When Two People Throw a Ball
When two people throw a ball, they learn to catch and throw a ball.
When one person has a ball, they learn to hold a ball - which is useless in all sports. The same goes for business.
Your professional development can be accelerated by leveraging existing knowledge and expertise around you. Before searching for overpriced external learning options (for the sake of affiliation), it's best to look to your peers and network for practical opportunities to develop real, necessary skills that can't be acquired from a video course or textbook.
Peer-to-peer learning is a powerful development tool that facilitates skill-building by tapping into the expertise that is already present in your organisation and network. If you think about all the experienced and skilful people you are surrounded by, there is a huge opportunity for knowledge sharing and growth.
When it comes to learning a new skill, how do you go about it? Do you acquire the skill by learning, or do you acquire the skill by doing? I’d argue both. Tackling practical challenges with the guidance of your peers and network is well suited to the way we learn: gain knowledge; practice by applying that knowledge; get feedback; reflect on what has been learned, and try again.
An additional benefit of peer-to-peer learning is the format itself helps you build leadership capabilities in the form of giving and receiving constructive feedback, handling different points of view and developing high-value, real skills such as empathy in the process.
Who can you reach out to today?
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