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This newsletter is dedicated to my University Associates colleagues with whom I learned to design and facilitate experiential learning. Our shared passion, commitment, and creativity changed my life forever! |
Life Lessons Are the Best!
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In the winter quarter of my senior in college, I came down with pneumonia and missed almost 4 weeks of classes. Even though I was at a great disadvantage, I did not drop classes or take incompletes. Instead, when I felt better, I powered forward and returned to classes. I missed so much of the quarter that I felt lost, but refused to make a change.
When I got my winter quarter grades, they were abysmal and I was ashamed. I sheepishly phoned home and told my father about my grades. I thought he would be furious with me for doing so poorly. Instead, he asked me a question: "Did you learn anything from this experience?"
I was floored by his question and have been asking myself that question ever since. It was one of the most important moments of my life. I began to understand that no experience is wasted if one reflects on it and uses the lessons it provides.
I'm still working on the lesson:
When the going gets tough, take a time out and reflect. Then, take creative action. |
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"The best leaders are the best learners."
-Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner |
| Leadership Challenge | |
Without extra cost and time, leaders can create extraordinary learning environments every day, making learning a way of life in their organizations. How does a leader do that?
Highly successful leaders are learners and build environments that enable continuous learning. As a result, employees grow and are motivated to be the best they can be and to find new ways to produce extraordinary results.
Create a Super-charged Learning Environment
The Four Fundamentals
- Be a learner every day
- Ask great questions that inspire reflection
- Take regular time-outs to reflect with your team
- Encourage worthy experiments
1. Be a learner every day
Your checklist
- What do I most want to learn next?
- How will I learn that? Make a plan and implement it.
- At the end of each day, ask "What did I learn today?" - "What will I do as a result of learning that?" - "Did I greet each person today as someone from whom I could learn?"
2. Ask great questions that inspire reflection
Your checklist
- What open-ended questions will I ask that support learning in my organization?
- Where and with whom will I pose those questions?
- How will I pose the question in a way that helps the other to feel safe and open?
3. Take time-outs to reflect with your team
Your checklist
- At regular intervals in a project, stop action and ask the team to reflect on how the project is going: What are we proud of? What challenges us most? As we proceed, what do we want to do the same and differently?
- Upon completion of a project, bring the team together to reflect on the entire effort: If we were to do this project again, what would we do more of? Less of? The same? What did we learn from this project that we will use in the next project?
- How will we document what we've learned and build the lessons into our next projects?
4. Encourage worthy experiments
Your checklist
- Do I encourage my team members to try new things and test new ideas or do I demand perfect execution at all times?
- When faced with challenges that we have never mastered before, do I suggest running limited experiments to see what works and does not work?
- Do I reward employees who take calculated risks that do not always turn out? Do I assist them to learn from failures?
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| Leader as Learner & Facilitator of Learning:
Success Story | |
Jack was a company President with a long history of leading through intimidation. Over a period of years, he solved productivity problems in his organization by "cleaning house" - letting employees go when he determined that they no longer deserved their jobs. He was known as "the hatchet man". His direct reports did not have open discussions with him about challenges, fearing repercussions. Employees feared him. He was not a happy man and his organization lacked creativity and resiliency in the face of huge challenges. He decided to change.
One of his team members suggested that he meet with me and that was the beginning of one of the most gratifying coaching experiences of my life. I became a partner in Jack's transformation and remain in awe of what he did. He first called his team together for a 2-day off-site. In that meeting, he openly communicated with them about his regrets about "hatchet man" behavior and his desire to become a trusted mentor and leader - for his own well being and for that of the company. His openness about past mistakes inspired their openness. He engaged the team in creating behavioral commitments related to how they worked together and treated one another. One commitment was "No hallway assassinations", meaning that, when they agreed to something in the team setting, they would advocate for it in the organization.
In the next two years, he and his team studied change leadership principles and worked diligently to live by their commitments to one another. Using the behavioral commitments as a foundation, they gave and received feedback to and from one another once per quarter. They learned to trust Jack and one another to live up to their commitments. They sponsored a highly engaging company-wide transformation project focused on (1) the clarification and redesign of core business processes and (2) building a culture of teamwork and collaboration, starting at the top. They engaged employees throughout the organization in these initiatives and trained them in successful team behavior. A by-product of this collaborative work was a newly energized employee population and leaders with skills to continue in a collaborative and facilitative mode.
Jack retired with peace of mind and a full heart. He left behind a cadre of senior and middle managers who have carried the company to even greater heights in recent years.
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| Featured Service & Call to Action
Leader as Learner and Facilitator of Learning | |
This is "back to school" time and real life is a fabulous classroom. As you move from summer into fall, it is a great time to consider this question: What do I most want to learn next?
If you and/or your team want a partner as you pursue a learning goal or build a climate that inspires learning, call me. I welcome such an opportunity.
"Pat has played a significant role in my development over the years. She has the unique ability to understand and validate your talents and gifts, and at the same time to help you advance rapidly toward your stretch learning goals. Pat is an inspiring mentor and coach who has helped me build a suite of practical skills and approaches to enhance my overall effectiveness". -HR/OD executive |
| Suggested Reading | |
Coaching With the Brain In Mind by David Rock & Linda Page
-A highly useful reference book for professional coaches and leaders, it provides information and tips for helping clients and employees learn, change and thrive. Rock teaches how to maximize the brain's capacity to learn.
Fifth Discipline Fieldbook by Peter Senge et al
-A pragmatic how-to guide to building your organization's capacity to learn on a daily basis, this is a must-read for leaders committed to continuous learning and those who consult with them.
"Teamwork at the Top" / Article in the McKinsey Quarterly, 2001, #2 by Erika Herb, Keith Leslie, Colin Price
-This article describes what it takes to build successful teamwork at the top of an organization, with special emphasis on (1) Acting and (2) Reflective Learning in a cyclical pattern.
The Truth About Leadership: The No-Fads, Heart-of-the-Matter Facts You Need To Know by James Kouzes and Barry Posner
-Based on 30 years of research, this book (published Aug 2010) "explores the fundamental, enduring truths of leadership that hold constant regardless of context of circumstances." Kouzes and Posner offer ten truths that endure over time. |
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Please let me know if I can answer any questions you may have. I welcome feedback on my newsletter.
Sincerely
Pat
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pat newmann