Context is king. Context is necessary for the human brain to filter the volume of new information that comes our way each minute.

When you encounter new information one filter question we ask ourselves is, “Do I already know this?”

If I already know this then my mind can turn to more important things. In my teaching portions of Executive Leadership Circle the titles of the segments are sometimes mundane. It’s easy to say, “I already know this.” The problem of course is the resulting switch going off if you decide you already know about planning or objectives, etc. and you can miss the unique and valuable lesson.

Our Executive Leadership Circle clients ask themselves 5 questions when they encounter a topic. In fact the questions are always in front of them. A tent card reminds each participant of these questions which serve as a pre-flight checklist whenever an educational opportunity presents itself. Give some thought to adding these questions to your approach.

1. What does this mean? It sounds simplistic, but take a moment and explore what this information means. How does it fit into my big picture? What is the author of the information getting at? Is this complex or simple? Are there potential underlying meanings?

2. How will this help me? Based on what I’m learning, how will this help me accomplish my goals? Perhaps this information can provide a new twist to an active problem you’re solving? Maybe this information may be helpful to articulate a lesson you are trying to teach your team? The answer may be that there isn’t an immediate application so it should be filed away for later use.

3. Where will I use it? This question allows for some creativity. You may be learning about a highly technical business subject. Can you apply the knowledge in some other area of your life? Can you use this information in the next customer visit you have? How about the annual sales meeting?

4. How will I use it? Some information is useful to have in the back of your mind. Other information is immediately and directly actionable. Thinking in terms of how you will use the information is critical to taking initiative and moving forward so the new information will increase in value.

5. What do I need in order to use it effectively? This is the growth question. What tools will you need to use the information effectively. Do you currently have these tools? You just may need to learn something or change something in order to take advantage of the new information. This adds to your development plan. For example, a couple  of weeks ago we discussed the importance of stories as a leadership communication tool. What might you need to tell more stories? Perhaps a comfort level with speaking outside of  a “just the facts” mode in front of your team. Maybe you need to collect stories and spend some time reviewing past milestones to extract the story and the lesson?

These questions increase the probability that new information is useful to you and reduces the chance that you will miss a significant nugget by dismissing new information too quickly.

Try this pre-flight checklist before every educational session you attend or every book or article you read. Apply context to everything you encounter and the value of your learning opportunities increase exponentially.

Photo credit: Search Engine People Blog

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