Preparing your brain for learning and new habit-forming 

What does it mean to be an emotional human being? And, how do our systems interact and work with one another so that we can show up and not only be better learners and leaders, but also better humans as a whole? 

All is revealed in episode 24 of the Learning with Go1 podcast, where our host David William Hastings is joined by Learning Scientist Lauren Waldman and host of The Healthy Mind F*** podcast Dr Chris Lee to continue the education around all things neuroscience, cognitive load and learning in the workplace.  

Check out some of our favourite highlights below. 

Learning and the nervous system 

For many people over the past 18 months, it has been quite difficult to have a sense of consistency and certainty in their worlds, let alone setting aside some hours to learn.  

To kickstart the podcast, Lauren and Dr Lee explore the critical things that can help organisations better support employees, firstly through establishing trust and consistency.  

Social learning in the workplace 

In this highlight, Lauren begins to uncover the role social learning plays in the workplace today. Touching on the importance of giving employees the opportunity to explore, challenge, measure, and receive feedback, Lauren explains how the social factor of learning can benefit our mental health and put us in a more favourable position to learn.  

To add to Lauren’s point, Dr Lee describes how our brains can change in response to a number of external inputs, ultimately shaping the way we perceive ourselves and others. This is especially important when it comes to co-regulation and social learning. 

Fostering creativity in the workplace 

According to Dr Lee, one of the most powerful things for leaders to learn is the ability to create a safe space for people to express themselves. He explains: 

“The capacity for your team to express creative potential is their capacity to express, period. If they have a container to feel, to express all these different emotions, to have a non-judgmental circle, creativity will be a by-product of that.” 

To do so requires a high level of self-regulation and self-awareness - two traits Dr Chris has observed in some of today's most powerful emerging leaders. 

It all starts with the self 

To wrap up the podcast, David highlights that in order to make any change, it must first come from within. To be able to help others, we need to understand how to regulate ourselves and co-regulate with others. 

Final words from Dr Lee: 

“All you owe yourself every single day is 1% change. What's that 1% thing that you can do today? Is it writing this on a sticky note, or putting a reminder to come back and be present, or learning something that you had today? What's that one small thing that you can do? That's what you owe yourself. And this is again, a leadership tactic that we see. It's not that they have these like, sprint rest, sprint rest. It's consistency, right? Just 1% every single day.” 

Final words from Lauren: 

“I'll keep it short and sweet and end with YARR. In my world, as some know, that stands for ‘You Are Really Ready’. And whether you are really ready to just drop to the floor and cry right now, or have a good laugh, or go order a pizza, or start a new learning journey - whatever it is, you've got this.” 

This stimulating conversation not only touched on humanising the workplace, but also on mental health and physical wellbeing, learning, and all the science that supports it. If you haven’t already, listen to the full podcast here to learn more.   

We look forward to continuing the rest of the series with L&D professionals already scheduled to join us from Italy, Cyprus, Eqypt, Oman, Finland, The Netherlands, Australia, USA and many more. Stay tuned!    

Want to hear more? Browse the full Learning with Go1 podcast library on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify to help expand your knowledge of all things L&D. And hear how other organisations are navigating through this ever-evolving landscape.