Training Industry Magazine - March/April 2020 - 13

JULIE WINKLE GIULIONI

PERFORMANCE
MATTERS

LEADERS ARE LEARNERS ...
ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY'RE TEACHING

Leaders are learners. We hear it all the
time, and it makes sense. Continuous
learning is the only way to keep pace with
the challenges constantly confronting
organizations. Only those leaders
who are committed to expanding their
understanding will be prepared to address:

leaders make the commitment to assuming
a teaching role, it can be assumed that the
additional study and preparation will yield
greater fluency in the topic. But that's just
the tip of the arrow. Teaching puts leaders
face-to-face with conditions that enable
them to learn so much more.

* Changing
business
conditions,
competitive pressures, and disruption
from new and evolving sources.

Reality - Through teaching, leaders get
to confront the challenges facing their
people. It's easy to become distanced from
the day-to-day existence of employees.
But when leaders step into teaching roles,
they quickly learn the recurring issues
of their workforce. Working through the
how-tos of any topic offers an opportunity
for employees to share the barriers
associated with what's expected of them.
And this kind of reality check allows
leaders to gain greater perspective.

* Shifting employee demographics,
expectations and needs.
* Innovation and the application of new
technologies and methodologies.
Leaders who are committed to learning
appreciate that the half-life of critical
skills is shrinking quickly. They appreciate
and take advantage of the nearly
infinite resources for development -
including books, articles, conferences,
and podcasts.
And yet, there is one vehicle that's
frequently overlooked - even by leaders
deeply committed to learning. It's teaching.
Leaders can turbo-charge their learning
when they are placed in a teaching role.

"TEACHING IS THE
HIGHEST FORM OF
UNDERSTANDING."
- ARISTOTLE
Teaching is the highest form of learning,
opening the door to profound insights
and a comprehensive understanding that
cannot otherwise be activated. When

Behavior change - How frequently
do leaders expect the learning and
development (L&D) function to work
miracles? Put leaders in a teaching role,
and they quickly begin to appreciate
the complexity of skill building and
professional development. They discover
the importance of overcoming resistance
and helping others unlearn what no longer
serves them. They experience firsthand
the time and effort required to instill new
behaviors. They also learn how to better
support development and become better
allies for future change initiatives.
Communication - Leaders improve their
communication by teaching. Through
real-time feedback, they hone their ability
to frame a message that resonates with
others. And they begin to recognize the
number of times a message must be

delivered before it finally sinks in, helping
them better support learning and day-today performance.
Congruence - When cast in a teaching role,
leaders quickly discover the significance of
their actions. "Do as I say, not as I do" simply
doesn't fly with today's employees. If a
leader instructs others in a particular way
of accomplishing a task, the expectation is
that he or she will perform the same way.
Disconnects or messages that undermine
it are typically met with pushback.
Consistency between words and action
is key, making teaching one of the most
powerful support strategies available to
L&D professionals.
The act of teaching also helps leaders
develop important facilitation, listening
and questioning skills that serve them
both inside and outside of the classroom.
Leaders come face-to-face with the wildly
different experiences, perspectives,
preferences and approaches of their
people, helping them embrace and
leverage diversity. And they develop
an appreciation for the messiness of
learning and the power of trust in creating
an environment that encourages the risktaking required for growth.
So, if you're looking for a powerful
leadership development strategy - that
can also extend the reach of your L&D
team - invite leaders to teach, and let
the learning begin.
Julie Winkle Giulioni has 25 years of
experience working with organizations
worldwide to improve performance
through learning. Email Julie.

T R A I N I N G I N DUSTR Y MAGAZ INE - MODERN LEADERS 2020 I WWW. T RAI NINGINDU S T RY . C OM/ MAGAZ I NE

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Training Industry Magazine - March/April 2020

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