Great at Work: The Hidden Habits of Top Performers

by Morten T. Hansen

Key Points • Statistical analysis of our 5,000-person dataset showed that people who applied the learning loop perform much better than those who didn’t. • To learn well at work, we must overcome important challenges that people don’t face when trying to master skills in sports, music, chess, and memory tests (the areas where most research on deliberate practice has been conducted). • The Learning Loop is an approach to learning while you perform your daily work: you try out a new approach in a small way (e.g., how you ask a question in a meeting), then measure the outcome, then get quick feedback, then tweak your approach based on that feedback (e.g., ask the question differently). • You can deploy six tactics to implement the learning loop in your job: 1. Carve out just 15 2. Chunk it 3. Measure the “soft” 4. Get nimble feedback, fast 5. Dig the dip 6. Confront the stall point. • Effective learners break an overarching skill into micro-behaviors: they are small, concrete actions you take on a daily basis to improve a skill. The action shouldn’t take more than fifteen minutes to perform and review, and it should have a clear impact on skill development. • How do you thrive in your career even when technological and other disruptions threaten to render traditional job skills obsolete? Combine the learning loop with redesign (chapter three).