How Leaders *REALLY* Learn

VICTORIA BROWN | MAY 2023

For ambitious leaders, learning and growth is more crucial than ever if you want to truly make an impact. It's also really challenging to learn in a way that actually builds your skills, especially while we all feel so time poor. We'll talking creating time next week - this week let's focus on how to spend the time learning in the most effective way.

Oops, I did it again. Learning mistakes we all make.

• Mistake #1: Not investing time and focus. When we learn, we want to be able to immerse ourselves properly into the content, and give our brains the time to turn the information around, ponder it, decide on our own perspective on the insights. We can often feel too busy as leaders, so we either don't give ourselves enough time OR we short-change our brains by thinking that watching a little reel or saving an interesting carousel post is going to be enough to really level up our skills. Sure, those little snackable bits of information can spark inspiration or create a reminder or trigger, but en masse they won't help you really level up. When thinking specifically about Tiktok, the constant influx of short-form content can reduce attention spans and encourage superficial engagement with information, making it more challenging to engage in deep learning and critical thinking.
• Mistake #2: Not connecting the insights to personal experience. When we learn something new, being able to connect it to our own experiences or understanding of the world helps that new idea or concept to take shape for us and enhances our understanding and ability to take on the new skill. 
• Mistake #3: Not taking action. Theory is great, in fact many of us spent a good few years sitting in university classrooms or on Zooms, learning ALL about lots of theory. When we're developing our leadership skills, theory simply isn't enough. Experiential learning is where the magic happens. We need to be taking the theory, connecting it to our experiences and creating our own understanding of the skill, and then taking it out into the world and trying it out. Implementing and experimenting with new knowledge is what makes learning stick.
• Mistake #4: Not reflecting. As the incomparable Maya Angelou reminds us, "You can't really know where you are going until you know where you have been." The point of reflection is to review the action we took and figure out if it worked or not. When leaders don't reflect on their own behaviours, or their new skills, it's challenging to know whether you're applying them correctly or not. 

Learning models you need to know.

We don't have to figure out the best way to learn, luckily lots of smart people have already figured that out for us - all we need to do is understand how we learn and then apply it to our own leadership growth plans to make sure we embed the new skills and level up. I want to show you the models that have inspired me and guided the way that I help upskill the leaders that I work with.

First up, we have Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory - a four-stage cyclical model that describes the process of learning through experience. The stages include: Concrete Experience, where a learner encounters a new situation or experience, like learning a new skill or idea; Reflective Observation, where the learner reflects on their experience, considering what went well and what could be improved; Abstract Conceptualisation, where the learner forms new concepts or ideas based on their reflection; and Active Experimentation, where the learner applies these new concepts in practice, testing their effectiveness. This theory emphasises the importance of learning from direct experiences and reflection, making it particularly relevant to us showing how much our leadership skills can grow when we consistently analysing and adapting our approach based on our real-life experiences.

Next, let's look at the 70:20:10 Model for Learning and Development. This clever model explains how 70% of learning comes from experiential activities (doing the things, trying out the skills), 20% from social interactions (talking about the skills with others, feedback and discussion), and the remaining 10% from formal education (learning the theory).

Growth Hack Yourself.

Okay, ready to take all of this and figure out how to use it to fuel your leadership growth? Here's the processes and tips that I use to upskill the leaders that I work with - that actually delivers results. 

• 🧗 Upward spiral of learning. Simplifying the Experiential Learning theory further, I like my leaders to:
  • LEARN: Take in the theory, learn about it and take notes. For example when we learn about leadership purpose, we look at well known frameworks and models that guide today's thinking on Purpose and Leadership. 
  • CREATE: Understand the theory in the context of YOU. This is done by journal reflections and practical exercises, for example when we learn about Self Awareness we have a whole workbook dedicated to this with exercises to mine our inner awareness thoughts and then gather specific and broad feedback - so the leaders create their version of the theory that's connect it to their experiences, and figure out how to make it actionable.
  • APPLY: Then you take what you've created, and go test and experiment out in the real world. 
  • Then you head back into the LEARN stage. You reflect on the application of your new skill, figure out what worked and what didn't. Then you CREATE again, make tweaks and optimisations to how you're applying the skill, then you APPLY again in the new way you've created. Make sense?
• 🥞 Skill stacking. This is about learning in the right order, so start with your foundational leadership skills - things that will empower every other skill that you learn moving forward.  Foundational leadership skills are things like your confidence, your resilience, your vision - then on top of that you stack other skills like self awareness (way easier when you're confidence and resilient), and EQ (also easier when you've got self awareness). 
• 🌱 Growth Plan. Set clear and achievable goals. Remember the wise words of Lewis Carroll, "If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there." So, don't wander aimlessly in your leadership journey. I know how annoying it is to be constantly told to set SMART goals, so I hesitate to be another person to tell you do it - but at the VERY LEAST, I like to script the future with my leaders and have a timeline. So we talk about how you're going to feel once you've finished the program and you've added all these epic skills to your leadership toolkit (e.g. confidence, resilience, innovation). Then we have a timeline that projects out for the next 12 months, with deadlines for when each module and lesson will be completed. So SMART goals, but less eye-roll. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound).

Start now!

Hopefully you'e feeling inspired for your own leadership growth - and don't forget that reading and learning alone won't transform you into an exceptional leader, the key to true growth lies in combining knowledge with insight, action and reflection.  Here are some journaling questions that will encourage you to reflect on what you've just read...

• 🤔 Which common leadership growth mistakes have you experienced or observed in your own journey, and what steps have you taken to overcome them?
• 🤔 In which areas of your leadership skills have you experienced the most significant growth through experiential learning (the 70:20:10 Model)?
• 🤔 How have you successfully connected new insights to your own experiences when learning new leadership skills or concepts?
• 🤔 Can you recall a specific instance where you took action or implemented practical steps to embed your leadership learning? What was the outcome?
• 🤔 Describe a situation where you created an opportunity for practice and reflection in your leadership role. What insights did you gain from this experience?
• 🤔 How do you hold yourself accountable for your leadership growth, and what methods do you use to track your progress?
• 🤔 What actions will you take now to enhance your leadership growth?

Good luck legend!

VB

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