PERSPECTIVES IN FOCUS
Courtney Michener Miller
I’ve dedicated my career to learning, talent and development professionally and personally. As a member of the LTEN community, you’ve done the same and we share the same triumphs and trials in our craft.
I am convinced we learn best as a community for and with each other and do our best work when anchored in gratitude for the privilege of the roles we play in our businesses. We stay motivated by finding connectedness to our work in the world around us.
Two years ago, I started an internal weekly Monday Motivation post on our intranet at AstraZeneca to write, anchor, motivate and connect with the business. I use the hashtag of #OneBeautifulLife in all my writing channels and I’m honored to bring both the concept of motivations and the anchor of #OneBeautifulLife to the LTEN community in this new quarterly column.
As we work to elevate human and business performance together in this #OneBeautifulLife through learning for the patients who need us, we do so together.
Let’s begin 2025 with a book recommendation and a challenge to contemplate the power of rethinking and unlearning. I recently read a book called “Think Again” by Adam Grant. The book explores the power of knowing what you don’t know – a fascinating concept for our learning and development hearts and for the work of our extraordinary learning teams.
Reskilling our workforce, time after time, is mastering the art of unlearning and relearning. It requires much more than focus – it needs us to choose courage over comfort. Grant invites the reader to let go of views that are no longer serving us well and to prize mental flexibility over foolish consistency. Our job becomes the will and ability to build the intellectual and emotional muscles we need to stay curious.
With this, the book is divided up into three core parts:
First, individual rethinking, where Grant challenges us to consider how we update our own views.
Second, interpersonal rethinking, where case studies are considered as ways to debate effectively and open the minds of other people.
Third, collective rethinking, strategies to consider as we create communities of lifelong learners.
From the boardroom to the kitchen table in our homes, the content eloquently applies and adds the right balance of perspective to change the game in the way we think about learning and development.
Of the most interesting concepts to me, Grant introduces the rethinking cycle that challenges us to think like scientists by choosing humility over pride, doubt over uncertainty and curiosity over closure. The science of learning, flipped a bit and anchored in curiosity, underscores the relevance in our evolving life sciences arenas.
“A dose of complexity can disrupt overconfidence cycles and spur rethinking cycles,” he challenges. “It gives us more humility about our knowledge and more doubts about our opinions, and it can make us curious enough to discover information we were lacking.”
In the healthcare industry and in the world, we unanimously agree that change is inevitable and view resiliency as critical human capability for success. It is profound to incorporate what we may be required to unlearn, to challenge and to see differently as we continue to elevate human and business performance in an ever-changing world.
Let’s work together as learning and development leaders to bring courageous curiosity into our capability-building agendas and training strategies. Let’s embrace what we don’t know, challenge common practice and keep pushing boundaries together.
May we all be comfortable and curious with the opportunity in the unknown, in our work, our homes and the world.
Make it a great year ahead in your #OneBeautifulLife for your business, for one another and for you. Stay kind, curious and courageous as you seek perspectives to bring you focus.
Until next time, be well and keep making a difference.
Courtney Michener Miller is head of commercial learning for AstraZeneca and a member of the LTEN Board of Directors. Email her at courtney.michener@astrazeneca.com or connect through linkedin.com/in/courtneymichenermiller.
