ThemeSkills & Growth
CardCard 14 of 66
Questions5 to explore

Education

From longer programs to short courses

The best education you have had may not be the most formal one, and the best one ahead of you may not be either.

Education in a career context is broader than school. It includes formal degrees and courses, but also workshops, self-directed reading, online programs, apprenticeships, and the slow learning that comes from doing something repeatedly until you understand it at a level no course could deliver. All of these count, and most people undervalue the informal ones.

The question is not whether to keep learning but how to do it in a way that fits where you are going. Some kinds of learning are best done inside an institution, with the structure and accountability that comes with it. Others are better done alone, on your own timeline, in the exact areas you need right now. Knowing which mode suits the kind of learning you need is itself a skill.

It is also worth thinking about what learning has cost you versus what it has returned. Not every degree or course is worth the time and money at every point in a career. The honest calculation includes opportunity cost.

How to work on it

Practical ways to reflect on and develop this dimension of your working life. How it tends to look at different stages of a career, and where to put your attention.

Early career

Invest in building foundations that are genuinely hard to self-teach: structured thinking, technical depth, and exposure to how different types of organizations work.

Mid career

Look for education that fills specific gaps or opens new directions rather than adding more of what you already know.

Late career

Prioritize learning that keeps you current or helps you move into a new chapter, including learning from people much earlier in their careers than you.

Questions to explore

Use these on your own or in a group. There are no right answers, only better conversations.

Which parts of your education have shaped how you work most durably, and which have you barely touched?
What do you most want to learn right now, and what is the best way to actually learn it?
Are there gaps in your knowledge that are quietly limiting you, and if so, what is holding you back from addressing them?
How do you learn best: in structured programs, through practice, through conversation, through reading?
What would you study if time and money were not constraints, and what does that tell you about what you actually care about?

Things to notice

Using education as a way to delay action: learning more can feel productive while keeping you safely away from the harder work of doing and risking.
Sticking to the kind of learning that felt right at an earlier stage, rather than adapting your approach as your needs change.
Ignoring informal learning: some of the most formative education happens in conversation, in projects, and in failure, and it rarely comes with a certificate.