So, in the community, the woman wanted to know what tiny actions and habits other CEOs were using in their business.

The responses were what you would expect …

“I plan my next day at the end of every day.”

“I prioritize my actions. I want to stay focused on the most important tasks.”

“I put myself to bed at a reasonable hour.”

“I make sure my meals are planned out so I am not wasting time staring at the fridge trying to figure out what I want to eat.“

Then, one response had my spidey senses up and had my brain going in a totally different direction. I knew I wanted to blog about it.

She said, “I organize my desk.”

I instantly had the thought, “Ah. She is a visual learner.”

Maybe because, as a recruiter, I helped many companies build their Learning and Development teams and I now coach women in the L & D space, but how people learn has always been fascinating to me.

When she said she organized her desk to support her work, I had to dig deeper into how your learning style can help you in your career meaning.

How Your Learning Style Shapes Your Career Meaning

Career meaning isn’t just having purpose. It’s the felt sense that your work fits how you’re wired.

Most people don’t realize that the way they naturally take in information has a direct impact on their career path, confidence, motivation, and sense of purpose.

When you understand how you learn, you unlock a hidden advantage in navigating promotions, job searches, leadership growth … and especially moments of reinvention.

Your learning style is a blueprint for what I consider to be the most important career requirement … alignment!

There are four primary learning styles. You can be very solidly in 1 style or, like me, be a combination of 2 or more. (I will share a link to a free quiz to help you find out your learning style or styles in a bit.)

No matter what, learning how you learn can help you build a more meaningful, energized and aligned career.

The 4 Primary Learning Styles and their Career Meanings

🎨 1. Visual Learners

“I understand best when I can see it.”

Visual learners are pattern-recognizers, shape-thinkers, and meaning-makers. What you see influences how you feel and what you believe is possible.

Career Meaning Insight:

If your environment looks outdated, cluttered, or tied to past roles, you may feel stuck or uninspired. If your environment reflects your potential, vision, and values, your career expands to match it.

Career-Enhancing Upgrades:

• Create a Future-Self Vision Board you see daily.
• Use visual planning tools: color-coded calendars, Kanban boards, mind maps.
• Refresh your office décor to match the energy of your next level.
• Highlight your achievements visually (wins wall, certificates, visuals of metrics).

🎧 2. Auditory Learners

“I understand best when I can hear it.”

Auditory learners think in language, rhythm, tone, and conversation. They don’t need visuals … just the right words, spoken clearly and collaboratively.

Career Meaning Insight:

You thrive when you hear encouragement, clarity, feedback, and new perspectives. Isolation kills your motivation. Connection fuels it.

Career-Enhancing Upgrades:

• Record your career goals as voice memos and listen to them daily.
• Use collaborative conversations, coffee chats, mentoring, informational interviews, to gain insights and ideas for next steps.
• Listen to career-growth podcasts while walking or commuting.
• Practice interviewing aloud, not just in your head or on paper.

👐 3. Kinesthetic Learners

“I understand best when I can move, touch, or physically engage.”

Kinesthetic learners feel information in their bodies. Movement fuels thinking. Sitting still too long shuts down creativity and clarity.

Career Meaning Insight:

You discover meaning through embodiment, not theory. You need to physically “try things on” to know if they’re right for you.

Career-Enhancing Upgrades:

• Take walking meetings to generate ideas or solve problems.
• Use physical objects to represent goals (vision stones, symbolic items, tactile reminders).
• Create a “prototype mindset”. Experiment with roles, projects, and tasks.
• Redesign your workspace for movement: standing desk, stretching zones, bouncy ball chairs.

🧠 4. Reading/Writing Learners

“I understand best when I can write, organize, or read the information myself.”

A Reading/Writing Learner translates the world into structure, language, and frameworks. Writing is how you think. Reading is how you deepen meaning.

Career Meaning Insight:

You find clarity through reflection, journaling, and creating order out of chaos. You thrive when information is structured and struggle when it’s not.

Career-Enhancing Upgrades:

• Keep a daily career clarity journal.
• Write out scripts and frameworks for interviews or networking.
• Build written templates for your work (emails, proposals, agendas).
• Organize your digital life so it mirrors your structured mind.

Bringing It All Together

Your learning style is the path to career alignment. If the culture does not support your learning style you will always feel like a square peg in a round hole. Not their fault and not your fault. It is just not the right fit.

When your career actions, work environment, and daily routines match how your brain naturally learns:

• Work feels easier
• Decisions become clearer
• Opportunities make more sense
• Confidence grows
• Meaning increases
• Motivation flows again

Your learning style is a compass, always pointing you toward alignment.

Alignment lands like the truth. It feels like ease. And it’s what allows a career to truly thrive.