Tuesday, May 17, 2011

The Hard Way or...

Ask any group of successful executives "How did you learn to be a leader?" and the majority will reply, with a grin and a nod - "the hard way". What they mean by "the hard way" is summed up by the Center for Creative Leadership's (CCL) study that showed that over 90% of a leader's "education" happens on the job.

Leaders told CCL that their leadership lessons were learned through hardships (e.g., business mistakes, lousy jobs, problems with subordinates, downsizings), challenging assignments (e.g., start from scratch, turnaround, project/task force, change in scope) and through relationships, frequently negative (e.g., role models - bad and good, mentors, peers, and difficult people). They said that only a small portion of their learning came from coursework, books, and traditional learning vehicles.


Furthermore, leaders said that their education wasn't really planned or directed -- they learned their lessons as chance and opportunity chose to provide them. The current state of the art in leadership development encourages managers to seek out these difficult situations for the learning experience. Does it have to be this way? The research on prodigies, champions and high-level experts says no. The learning that results from hardships, mistakes and challenges is not a function of the difficulty. It is because these situtations cause us to naturally, albeit unconsciously, switch into using the Prodigy Method of learning.

Years of extensive research shows that there is a remarkable consistency in how the highest levels of performance are achieved. Across diverse fields, there are four requirements for mastering any complex skill set at the highest levels:
  • Deliberate Practice
  • Hard Work
  • Support
  • Ability
The reason that mistakes and difficulties are such great teachers is because they create two conditions essential to improving performance - reflection and motivation. When we are concerned about our performance, we stop and think about what we are doing, what we have done wrong and what we have to do to make sure that our future performance will be up to our expectations -- this reflection is the core of deliberate practice. Mistakes and challenges also make us highly motivated to learn new things and make changes in our behavior -- in other words, work hard and seek support.
The principles of the Prodigy Method teach managers to replicate the enhanced learning environment of a new job or a difficult assignment with their regular daily job activities. There is no waiting for a challenge or a mistake to come along to accelerate your learning. Learning can happen on a daily basis without changing much of what a person is doing. The Prodigy Method is not about doing something extra or different to practice your skills; it is merely thinking differently about what you are already doing.