Learn like you mean it: Why how to's aren't enough.

Feedback is oxygen. I learned that the hard way.

When I landed my first leadership role, I went from managing one site to partnering with 16. I thought I was smashing it. I literally skipped into my six-month review, armed with evidence of all the improvements I’d made.

Instead, I walked into three stony-faced Directors who hit me with: “Improve immediately or you’re out.” It was brutal.

My mistake wasn’t the work. It was the people. Fifteen site managers felt steamrolled. My enthusiasm had dented a few egos, and all my evidence meant nothing if they weren’t with me. I had a choice: walk away or dig in. I dug in. With the support of the one manager who hadn’t complained (thank you, accidental mentor 🙌), I rebuilt those relationships step by step. Painful? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely. Over the next 18 months we achieved results I could never have delivered alone.

That experience taught me: knowing isn’t enough. Evidence isn’t enough.

Learning has to go deeper - to how you apply it, adapt it, and make it stick.

Why Chris Hemsworth Had to Learn Like This Too

If you’ve watched Limitless on Disney+, you’ll know the episode where Chris Hemsworth decides to learn the drums. Not just in his garage, but well enough to play live on stage with Ed Sheeran... infront of 70,000 screaming fans in an arena and for Ed's most famous song "Thinking out Loud".

Now here’s the bit I loved. His coach didn’t just say: “Go practise for hours.” They showed him how the brain actually learns:

• break skills into chunks,

• practise in short bursts,

• revisit them again and again,

• test yourself under pressure.

It wasn’t about one heroic cram session, it was about structured, repeated, deliberate practice. That’s why Thor himself could sit behind a drum kit and hold his own with Ed Sheeran.

The Problem With ‘How To’ Culture

We live in a world of quick fixes. “How to nail presentations in 3 minutes.” “How to speak Spanish in a week.” Scroll, click, binge, forget.

This is the equivalent of fast food for your brain. You get the sugar rush of “I’ve learned something!” but it never sticks. If you haven’t digested it, tested it, or applied it. By tomorrow, most of it’s gone. The science backs this: Ebbinghaus showed that within an hour of learning something new, we forget about 60% of it. Sixty! One hour in, you’re down to scraps — unless you revisit, apply, and reflect.

That’s why “How To” videos don’t transform careers. Reflection and application do.

How to Learn Like You Mean It

If you actually want learning to change you (not just entertain you) here are the non-negotiables:

1. Space it out.

Cramming is a microwave. Real learning is a slow cooker. Come back to the material, again and again, so it has time to marinate.

2. Practise messy.

Reading about swimming won’t stop you drowning. You’ve got to do the thing, no matter how awkward, imperfect, uncomfortable, or it’s still theory.

3. Seek feedback early.

Without it, your brain just keeps guessing. My own leadership near-miss taught me this the hard way. Feedback turns blind spots into growth.

4. Reflect and plan.

Stop, ask: What worked? What didn’t? What’s next? This step alone separates the people who evolve from those who stay stuck.

5. Layer your senses.

Somatic, Auditory, Visual, Intellectual. This is what David Meier calls SAVI. Move it, say it, sketch it, think it. The more ways you process it, the deeper it goes.

So What?

The world’s moving fast. AI is taking on tasks that once made us valuable. Job titles are changing under our feet. The skill that will keep you relevant isn’t just what you know, it’s how you learn.

So next time you click on a shiny “How To” video, pause. Ask yourself: Am I going to crockpot this, practice it, reflect on it, and apply it tomorrow? Or am I just microwaving my brain with trivia?

One path changes your career. The other just fills pub quizzes.

Learn like you mean it. Your future self will thank you.

You can listen to more in Episode 18 of Little Moves, Big Careers here.

You will also find resources to help learning from the episode marinade nicely to make it stick ;-) ENJOY!

#continuouslearning #highperformance #reflection #feedback #littlemovesbigcareers