How to Improve Your Wellbeing With Learner®

Below are audio and video plus a transcript of the conversation, including time stamps.

Your CliftonStrengths^® can empower the 5 elements of your wellbeing -- career, social, financial, community and physical. But how does this happen if you are struggling in one or more of these elements? If you have Learner, Appendix 1 of Gallup's Wellbeing at Work book has Strengths Insights and Action Items that can move you from struggling to thriving as you apply your Learner talent to fuel your wellbeing. Join Jaclynn Robinson and Jim Collison on this CliftonStrengths Podcast to discover how.

[For someone with Learner,] being around a diverse array of different perspectives also feeds that curiosity, because you get to learn from others and see the world through their eyes.

Jaclynn Robinson, 1:37

You can lean into this theme when you need more knowledge related to a purposeful goal.

Jaclynn Robinson, 07:13

Jim Collison 0:00
I am Jim Collison, and welcome to The CliftonStrengths Podcast. On this podcast, we'll be covering topics such as wellbeing, teamwork, professional development and more. Now enjoy this episode.

Jim Collison 0:10
In this CliftonStrengths Podcast, we'll look at the Strengths Insight and Action Planning items from Appendix 1 in the Gallup book Wellbeing at Work one theme at a time, and today's theme is Learner. If you're listening live, love to have you join us in our chat room; there's just a link right above me there. Or if you have questions after the fact, you can send us an email: coaching@gallup.com. Dr. Jaclynn Robinson is our host today. She works as a Gallup Learning and Development Consultant and was the primary contributor to Appendix 1 in the Wellbeing at Work book. And Jaclynn, always great to see you, even if it's an early morning. Welcome back to Called to Coach!

Jaclynn Robinson 0:46
Thank you. Good to be here.

What's the definition of Learner?

Jim Collison 0:48
We are spending some time talking about Learner today. Let's get started with that, that standard definition.

Jaclynn Robinson 0:55
Yeah, so people that lead with Learner have a great desire to learn, and want to continuously improve. The process of learning, rather than the outcome, is what excites them.

Jim Collison 0:55
I think in a lot of cases, that term "the process of learning," right, that, that in itself, that's how I always kind of remember the theme -- thinking it through the journey, the walk, the destiny. You know, it's about getting there and how you get there, as opposed to getting there. How does it relate, as we think about it, how does it relate to you? And how might it relate to others?

Jaclynn Robinson 1:27
How it relates to you: There, there's this enthusiasm that strikes you when you're able to engage in new hobbies or interests or workplace learning opportunities. And I would also say, being around a diverse array of different perspectives also feeds that curiosity, because you get to learn from others and see the world through their eyes. How it relates to others: People, people that have high Learner, they tend to engage others by making the learning process fun and enjoyable. They can also make it relevant to others, just in terms of being able to say, What do we need to learn to be at our best? So it's, it's something that's just -- I love Learner. You can tell. Like, it's such a fun one.

Jim Collison 2:10
Do you think high Learners can also be good teachers? I mean, we never for one mapped these, right? But if you think about that skill, does it translate that way? Or have you seen it work that way in the past?

Jaclynn Robinson 2:21
Yeah. And I, as I think about why learning is fun when you're around a Learner, it is that natural aptitude to be able to identify how that team learns best or how an individual learns best and to really engage them in that process.

How does Learner look when it's thriving vs. struggling?

Jim Collison 2:38
Yeah, I love that, that me versus we idea of that; the learning can be about me, but in a in a we state it can be about how do we find great ways for others to learn as well -- creative, creative ways to do that? We've been spending this season really talking about wellbeing. And when we look at this, this theme thriving versus struggling, what might that look like?

Jaclynn Robinson 3:03
Thriving is really when you're in an, when you're in an environment where you can continuously learn and grow. I also see thriving as in your overall life, personal or professional, when you have the opportunity to invest in your hobbies or your interests or pick up that, that foreign language that you want to learn. But when you're so busy in the day to day, and you don't have that opportunity, that's when you start to get into that struggling stage. You know, you just want to spend some time to be able to invest in learning on a particular subject before you go on this endeavor with this project or this initiative. Or you just want to have some time and space to be able to invest in your hobby. So struggling is really the opposite of thriving when maybe you feel stifled in the workplace, because your manager isn't enabling you to learn and grow and receive brain gain. But also in your personal and/or professional life, if you just don't feel like you have the time and space to be able to learn.

Jim Collison 4:04
I feel like with the disruptions that we've had in the workplace over the last couple of years, I think Learners have maybe suffered in this area, in the sense that it threw off schedules, routines, conferences that we used to go to get some of those opportunities, right, to learn. Certainly in my role, I've heard a lot of it, as we've had to do our, our conference or our summit virtual twice now. And I hear from those Learners who are just dying. And virtual's been OK for them, but many of them want to, you know, they want the social element of it as well -- to come back and learn together, right. I think that's a another piece of this is, I learn best when I'm learning with others. And, and so I think a great, hopefully, days ahead, we'll, we'll have, you know, the ability to do that again as we move forward. We have some, in Appendix 1, we look at each one of these from a wellbeing perspective in the context of one of our, of one of those 5 elements of wellbeing. Jaclynn, walk us through one of those.

Jaclynn Robinson 5:09
For this one, I selected social wellbeing. So this person's natural curiosity and quest for knowledge is evident in new classes they enroll in or new languages they learn. They may enjoy asking a friend to join them, so they can both share in the experience. So going right back to what you were saying, even with virtual learning, it can be a little different when you like to learn with somebody else and you have this atmosphere of different Learners that just amp, amplifies that experience.

For those with Learner, how can it be used to support others?

Jim Collison 5:38
We don't spend a lot of time in chat, but I think this is appropriate. Catherine is saying, Over the last 2 years, you know, it's never, she's never been happier. And she's completed 11 different programs. So using this opportunity, this, this time that we've had to learn more, I think, so it can go both ways, right? When we think about that, right? Using that in the social wellbeing aspect of it, the ability to get together and do some of these things to build on that. Pretty great. We have 4 other elements in there as well, if you want to spend time, and they're a resource that's available for you, in the back of the book. And love to make that available for you as a, as a resource. So Jaclynn, with Learner in mind, how can we really use that -- we've alluded to it, but how can we use it to support others?

Jaclynn Robinson 6:22
Yes, so if you're a manager or you're leading a team, having Learner high, you have that natural aptitude of helping team members plan a career development plan. So really just keeping top of mind, What is it that you want to learn? What do you see for your future here? And let's make sure that we're putting some, you know, skills training, mentorship, shadowing, let's just feed you with that knowledge that you can continue to level up. If you are someone that's just a part of a team, you can help your team open up to new perspectives with your thirst for knowledge and learning. So you might have that natural eye for what new skills training and learning opportunities would help the team be more productive towards a goal.

Jaclynn Robinson 7:05
And then as an individual, I love seeing this in the way that people just, you know, personalize this for themselves. You can lean into this theme when you need more knowledge related to a purposeful goal. Because Learners are lifelong learners, they tend to find ways that they can continue to invest in that talent. So even if they learned about 10 different topics, you'll also see that oftentimes they'll flop to a couple that they want to really deep-dive in and just invest for the year.

Jim Collison 7:35
We spent a bunch of time -- Maika and I spent a bunch of time in Season 5 and 6 of Theme Thursday talking about how these themes sort oftentimes. What, how do we use them to sort? When, you reminded me of this as we were talking about its power on a team, and someone high with Learner being able to maybe look out across the team and say, What are the best learning opportunities for us as a team? And then maybe even priority sort. You can't do them all. Although Learners, I'm sorry, I know you think you can. But you can't always do 'em all, from that standpoint. Do you think -- talk a little bit more about that sorting.

Jaclynn Robinson 8:14
So I think it depends on the Learner too. Because, as we've just gone through our coaching and immersing ourselves and strengths, some Learners will want that mastery over particular topics. And so some -- also, depending on the, the themes that surround it -- might already have that natural sorting ability to say, This is where we should spend our time and attention. Others might prefer having those partners or simply just asking the question, What is it that we can learn based on our goal that sits in front of us that's going to help us be more productive and efficient? And have those other voices really lean in and offer some insights and opinions.

Jim Collison 8:56
Maybe from a team perspective, even a divide-and-conquer: There's more to learn than one person can; let's split this up so that we can all learn. And again, the journey is, it's, the journey is important, I think, to Learners in a lot of cases. It's not necessarily always about getting a degree or a certificate or something to hang on the wall. Right. That's, that's a result of it. But that -- or maybe a reminder -- but the journey's important in this. So might be an opportunity for a team to work together towards a common goal, splitting that up, splitting the pieces of it up and then bringing it back together as one. So I think that's some great ways to kind of think about it in the way it sorts. In Appendix 2, there's a framework that we have there for each one of these wellbeing elements. And then, Jaclynn, take a second and walk us through that framework -- really easy one to use in your coaching, by the way.

Jaclynn Robinson 9:46
It is. So Ask Yourself: Would my team benefit from additional information about our purpose and goals? Ask Your Team Members -- and this is going to go to financial wellbeing here: What is the best way for us to learn financial strategies from one another? Take action: Tell people about your passions and interests so they can connect you with relevant groups and causes, continue to help you learn and grow and go into that journey.

Jim Collison 10:11
I love that. I love the, I love this. And I do a little, you know, I don't, I don't think I use Learner for this. But I love, I got a challenge last weekend on a Friday to fix kind of one of my reporting -- some of the things I have to report on. And so I spent the weekend thinking about it, and then on Monday, I spent a couple hours like redoing the spreadsheet and moving things around and trying out different stuff. And it was that journey that kind of, for me, maybe this was a Maximizer exercise, which we're going to talk about next. But it's, it's getting you know, it's the journey. It was getting -- I enjoyed it; when it was done, I was a little disappointed. You know, you kind of like, Oh, this is over. And maybe that's a, or maybe that's a struggle for some Learners too is the end is a little anticlimactic, because I was enjoying this so much. Right?

Jaclynn Robinson 11:02
Yes.

Jim Collison 11:04
Well --

Jaclynn Robinson 11:06
That's, that sounds close to home; as you're explaining it, I'm like, mmm-hmm.

Jim Collison 11:11
Yeah, that's exactly the way it is.

Jaclynn Robinson 11:14
There's so much fun in the journey, on the path.

Jim Collison 11:16
Yeah, a little disappointment in like, Oh, we got there! Oh, we got there. That's, you know, I'll have to go find another one. And you know, to Catherine's point, 20, 23 different programs, 11 different programs, whatever it was. Lots of, you know, that's move on to the next, move on to the next opportunity. Jaclynn, anything else as we wrap this up?

Jaclynn Robinson 11:39
I think just if you're a coach and you're coaching a manager, one thing to keep top of mind for them is the learning and growth process. Not just for people high in Learners, but everyone -- excuse me here -- everyone is truly looking for that brain gain. Learners tend to keep it more top-of-mind, because it's so valuable to them. But it is something that we're finding in the workplace. People want opportunities to learn and grow. And so I think just as a coach, if we can keep that top-of-mind for all managers, those with Learner already kind of have that down pat. They're like, Oh, yeah, I need brain gain. I'm gonna make sure my team has brain gain. But we are seeing that in the workplace, that people need brain gain. They want that learning and growth. So just keep that top-of-mind.

Jim Collison 12:30
Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of The CliftonStrengths Podcast. Make sure you like and subscribe wherever you listen, so you never miss an episode. And if you're really enjoying this podcast, please leave a review. This helps us promote strengths globally.

Jaclynn Robinson's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are Achiever, Strategic, Maximizer, Positivity and Relator.

Gallup^®, CliftonStrengths^® and each of the 34 CliftonStrengths theme names are trademarks of Gallup. Copyright © 2000 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.