I’m not a big fan of the London Underground. I mean, who is really?

It’s loud, cramped, smelly and filled with unhappy people who just want to be somewhere else. That said, it is an effective way to travel, so on a recent trip to London to visit the Chinese Embassy, I found myself squeezed into a seat on the busy Northern line. At one of the stops, the doors opened and a big gaggle of about 30 kids bundled into the carriage. Now these were small nippers, probably aged around 6 or 7 years old, all out on a school trip to visit St Paul’s Cathedral. What happened? Chaos ensued. These 30 or so kiddies took over the carriage, chattering, shouting, bumping into me and even climbing over me! There were five tired-looking teachers all tasked with taking care of the ankle-biters, and they were doing their best. They told the kids to give me some space but the kids didn’t listen.

Now, I could have got annoyed. In fact, I did to start with inside my head. But then I took a different approach. I started to engage. 

Instead of telling them off or getting irritated, I just started to interact with them. I asked them where they were going, how old they were, what was in their packed lunch… And they stopped jumping around and started to sit still and listen, and we all had a lovely journey from then on. 

Now, it’s been a long time since my kids were this small, but it did take me back. You see, kids view things differently. They think outside the box. They live in a very tactile, right-now world. And we can learn a lot from them if we’re willing to listen. 

I think it’s the same in all areas of life and business. How often have you flown off the handle, made assumptions, or got annoyed about something without first engaging and asking questions? How many times have you missed out on an opportunity to learn because you’re too stuck in your own feelings, ideas, opinions and views? 

In business, we’re pressured to be the “expert”. To know everything and have it all figured out. But actually, learning is something that should never stop. And sometimes we learn the most incredible things from the people we least expect to learn from.  

So next time you’re in a situation that you could find frustrating, take a different approach. Ask yourself what can you learn here? Ask questions. Push yourself outside of your existing mindset or view – and see how your world starts to change.

How about you?

Have you had any interesting learning moments recently? I’d love to hear about them…