The Manager - 112 - Two ways to learn

THE MANAGER - BY ROB LAMBERT

Hi, 

I hope you are well and had a nice spooky weekend. 

It's busy here at Lambert Towers as usual. The boys are going back to school after half term, whilst the UK looks set for another total lockdown. It's hard times for many employees, leaders and business owners. Tough times ahead again, just when many thought it was starting to get better.

This week I've been pondering what it takes to learn. 

As many of you know I'm studying for my diploma in HR. It's another string to my bow. It may open up new job opportunities and adds to my existing experience in HR.

The course is full of theories about HR, people and management process. Yet, none of it will be useful without me putting it into practice. 

We've become a culture obsessed with information. The information economy is strong. Social media is full of experts reforming ideas from other people's books and other sources. Authors and course creators who have different constraints, skills, experience and motivations to ourselves but often espousing their way as being the best. Many people push their information as the only way that works - which is rarely true.

Every company I consult with has self-service Learning Management Systems. They have centralised, generic training courses created by well intentioned HR teams to help managers "train" their people. Managers and leaders like to know they are "training" their teams - and what better way then providing a plethora of self-service training courses?

Learning resources are good sources of information, but true knowledge comes from action. 

I fell in to the trap myself. One year I read a whopping 200 books. I even rolled out an LMS - for which I am sorry. 

Even though I knew a lot, it wasn't until I put this information into action did I gain true knowledge.
 
Knowledge is information in action. 

As managers it pays to be skeptical of merely providing information and learning courses. Instead, striving to create environments where people can consume information AND then put it into action is a worthy goal.

An effective way to learn is by doing the work. Reflecting on the task at hand, taking time to understand what works and what does not - and mashing together pieces of information to understand our own world of work and effectiveness in it.

There are two main ways to learn.

1. Information acquisition - reading, watching videos, sitting online courses, memorising theory etc. 
2. Task acquisition - learning through the act of doing the work

Learning management systems, online courses, books, MBAs and the like, are all forms of information acquisition. Sure, there may be some practical exercises but the reality is, it's very much about acquiring information. This is good.

But task acquisition is how people form knowledge. Knowledge through doing.

Think of those famous musicians who simply picked up an instrument and learned through playing. 

The painters who just painted. The writers who just wrote. The photographers who just learned through taking photos. The mechanics who stripped a car apart to learn how it works. The managers who were thrown into management and learned how to do it. 

That's not to say that adding information acquisition to this activity doesn't work - in many cases it brings new insights and a structured learning approach. But simply acquiring information brings no knowledge. Not until it is put in to action. 

The best form of learning in the workplace, I believe, is on-the-job training. People learning from others who are already doing the work. Learning from doing the task and reflecting on the process, the work and the outcome. Learning by copying the behaviours of others. 

Seniors mentoring juniors, managers mentoring seniors. All forms of task acquisition. 

Well intentioned leaders, thought leaders and HR are creating work environments where people have more information sources than ever before, yet fewer opportunities to do on-the-job training. 

If you want to learn something - read about it, then do it. If you're a manager consider on-the-job training first, then centralised information courses second.

The goal of learning isn't to consume and remember as much as possible. It's to take what you're learning and put it into practice. It's to try new things and learn from doing. It's to become a better person because of it. 

Building knowledge is more important for your career (and other people's) than becoming a walking, talking information source. 

Today - if you're reading something - go and try it. 

Or even better, find something you've not been reading about and go and do it. It's hard at first, but that's all part of the journey. 

(Note, this idea prefaces my online communication course, where I explicitly make it clear that I cannot teach people to be better communicators - instead, they have to take what they read each day on the course - and put it in to practice - that's what the exercises are for)

Until next time
Rob..
 

What's new on Cultivated Management?

This week I released a new video:

You don't have to be disliked to be effective.

FOOD FOR YOUR MANAGEMENT BRAIN

1. Some ideas on how to be a better presenter via Zoom (or other comms tools of choice) - https://wadds.co.uk/blog/2020/10/29/how-to-present-via-zoom

2. Career myths - burnout and success do not have to go hand in hand - https://wepresent.wetransfer.com/story/career-myths-success-and-burnout-go-hand-in-hand/

3. There's some stuff to disagree with in this article, but also plenty to learn from - ain't that the way when it comes to managing productivity in teams - https://fellow.app/blog/2020/employee-productivity-the-ultimate-guide-for-managers/

4. Be a scheduler, not a to do list maker - https://www.nirandfar.com/todo-vs-schedule-builder/

5. How to thrive when everything feels really bad - https://hbr.org/2020/10/how-to-thrive-when-everything-feels-terrible

Learn with me

Learn how to develop your superpower in the world of work - effective communication skills.

My award winning in-person Communication workshop, is now online as a modular text only course. Complete it at your own pace, practice the lessons with practical exercises and develop a solid understanding of the science of communication. 

Find out more here.

Thanks for reading this week's edition of The Manager. 

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Thanks
Rob..