Are you a learning leader?
A lot has been researched and shared on why leaders should continue to learn — especially as world is becoming more and more VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous). This made me wonder about what leaders should be learning; more precisely, what characteristics should they be nurturing to enable their learning? According to Dr. Stewart Hase (psychologist), the ability to deal with ambiguity, the capacity to learn, the capacity to foster engagement and the ability to use open systems thinking are the four essential characteristics of a Learning Leader (refer to Figure 1 below).
Over the past 12 months, I’ve been fortunate to facilitate programs intended at developing learning leaders in Siemens.
In Leadership Excellence programs, I am amazed at the valuable insights and learning the participants gain just by being open to new experiences. They leave the program having a better understanding of themselves and of the people around them. Further, they learn techniques to manage and develop themselves and others. The programs provide them with an opportunity to network, to learn from each other and from leadership experts. It is impressive to witness the participants, even after completing their programs, continuing to foster learning by exchanging thoughts and experiences within an alumni community (enabled via social networking and web conferencing platforms). For me it is a great realization that the programs that are currently being offered are already providing the participants with many of the sub-characteristics detailed by Dr. Hase.
Learning Expeditions (i.e., visits to other companies to learn from outside) are intended to broaden the perspectives of participants through the exchange of good practices with other companies aiding the participants to conceptualize and implement innovative solutions for their own business challenges. Recently, I was fortunate to lead some of our leaders to Learning Expeditions in Amsterdam and Stockholm. Inspired from these company visits, participants were able to pilot projects within their own areas of impact so as to tackle some of their business challenges. Although I was a facilitator and not a participant, I am still in contact with some of the great company hosts to exchange thoughts on topics related to Leadership Development — and this, as Dr. Hase’s model would state, helps me not only in scanning the external environment but also externally analyzing the effectiveness of my projects.
So, what are your thoughts? Think about: How important is it to be a Learning Leader? Referring to Figure 1, is the list comprehensive and relevant? Are you aware of any other models that summarize the essential characteristics? Beyond the support your organizations provide, what are the ways you foster your learning as a leader?
Let’s discuss…
George is passionate about bringing out the best in individuals and teams. With a strong passion for sports (especially football), he is always on the look out for transferable learning from sports that can be applied in business. He has embarked on a journey to foster leadership skills and is on a pursuit to leverage on the collective intelligence of his community.
