The Value Curve Cycle

Along the course of the phases and steps, we have discussed the learning journey as a singular “thing.” We must remember that it isn’t a single journey. It is several—dozens even. While you might be developing and evolving a skillset on one journey, you may very well be developing another skill on a different journey, and you won’t be on the same step with each one.

So, it is possible to be developing confidence in one skill and advocating for the development of skills in others—all at the same time. This is simply natural and is one of the various cycles that we experience on our collected learning journeys. Beyond this personal development across skills, there are two other cycles—or forces—that are at play as well.

Evolving the Apprenticeship Cycle

The learning journey that we have explored could be seen as a modern interpretation of the apprentice/master relationship established centuries ago. An accomplished artisan of a craft would seek out an individual with potential and teach them everything they knew. This apprentice would assume the same status as the master that guided them, with the goal of surpassing their skills and ability to continue the cycle for another time.

In our learning journey, the experience is more asynchronous. The learner needs to accomplish more on their own without the direct involvement of a dedicated teacher. The accountability is higher and more critical today. For the master, or as we called it, the advocate, the relationship has transitioned from a one-to-one relationship to a one-to-many dynamic. Through technology evolution, this is now more possible than ever, and can support the development of a global audience.

But for this centuries-old cycle to continue in this modern interpretation, the advocate needs to make an active decision to be that guide. You need to choose to be the advocate that others need as they begin their own learning journey.

So, what type of advocate do you want to be?

I have worked with tons of different teachers and educators, and there is one general theme that I have found through it all: Experts forget the plight of the beginner.

As you have grown throughout your learning journey, the emotional barriers that you needed to break through in the beginning become a distant memory. While you might struggle with bouts of imposter syndrome, the original struggle of confidence and fighting the belief that “you can’t do this” have evaporated.

So, the best way to be an advocate is simple: Be an advocate. But most importantly—be an advocate peer. Work alongside those that are learning and establishing their confidence and listen to them. Practice empathy towards their difficulties and struggles—and support them from where they are, not from where you are. While you might know more about the road and journey ahead for them, don’t lose sight of where they are and their perspective. Be an advocate that understands and the guide—not the lecturer.

Working Against Gravity

The next cycle isn’t as easy to visualize in a circle—but it is a force that we are always living within: Change.

In any technology-based career or interest the tools and techniques will change and evolve around us. Sometimes these happen slowly—other times they happen quickly and violently. Regardless of how they change, we must embrace that this change will always happen and to approach it with confidence—and not feeling defeated.

The way I like to think about it to see it as gravity. Imagine we have the value curve we have been using all this time to represent the learning journey. Now imagine you as a ball—or a marble—resting on your location on the curve. No matter where you are on the curve, there is a force of gravity that will pull the ball down. When you are more on the left side of the curve, the effect of gravity is lower based on the slope of the curve at that point. But on the right—the effect is profound, and it will take more effort to maintain where you are along that curve.

As technology evolution or revolution happen, we need to work against gravity and continue own learning and development to maintain our own level of understanding, and to ensure we are a current and viable platform to base our advocacy of others on.

Adding a New Dimension

So, if you feel a little trapped, I can understand why. You have worked up to this level of achievement and you need to keep working—you need to keep learning. It can seem like a lot at first. The amount of gravity you feel gets heavier the more you develop, and the demands of being an advocate get larger each step of the way as well.

But there is another side to all of this.

Think about an earlier stage in your career, or in your life. Are you using all the skills you developed in the past? No. Of course not. You have changed and the world has changed and there are some skills that you don’t use to define the value to yourself and value to others. Have you forgotten them? Not at all! They are still a part of you, and in fact, those earlier skills establish a rich set of experiences to draw on to practice empathy.

You are taking that skill and are changing the exposure it has to the world. In fact, you have been doing this already—but you just might not have realized it. The level we expose or express a skill is based on trust. It is where that skill rests on your learning rings, and we will explore that next.

Remember: Only you can choose to get off the journey. While technology shifts will happen, we chose whether we want to go with that shift or adjust our skillset because of it. No matter where you are on the journey—on one side or the other—you own that development, and you are not a victim.

Up next

Learning new skills comes with the need to use them—to share those skills with others. To do that requires trust. Looking at the practice of testing software, like with the Windows Insider Program, we can learn how to build trust “channels” to share your new skills.

Doug Winnie is the Chief Learning Officer at MentorNations a startup focused on fostering digital skills around the globe and Director of Learning Experience and Organizational Effectiveness at H&R Block. Doug previously worked in various digital skills, education and product management roles at Microsoft, LinkedIn, and Adobe. Doug is also a LinkedIn Learning author with multiple courses on digital transformation, product management, and computer science. Doug is also the editor of the LinkedIn newsletter, “Digital Mindset” that publishes weekly on LinkedIn.