you’re curious about something, find the answer. What is the potential impact of generative AI on my enterprise and its industry? Start researching and reaching out to subject matter experts on LinkedIn to get insights. Lifelong learning is often about chasing the bigger questions and educating yourself while finding the answers. Create a Top 10 list of topics you want to know more about, then three questions under each topic to explore. Prioritize the topics/questions based on your goals and timetable.  Lifelong learning is about the journey.

Document the known and unknown. Create a spreadsheet for topics of curiosity and include valuable links to your findings. Individual sheets within a spreadsheet for different topics. Complement the spreadsheet with a journal documenting your thoughts, wins, and losses of lifelong learning. Often, putting pen to paper (or fingers to keys) can lead to unexpected connections and a-ha moments. It’s why going down this path frequently results in innovative thinking and outcomes. Document your progress for a month and see how it feels. You may be surprised how rewarding and motivating it can be to see tangible progress of your goals.

Build a schedule that integrates one or more of these strategies and track short- and long-term progress. Look for a mentor or coach who can provide supportive accountability and insight into growth areas.

Enterprise Support and Reward  

While lifelong learning is more of a personal journey for an employee, it doesn’t mean enterprises can’t be active guides. Managers who take an interest and participate in their employees’ professional development can generate growth and career opportunities while gaining benefits as well.

As part of LinkedIn’s Global Talent Trends report, Stephanie Conway, senior director of talent development at LinkedIn, says employees who set clear career goals are more focused on the skills to attain those objectives.

“An important enabler in my experience is a shift away from looking at specific job titles when helping employees consider their next move. Instead, it is more effective to identify specific skills they want to develop and experiences that might help them do that,” Conway says.

“A first step is to show employees what career development at your company looks like – through any number of programs, like job shadowing, rotations, or sharing internal-mobility stories. This can both further personal career development and start to build organizational resilience and agility,” she adds.

Lifelong learning begins with that spark of curiosity that can open the door to a world of possibilities. Take charge of your personal and professional development to achieve your workplace and longer-term career goals.