Your Learner Talent: Journeying Towards Competence
“Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.” - Albert Einstein
"Learner" is my fourth talent, and although I love it now, it took some time to develop. There were times in my professional life when my eagerness to learn new things cost me a lot of time, energy, and money, with little return on investment (ROI). However, I've come to understand how connecting my intellectual interests with my work has made all the difference. It’s the talent I lean on not only to get to know my clients and learn more about coaching, strengths, and leadership to maintain my expertise but also to teach what I’ve learned to others. It's a talent that's out in the open—meaning it’s recognized as being beneficial by others. Some of the most positive feedback I receive highlights this talent, noting it as noticed and appreciated by others.
Tucked into CliftonStrengths' strategic thinking domain, the "Learner" talent describes people who delight in the journey from not knowing to knowing. They are self-propelled towards discovery, unintimidated by the idea of being a novice, and confident in their ability to master new ideas, concepts, and topics.
If "Learner" is one of your top talents, you're curious and open-minded. You like to be current, relevant, and on the cutting edge. You are unafraid to say when you don’t know something because you know that’s the best way to begin to know something, and you’re confident in your ability to figure it out. Your way of overcoming problems is often new and well-informed rather than following the familiar tried and true method.
Similarities + Differences With Other Talents
Understanding the "Learner" talent means recognizing how it stands apart and aligns with other talents:
"Learner" and "Focus" both possess a quality of zeroing in. For "Learner," it's their intellectual interest in a topic that zeros them in on it. Conversely, for "Focus," in the executing domain, it's the goal or task at hand that zeros in their interest.
"Learner" and "WOO" share a quality of being interested, but "Learner" is interested in learning something new, while "WOO," in the influencing domain, is interested in meeting someone new.
Leverage The “Learner” Talent
Lead With “Learner”: Create a culture of learning and development in the workplace by formalizing and encouraging career development plans, continuing education, skills training, mentorship, and progress checks. Stay abreast of developments in the field of leadership as well as the industry and organization in which you lead. Keep your team informed and up to date on topics that are relevant to them and their role.
Work With “Learner”: Do more discovering. Strive to continually broaden your knowledge base. Notice where your learning interests are leading you, even outside the world of work, and see where you can bridge that with professional development opportunities.
Live With “Learner”: Know your preferred learning sources and what your learning interval is. How frequently do you need to be learning something new to feed your learner and feel current enough? Whether you prefer books, podcasts, or conferences, identify how you learn best and prepare for that, aligning opportunities with your preferred learning style and interval.
Coach Someone With “Learner”: Coaching someone with "Learner" high means encouraging their desire to learn. Give them reading assignments, provide them with resources, books, articles, topics to learn more about on their own. Be prepared to help them make a connection between what they are learning and how they can apply it or teach it to someone at work.
Discover the Strength of Your “Learner” Talent
Find out if "Learner" is one of your dominant talents with CliftonStrengths 34 or CliftonStrengths Top 5, gaining personalized insights and strategies to maximize your potential.
Discover your top talents with the CliftonStrengths assessment:
