Podcast: The Value of Lifelong Learning for Project Professionals

All the professional bodies like PMI, APM and IAPM require CPD (Continuing Professional Development). But even if they did not, all project professionals should embrace lifelong learning.

I’ve lost count of the number of major changes and subtle shifts since I started my project management career in the mid 1990s. If you want to stay current, stay relevant, and, indeed, stay employable. You’ll want to engage in lifelong learning.

In this podcast, Elise Stevens of EliseStevens.co (formerly at: Fix My Project Chaos) and I discuss The Value of Lifelong Professional Learning.

The Fix My Project Chaos Podcast

This is my second podcast with Elise Stevens. Unlike the first (Project Management and Resilience), this is more of a discussion than an interview. Lifelong learning is a topic that both Elise and I are passionate about.

So, we talk about why project managers need to take responsibility for their own professional development, how to create your own personalised learning ‘curriculum’, and all the benefits of lifelong learning.

The choices that we make will dictate the outcomes that we get, and if we want to get better, more demanding jobs then we’ve got to get ourselves fit for that. If you want to be healthy, you have to eat well and exercise well. If you want to be a powerful professional, then you need to train yourself well. You need to get the experiences and the knowledge that you need.

The Value of Lifelong Professional Learning podcast page is on the EliseStevens.co website. There are loads of great interviews to listen to, after this one.

The Value of Professional Lifelong Learning

Lifelong Learning is a big topic, and one that Elise and I are hugely enthusiastic about. So, Elise took us on a wide tour in our 20 minutes.

Here are some of the things our discussion covered:

• Why you need to take personal responsibility for your ongoing skills’ development
• The reasons why employers do or don’t invest in their employee’s professional development, and the decrease in corporate training budgets
• Why learning is never wasted
• How to make effective lifelong learning a part of your routine

I recommend you either set aside 20 minutes to listen, or download it by right clicking here, for your next run, cycle, car journey or other opportunity.

What next…

If you like this, then:

1. Pop over to EliseStevens.co
2. Browse Elise’s fabulous archive of project management podcasts
3. Sign-up to get notifications when new ones come out

Here is the [SEO title] Podcast

I think my top tip would be to pick one or two online sources that you trust and enjoy, and dig deep into them

advises Mike.

If you liked this interview, you may also like…

Guest article by Elise Stevens, on this site:

• Difficult Stakeholders: 4 Steps to Engage Them

Articles linked to the topic of Project Management Lifelong Learning

• Of course, all the articles in our archive will aid your lifelong learning
• Why a Project Management Career? (13 Good Reasons)
• How can You Get the Best from Your Project Management Learning?
• Are You Ready for a Project Management Course (Why you are)?
• The Definitive Guide to Why a Good Online Project Management Course Trumps Live Training
• 10 Revealing Questions to find the Best Project Management Course