Never Forget That Classes Work

I had a recent twitter conversation over an offhand tweet claiming that “the most powerful + effective leaders in human history didn’t take classes in it.” I was somewhat surprised to see someone entrenched in modern learning make this claim. It is not remotely true.

I understand where the impulse to make such claims come from. Especially in organizational learning, we’re very focused outside the class, seeing the huge gains possible from improving informal and social learning opportunities that organizations have long neglected. But there’s a tendency to ahistoric claims about the history of education, educational technology, and how people have learned for a very very long time that I hope the field leaves behind as it matures. Classes have been astoundingly successful at scaling learning in ways that mentorship and resource availability outside of class have not, for thousands of years.

So, back to the specific claim. Classes in leadership skills for future leaders have been common since at least as far back as Alexander the Great, when Aristotle instructed Alexander in subject-based group instruction, including in leadership, alongside other children of leaders. Alexander considered this instruction so valuable that, when Aristotle published books later, Alexander wrote to Aristotle testily:

You have not done well to publish your books of oral doctrine; for what is there now that we excel others in, if those things which we have been particularly instructed in be laid open to all?

— from Plutarch’s Lives

…and in response, Aristotle assured Alexander that the books would only be useful as references for someone who had been instructed, that instruction was still the only way to learn the things within!

Perusing the great leaders of history, for quite a few we have records of their instruction in various areas of leadership via classes, and for many of the ones we do not, there’s plenty of evidence they experienced it, via records of the standards of instruction for people around them.

There are leaders who were never formally instructed in leadership skills, of course! But famous leaders who’ve taken classes in leadership are abundant as cicadas in the sticky days of summer.

Looking at the modern day, formal, class-based instruction in leadership pervades business, the military, and more, expanding, not contracting. The MBA is a recent innovation, and keeps growing in application. A lot of that expansion has been in “Executive MBAs”, teaching better leadership to people already high in corporate leadership. The military just expanded numerous education requirements for promotion. One new requirement, for promotable sergeants first class? A “Master Leader Course”.

Classes work for leadership.

If you’re interested in talking more about issues like this… well, I love to talk, but honestly, there are much better people to talk to than me about educational history & technology. I recommend reading people like Tressie McMillan Cottom, Audrey Watters, and Jose Vilson, and paying them for their advice.