Reflections
LEARN UNLEARN RELEARN
By Fawzia Ali-Kimanthi
2024 . New Year . New opportunities . A new year brings excitement as it is full of unknown possibilities . Quietly or loudly , we set out some goals that we would like to achieve . For most of us , we seek love , connection , travel , good health , growth . We yearn to progress . Others might seek to pick a new skill - get a Masters , be good at swimming , become more fit , learn a new music instrument , learn a new language , or start boxing .
I jumped on this bandwagon too . I have a vision board with goals that I would like to accomplish in the year . I realized in 2023 , that learning new things was fun . I started boxing in 2023 and it was good fun , exhausting but very good fun . My coach Ndenga is a beast . In the new year , I wanted to pick a new challenge . Would you believe it ? I have never ridden a bicycle . I taught my siblings and my son how to ride a bike , but I never really got on the bike .
Quickly before fear overcame me , I asked around and my friend gave me the contact of a school where I would ride a bicycle . My trainer ’ s name is Wandera . The first lesson was brutal . My feet could not pedal . I even had to remove my shoes . My hands got blisters . I was sweating profusely . Inside I was screaming … why am I doing this to myself ? After 6 lessons I am proud to say that I have overcome my fear of falling , I can pedal and balance . I can ride a bicycle .
Turning to the professional world , we are learning that curiosity is the first step to learning .
As a young leader , I was lucky to lead teams aligned to my functional capability . Due to my experience , I believed I was the most knowledgeable person in the team . My leadership style was more directive , and my listening skills were wanting . We had regular 360 feedback sessions . The results were humbling , and I had to re-evaluate that skewed perception of myself .
Alfred Toffler , a writer and futurist , wrote a book with his wife ,” Future Shock ”. The book was published in 1970 . His most famous quote was , “ The illiterate of the future are not those who cannot read or write but those who cannot learn , unlearn and relearn .” The quote is quite appropriate , with the fast pace of change brought about by the Fourth Revolution .
To thrive , in this ever-changing world , we all need to be willing to learn , unlearn and relearn . So , what are the things we need to learn you might ask ? Colins Bates in his blog , Skillpacks . com , offers some guidance . He states that to help focus on what to learn at a certain point in time , it is important to explore the medium- and long-term goals . To achieve these goals , he guides that we should assess what needs to be improved in the current role , prepare for future roles , develop current expertise or broaden your expertise into other fields .
A key area of learning for me in 2024 is how my team and I can leverage artificial intelligence in step changing customer experience . Blake Morgan , the Queen of CX , labelled by Meta , in her Forbes article affirms that AI builds a better customer experience . AI will automate repetitive task . I am keen to execute this and to provide frictionless selfservice experiences through bots and other channels that deliver a faster more efficient service to our customers . AI allows humans to focus on the human side of customer experience - working through complicated issues and building relationships . With the mean age in
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