Unlock Your Learning Advantage at Work

First Published May 12, 2025 on LinkedIn

Over the course of my career—from construction sites to comms strategy rooms, via employability, policy, and coaching—there’s one thing I’ve learned above all else: the ability to keep learning, even when the path is unclear, is your greatest competitive advantage. To mark Learning at Work Week 2025 , I’m sharing a few practices that have helped me stay agile in the face of change, pressure, and uncertainty. Spoiler: it’s not about collecting badges. It’s about growing on purpose.

 1. Learn in public

Be curious out loud. Share half-formed thoughts. Host the workshop. Start the conversation.

Learning accelerates when you engage others—through Communities of Practice, lunch and learns, LinkedIn reflections, or simply saying, “I’m exploring this—what do you think?”

You don’t need to be the expert to make the space.

 2. Ask better questions

Coaching taught me this: clarity comes when you stop trying to solve and start trying to understand. A powerful question can shift everything.

Seek out people who ask well—coaches, mentors, thoughtful colleagues—and practice noticing what you’re really trying to learn in each situation.

 3. Reflect before reacting

Reflection isn’t a luxury—it’s a lever. Pause before you act. Notice patterns. Ask, what did I learn here?

I send a weekly email to myself capturing lessons and wins. Others journal, walk and reflect, voice-note. The format doesn’t matter. The habit does.

 4. Seek out different perspectives

Working across sectors—and coaching across neurotypes—has shown me how much I don’t know.

Inclusion isn’t a side project; it’s how we learn what we’d never find alone. Ask for feedback, shadow a colleague, chat to someone outside your usual circle.

Get curious about how others think, especially when it challenges you.

 Learning is your superpower—not just what you know, but how you grow. What’s helped you stay agile?