Why Education Is Important

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Learning can feel threatening, even when we consciously want to change.

New ideas are harder to accept when they challenge our existing identity and beliefs.

Curiosity and psychological safety make behavioural change more likely than persuasion or pressure.

Lasting change rarely happens alone; managers, mentors and others help turn insight into action.

Smart leaders don't fail to learn through lack of will. They fail because no one taught them to notice the moment their brain quietly vetoes the idea before they've consciously considered it. -Dr Lynda Shaw, author of Off-Piste Thinking: Why Smart Leaders Make Bad Decisions

Smart leaders don't fail to learn through lack of will. They fail because no one taught them to notice the moment their brain quietly vetoes the idea before they've consciously considered it. -Dr Lynda Shaw, author of Off-Piste Thinking: Why Smart Leaders Make Bad Decisions

We have never had easier access to ideas that promise to help us grow. Books, podcasts, keynote talks, online courses, and articles constantly offer new ways of thinking.

Yet how many people make meaningful behavioural changes after taking up these learning opportunities? Research consistently shows that turning insight into sustained behavioural change is far harder than most of us imagine.

It’s easy to assume that people don’t change because they lack motivation, discipline or commitment. Or that time is the barrier—once we return to our desks after a training course or conference, switch off a podcast or put our book down, real life simply gets in the way of applying and embedding what we have learned.

Some of this may be true, but it’s not the whole picture. The real barrier may lie in our brains doing exactly what they evolved to do.

Your Brain Thinks Learning Is........

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