2 Critical Skills to Build in 2020 and Beyond

By: Gina Ann Richter

The quote, “You can’t teach old dogs’ new tricks,” is not accurate for dogs or people! Another saying we need to eliminate is “this is how we always have done it.” Neither of these sayings is acceptable in a culture of learning. Both quotes come from a fixed mindset, and neither enables you to embrace change, learning, and a growth mindset! In today’s continually changing world, learning is a competitive edge for employees and their organizations. It is incredibly less expensive to upskill the employees you have versus cutting people and then hiring later.

Having a Growth Mindset

A growth mindset can help you in both your personal and corporate life. To say change is the norm during a global pandemic is the understatement of the year. In July, I experienced a life-altering change beyond the pandemic when my husband unexpectantly passed-away on vacation while spearfishing. It would have crippled me without a growth mindset. Instead of saying, I don’t know how to fix the air horn on the truck, I can’t fix your towel rack; I can’t fix my desk, I can’t cook gourmet meals, I can’t run a boat or maintain a boat, I embraced it all. I am learning more than ever, and it is because I am assuming a growth mindset.  Do not get me wrong; it is a tough road to travel, but I am committed to enjoy the journey and learn as much as I can along the way. The most important lesson this experience has taught me is that nobody is promised tomorrow or the rest of today, for that matter.

Building Resilience

Building resilience is also critical to your success. My husband was never sick a day in his life. Without the resiliency that I have built over the years, this loss could have completely devastated me, and by extension, my son.  I immediately thought to myself, Thank God, whatever happened in the water didn’t happen while he was driving our entire family and pulling a 42 ft. camper just days ago. I was also thankful for all the blessings we had, including the 15 years I got with him, and the 12 years my son got with his Dad, and all of the fantastic experiences we have had as a family. We had some extraordinary together time due to COVID19, and I was so grateful for that too. It is incredible what you can find when you look for your blessings. As Charles Dickens said, “Reflect upon your present blessings – of which every man has many -not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” I have a daily reminder in my calendar, asking, “What are you grateful for? ” and I have a big list even now. Being grateful is something resilient people focus on; no matter how bad it gets, there are plenty of blessings.

Continue to Learn and Grow

Building resilience and having a growth mindset are critical to your success today. When you combine the skills necessary to capture both, you can accomplish just about anything, no matter what you face in the future. The resilience will give you strength, and a growth mindset will see the challenge as an opportunity to learn and grow.  What challenges are ahead for you? How will you flip them into opportunities to learn and grow? I believe if you are not learning, you are just merely withering away. Learning keeps you young in mind and spirit. It enables you to see the world as endless opportunities.

About The Author:

Dr. Gina Ann Richter has over 20 years of experience in learning strategy, consulting, managing, designing, and developing effective and instructionally efficient learning experiences based on brain-based research. These experiences include the use of blended solutions, curation, learning ecosystems, social learning environments, a 70-20-10 structure, collaborative learning experiences, virtual, and self-paced asynchronous e-learning within corporate settings. Gina’s experience also extends into academia where she has designed, developed, and delivered Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral degree level courses for several academic institutions.

Within both academia and industry, her instruction is learner-centered and cutting edge through the incorporation of new technologies that facilitate instructional strategies specific to the audience, content, and infrastructure. Gina is a lifelong learner, who is action-oriented, has an inquiring intellect, ingrained ethics, and a desire to excel.