How do people learn to be leaders?

That’s the question leadership consultant and thought leader Robert J. Thomas answered at a leadership academy event I recently helped organize. Speaking from his book Crucibles of Leadership, Thomas demonstrated that simply taking a course on leadership would do little to transform leadership abilities. In fact, knowledge plays only a small role in a leader’s effectiveness, despite the high price often invested in higher education.

Here is a sample of the elements that transform ordinary people into great leaders.

Experience

The “crucible” of going through challenging experiences (both in life and vocation) has a transforming effect on a person’s leadership ability. I’ve found this to be the case in my own assessment of hundreds of c-suite leaders as well. It’s interesting to note (according to Thomas) that early in life (or career), leaders may find themselves “pushed” into a crucible experience, while later on they tend to “leap.” As they mature, effective leaders learn to recognize, seek and steward the crucial experiences that come their way.

Practice

The half-life of new knowledge is incredibly short. To grow, leaders must form the discipline to transform an “ah-ha” moment into a commitment to practice until they experience a breakthrough. Not only that, leaders are self-aware enough to know the circumstances they need in order to practice sufficiently. To demonstrate this point, the participants in our academy individually identified a skill they practiced to proficiency and compared it to another they gave up. In almost all occasions, talent and knowledge were not the difference. It was the ownership, commitment and supporting circumstances – almost all of which could be recreated in the future.

Purpose

The “why” behind any endeavor usually determines the success of the outcome. But it’s important to note that a specific purpose often changes over time – even for the same goal. What motivates us at age 20 is often different than at age 30. What drives us to achieve initial success may not sustain us to reach the next level. In order to harness the motivation that success (and practice) requires, we need to constantly refresh our sense of purpose.

Coaching

Leadership isn’t “taught” as much as it is “caught.” Teachers, trainers, mentors and supervisors all play a role in developing leaders. But the best leadership “teachers” are the ones who can coach a developing leader to understand the key “moves” that must be made in a given situation. The quality of leadership “teachers” a person has access to varies by the individual. That shouldn’t be an excuse. Thomas posed that “A great student can make a good teacher into a great teacher – and an inarticulate leader into a great teaching leader.”

Community

“No one learns alone,” Thomas wrote in his book. For leaders, that means finding, participating and contributing in communities of leaders who are on a learning journey together. Sometimes these communities are created externally (our leadership academy, for instance). In other instances, leaders must create their own.

Becoming a leader doesn’t happen by accident. Effective leaders are diligent and committed. Still, no one is immune from the serendipity of crucible learning experiences. My favorite quote from Thomas’ book sums it up best: “Sometimes events can conspire to make you a leader.” (Tweet)

So what’s your learning strategy when it comes to leadership?

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website or   follow him on Twitter.

I can say firsthand there are some amazing learning events out there. Unfortunately, for every great one, there are several mediocre ones. If you’ve been tasked with building or sourcing training for your team, let me save you some grief by sharing nine factors that can kill your effectiveness.

1. It Doesn’t Meet a Real (or Felt) Business Need

One of the hallmarks of adult learning theory is that professionals are much more likely to want to participate in a learning event they recognize will help them solve a problem or pain-point they already have. This seems obvious, but trust me – I’ve seen enough cases otherwise. Always be clear about what problem the learning event will solve.

2. The Learning Objectives Aren’t Clear

You’ve probably sat through a training session that opened with a preview of the takeaways. This is even more important for the learning designers than it is for the learners. If the business need is the north star, the objectives are the road map. Pick the best route – then stick to it.

3. It’s Boring

This may be my biggest pet peeve with learning events. It’s expensive and hard work to develop them and get people to attend. If you want your learning event to be a hit, make it fun as well. Mediocre content that is very engaging will stick (and create much greater buzz) than perfect content that is boring. If your subject isn’t the most engaging to begin with, invest the time to interject fun aspects, like ice-breakers or energizers.

4. It’s Poorly Facilitated

The quality of your facilitator can usually make or break the learning experience. The more important the event, the more carefully you’ll need to select and prepare the facilitator. The best facilitators are flexible; they can teach, ask questions, spark debate and organize group discussions and activities.

5. The Content Complicates Rather than Simplifies

Just because you’re delivering a learning event doesn’t mean the learners need to know everything they possibly can about a topic. Less is generally more. The top three tips will stick a lot easier than the top twelve. You can always provide resources to dive deeper later on.

6. It’s Too Conceptual or Vague

If your topic involves “thinking differently,” make sure you provide concrete examples as well. Otherwise the participants will have trouble determining how to apply the concepts.

7. There’s No Opportunity to Interact or Practice

Here’s a secret: most participants say their favorite part of learning events is the time they spend interacting with each other. Don’t just include discussions of their experience with the topic. Give them a chance to apply it practically.

Imagine a military who sent its recruits to a boot camp that took place completely in a classroom (or online). They might become educated, but they’d be completely ineffective in battle. Practice makes a huge difference.

8. There’s No Reinforcement

I like to say, “Don’t let what happens in the training room stay in the training room.” For learning designers, this means taking the time to include quality reinforcement opportunities that extend beyond the actual learning event. Create meaningful homework assignments, follow-up activities, discussion guides, etc.

9. Supervisors of Participants Aren’t Asked or Able to Support

Supervisors should always be kept in the loop of their staff’s training activities and included as much as possible. Supervisors are a great source of reinforcement, provided they’re included.

Remember, as a designer or coordinator, your responsibility isn’t just to put on a good event, it’s to impart knowledge, skills and behavior to solve the organization’s problems. Even with all the learning providers that flood each industry, high quality learning experiences can, and will, stand out.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website or   follow him on Twitter.

Which session did you learn more from?

Regardless of your function or industry, learning plays a key role in business effectiveness. No one was born knowing how to do any job – and even with all the preparatory training we’ve received over the years (e.g. college), the speed of change demands that we continually learn better ways. (I know I, for one, don’t want to receive the same surgery a “seasoned” surgeon was trained on three decades ago!) So whether you develop training as a profession or you request it as a professional, it’s worth understanding how adults learn best.

Malcolm Knowles was an American educator who shaped much of adult learning theory (“andragogy”) with his publications in the 1980s. His works are considered best practice today. What is most important to understand is what makes adult learning distinct. Here are Knowles’ four adult learning principles – and some tips to be mindful of:

Learner Involvement

According to Knowles, adults prefer to be involved in their learning process – planning, goal-setting, evaluation, etc. In other words, they desire an active role, not a passive one. Because every adult’s situation and experience differs, what one learner takes away may be completely different than another. It’s important for educators to facilitate goal-setting among learners and attempt to design the learning process to capture application on an individual level. In many cases, it can also be helpful for educators to position themselves as fellow learners rather than instructional experts.

Bottom line: If you’re not collaborating with adult learners, you’re missing the boat.

Learner Experience

In formative years, education is geared toward learning something new for the future. For adults, their acquired knowledge and experiences provide a starting point – both successes and mistakes. As a result, “trainers” are rarely the only experts in the learning environment. Peers bring expertise as well. In fact, in a recent organizational assessment I recently conducted of several groups of executives, the top rated learning opportunity was “interacting with peers on common problems and sharing best practices.” If your adult learning environment doesn’t include peer interactions of past & present experiences, you’re missing a huge opportunity.

Bottom line: Interact with and incorporate learners’ experiences into the framework of the learning environment.

Relevance & Impact to Learner’s Lives

The topics most ripe for adult learners are those that can have immediate impact on business or personal life. Remember, children learn for the future, adults learn for the present. Because of this, learning assignments should relate to an adult’s stated goals. When learning is relevant and impact is clear (e.g. a sales professional can learn how to close 20% more deals), the learner is inspired and motivated internally.

Bottom line: Adults want to learn when the topic makes them more successful now.

Problem-Centered

Content is no longer king in adult learning – problem-solving is king. If your team has elected to conduct training, ensure the training addresses the actual problem – don’t just settle for off-the-shelf content, even if it’s good. (Incidentally, many learning needs can be solved in ways other than formal training). Since content isn’t king, learners are more apt to learn by doing than by passive listening. Simulations or practice scenarios go a long way.

Bottom line: The learning solution should be specific to the problem or opportunity.

It’s easy to get learning wrong, even if you have the best intentions and pay top dollar. But the best learning environments – the ones that really result in change – incorporate adult learning theory into the bones of the learning experience.

Are there any learning opportunities you might need to approach differently?

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website or   follow him on Twitter.

Here’s the thing: if you wait until you receive a leadership role to get a leadership education, you may be waiting for a long time and you may not last long once you get there. We all need a leadership development plan that includes work experiences, formal training, networking and self-study. But don’t overlook the easiest, cheapest and most accessible one of all: observation.

Here are eight observations to make of the leaders around you.

How They Make Decisions

You can tell a lot about the leaders around you by the decisions they make – or don’t make. makes. One of the biggest frustrations to senior management is middle management who won’t make the tough decisions at their level. As an observer, you obviously won’t have access to all the same information, but you can still learn a lot.

How They Communicate with Their Teams

Engagement studies reveal that the majority of organizations have a “communication problem” – especially in the consistency and cascading of high-priority messages. Good leaders over-communicate what is truly important. Take special note of what the leaders around you decline to communicate publicly.

How They Organize Their Time & Priorities

A leader’s time is of great value. It’s a finite resource that must accommodate a growing number of responsibilities. Observe the systems they use to stay on top of schedule. Pay special attention to what they say “no” to.

How They Respond to Crises and Criticism

When Robert Mueller was confirmed as Director of the FBI, it wasn’t because of his special ability to respond to crises. He specialized in white collar crime. But one week later the World Trade Center was hit and Mueller became a full-time crisis manager. The leaders around you may not have to manage a catastrophe, but pay attention to the way they handle disruptions to their plans – and the public response they receive.

How Engaged Their People Are

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that employees prefer to work for strong leaders. It’s not because it’s easier – many times it’s not. Followers will usually work harder and stay later for a leader they respect. “A” leaders attract “A” followers who are engaged in the work, with the organization and with each other.

How Many Leaders They Produce

Did you know that leaders actually grow on trees? The best leaders develop and produce more leaders who in turn produce more. This may be most clearly seen in professional football “coaching trees,” where nearly every successful coach cut his teeth under a previous successful coach. Figure out which leaders in your leadership community have the best reputation for developing talent – and take note of their approach.

What Results They Get

Execution is the bottom line of leadership effectiveness. Without it, leaders lose their opportunity, regardless of the circumstances. Leadership is a tough business. Always take note of the results the leaders around you achieve – especially if there are significant challenges. It’s easy to win when all the momentum is on your side. It’s hard when the odds are against you.

The Mistakes They Make

This one is perhaps the most obvious and insightful. Every mistake of someone else’s you learn from, you potentially avoid making yourself.

You’ve probably realized by now that not all the examples around you are good ones. A failure by one leader could mean you receive a new assignment before you’re ready for it. Regardless, you’ll be able to share your informed observations with others. Don’t wait until later to build your leadership competency. Start taking notes today.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his new ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website  or follow him on Twitter.

Regardless of what you aspire to do, excellence is a worthy goal. But it probably won’t be your starting point. So how do you get there? Try this.

Is it Worth It?

This may be a new idea for you, but you can do anything you want. You just can’t do everything you want. There are always limits to time and resources. That means you’ll have to make some tough choices along the way.

If you could be excellent at your current endeavor, would it be worth doing? Or is it simply a means to another end? Invest yourself accordingly. Don’t bet the pot on side projects. Go big when it counts.

Don’t Compare

Dave Ramsey likes to say that 15 minutes of fame can take a lifetime to attain. Unless you are a prodigy, someone else’s proven track record of excellence will far outshine your humble beginnings. Don’t let that stop you. Their first attempts probably weren’t excellent either. If you have something to contribute, be willing to contribute your best effort now with the understanding that it will improve over time.

Pick Something You Have a Passion For

Dale Carnegie loved performing as an actor – but he wasn’t very good at it. He also wasn’t a great salesman. But when he discovered a complete lack of public speaking and communications training in his market, a match was made in heaven. He quickly develop a training program that turned shy and timid professionals into confident performers in their everyday roles. That training program still exists 100 years later. When you love what you do, it’s much easier to become excellent. If you don’t love it, wouldn’t you be doing everyone a favor by investing in something else? Possess a passion that keeps you moving.

Harness a Commitment for Growth

Individualism is the American way, but it will kill your chances to go from good to great. “But I prefer to do things my way.” “I have a special system.” That’s great. But if the best still invest in coaches, teachers, additional training and more practice, you certainly should as well. Best practices aren’t always set in stone for all-time (otherwise how would best practices change?). But you need to know the “rules” before you break the them. And once you do, maintain a healthy appetite for continuous improvement through growth. Don’t let a taste of excellence deter you from reaching new heights.

Start

I asked a musician friend of mine once how he wrote so many great songs. He said that he wrote one new song a week. Were they all good? No, some were terrible. But others weren’t. That’s when it clicked. Excellence is more about perseverance than genius.

Zig Ziglar put it this way, “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”

Start.

Start where you are. Start with what you have. Just start.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his new ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website  or follow him on Twitter.

Success is a lousy teacher. The best leaders know this and are always on guard against complacency. I recently received a question from a leader who has just completed a season of success. She is concerned her team won’t stay motivated.  How do you keep your team fully engaged in the wake of success?

This is a very thoughtful question. Most leaders are focused on “What’s next?” as we should be. However, the leader who posed this question has an intuitive sense that a let down could be around the corner. Without her leadership, she may be right.

Success can take a toll on people – mentally, physically and emotionally. It’s good to be aware of the risk; and like any other risk, you need to manage it. Here are a few ideas to help your team cope with success and use it as the springboard for greater things to come.

Stop and Celebrate

Have you ever noticed, work never ends? This endless stream of activity can be exhausting if not debilitating. One of the ways we can manage the pace, energy and engagement of our team is to ensure frequent, appropriate celebrations. These can provide microbursts of enthusiasm for the cause and remind people: they matter and so does the work.

Capture Learnings

Even when your team wins, there are lessons to be learned. If you’ll cultivate the discipline of conducting After Action Reviews (the term the U.S. military uses for the briefing that occurs after every mission) to be sure you think deeply about what worked; what didn’t and what can be improved, this will create energy in the moment and momentum for your next challenge.

Set a New Goal

There’s tremendous power in setting a goal. Work without a goal can seem fruitless. Think of a time you were fully engaged in your work. I’m guessing several factors were present: You were doing work that mattered; you knew how your work contributed; you were operating in an area of strength if not passion. The list could go on. I’m also confident, there was a goal. You knew what you were trying to accomplish.

Pay Attention

Often, our teams will tire before we will. And, individual members of the team have unique needs. If we get too focused, we’ll miss the clues that someone is struggling. Whatever works for you to stay connected with your team members is a good approach. Don’t make too many assumptions regarding the energy and engagement of the team. One of my favorite ways to stay in touch over the years is one-on-one time with individual team members. The time investment always returns big dividends for the organization and me.

Success doesn’t have to serve as the preamble to decline. With focused effort, you can use each victory as a stepping stone to your next accomplishment.

Mark Miller, Vice President of Organizational Effectiveness for Chick-fil-A, believes that leadership is not something that’s exclusive; within the grasp of an elite few, but beyond the reach of everyone else.  In the tenth anniversary edition of The Secret, Miller reminds readers of a seemingly contradictory concept: to lead is to serve. With more than 600,000 books in print, Mark has been surprised by the response and delighted to serve leaders through his writing.

The 10^th anniversary edition of The Secret will be released September 2, 2014.

There a lots of options out there. The best strategy is to take a integrated approach to learning across five broad categories. Here they are.

On-the-Job Experience

The majority of employee learning comes from on-the-job experience. That is where the most time is spent. In fact, you could argue that until someone performs on the job, he or she hasn’t fully learned the job yet. This doesn’t mean that all time spent at a job is learning-oriented. If you (or one of your employees) have become fully competent, it’s probably time for a new challenge.

What are you learning in your current role?

Formal Learning

Formal learning comes from classes, courses, modules, company programs, learning events and more. Courses are typically taken in a classroom with an instructor, in an online learning system or self-paced. Organizational training departments usually spend the majority of their efforts creating these kinds of formal learning opportunities or bringing in outside vendors.

What formal learning programs are you utilizing?

Development Activities

Development activities are informal learning opportunities. They may be directed by an employee or by someone close to them, like a supervisor. These activities are essentially limitless, such as reading a book, attending a networking event or professional club, joining a cross-functional team or just learning something new. Adept organizations invest in a development library with a menu of options to select from depending on developmental goals.

What are your developmental goals?

Assessment Feedback

There are many, many assessments to help employees identify and diagnose their strengths and preferences. Personality assessments, like MBTI and DiSC are very popular, as is Gallup’s StrengthsFinder assessment. You might take a 360 degree assessment to get feedback from your team. There are assessments for learning styles, job fit, team fit, leadership, etc. You can also find effectiveness assessments from thought leaders and organizations (like these from Mark Miller). Most of us also receive a periodic performance assessment in the form of an annual review. Assessments tell us something we may not have considered and help direct our development goals.

What assessment feedback have you gotten recently?

Other People

Other people can often be the greatest source of learning. Supervisors, mentors, co-workers, network members, friends, family – virtually anyone can teach us something or give us valuable feedback, if we’ll let them.

Who have you learned from recently?

So, what’s your learning plan? And if you are a supervisor, how are you supporting your employee’s development needs? There are all kinds of options out there. Pick one and give it a shot!

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his new ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website  or follow him on Twitter.

Back in the 1970s, Gordon Training International developed a learning model called “The Four Stages of Competence,” which has also been linked to Abraham Maslow’s work. There’s something helpful about breaking an idea or a challenge down into smaller parts, and competence is no different. If we can understand which stage both we and our followers are in, we’ll be much more useful. Here are the Four Stages of Competence:

Unconscious Incompetence

In this stage, an individual simply doesn’t know what they don’t know. Picture a new college graduate, an entry-level employee, a newly promoted supervisor (sometimes) or a clueless new business owner. In these situations, individuals can often be high on drive but low on actual ability. In other cases, individuals may be unmotivated as well as clueless as to their level of competence.

The bottom line is that people in this stage cannot progress to the next without an awareness of their own deficit. Whether they experience a reality check on the job, receive input from a supervisor or come to a realization on their own (or any number of interventions), the recognition itself is the key to future growth.

Conscious Incompetence

In this stage, an individual recognizes that a gap in their level of competence exists. They realize they lack the skills, knowledge or ability they need to be successful. For many people, engagement and motivation can drop significantly when this happens. Think about it: how would you respond if you thought you were good at something only to find you weren’t? To bridge the gap, they can benefit immensely from resources, coaching and the elbow room to learn from their mistakes. The time it takes to develop to competence depends on many of these factors.

Conscious Competence

In this stage, an individual is aware that they have acquired knowledge, skills or ability. However, they must still concentrate focused effort to be successful. Tasks may need to be broken down into steps in order to attain mastery, which generally requires practice. Still, this is one of the most rewarding stages since it represents significant growth.

Unconscious Competence

In this stage, an individual has demonstrated a skill to the extent that it has become “second nature.” It takes far less effort and focus than it once did. They can multitask and not see a drop in performance. Provided the individual learned correctly, they can teach others to acquire the same skill. Although unconscious competence is the goal, one of the dangers is that people in this group can be tempted to forget the fundamentals.

We invariably occupy each of these stages across all the skills we possess (or need to possess). The trick is to discover which we belong to. As a leader, it’s even more important to be able to assess the competence of those who follow us so that we can know how to best develop them.

Can you think of a time you crossed all four stages?

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his new ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website  or follow him on Twitter.

This may be how you feel about evaluation… unless you have a built-in evaluation plan. In that case, you’ll be ready to hand over the results of your training before management even asks for it.

So how do you evaluate learning programs? In this post, I’d like to summarize the Kirkpatrick Four Levels of Learning Evaluation.

Donald Kirkpatrick is the founder of training firm Kirkpatrick Partners and a past president of the American Society of Training & Development (ASTD). In 1954, Kirkpatrick developed what is now known as the Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model as part of his doctoral dissertation. The comprehensive guide is presented in his book Evaluation Training Programs: The Four Levels. Here are the four levels:

Level 1: Reaction

This level measures the initial reaction of training participants to the content and event. It focuses both on their thoughts and feelings. Were they actively engaged? Did it seem relevant to them? Did they get to participate in the learning process? The Level 1 evaluation is most easily conducted onsite at the conclusion of the learning event, or at least very soon afterward. A short form or survey is usually the easiest tool to use.

Level 2: Learning

This level measures the increase in knowledge or capability as it relates to the course’s content. The ultimate goal is for participants to learn the material, develop the necessary skills, believe it is worthwhile, and be both confident and committed to using what they’ve learned. Depending on the course subject, evaluating this level may be a bit tricky. To measure an increase, obviously there ought to be a pre-event and post-event assessment. One method is to have practical exercises at the conclusion of the training to measure learning. Another is to use a test or observe on the work site afterwards.

Level 3: Behavior

This level measures the application of the learning in the participants’ work roles over time. The crucial part of this level is that the course’s learning goals must to be supported by the organization’s infrastructure, processes & systems in order to provide the sustained motivation for application. In other words, it needs to be easy for the participants to practice what they’ve learned without interference, and there should be visible rewards. One way to measure this is to interview managers who have been encouraged to observe their teams’ behavior after the learning event has taken place. (This is one reason it’s so important to involve managers in the course development).

Level 4: Results

This level is the ultimate measure of learning effectiveness: improved business results, such as increased sales, decreased turnover, higher employee engagement, etc. The great thing about this level is that management already measures these business results. The important thing for you is to be able to link the training to the results it ought to affect. Next, identify the performance of the participants for the next time period. Then you’ll be able to report that, “the average training participant had a 30% sales increase in the year following the training” or “customer service satisfaction levels for participants were 20% higher than for non-participants.” The more you can measure results, the better a case you make for your learning program.

Learning evaluation can at times seem complicated but it can also be provide immense clarity. Don’t make it harder than it needs to be. If you aren’t currently doing any evaluation of your learning programs, simply pick one level and start with that. The feedback you get will let you know if you’re on the right track.

Which level do you focus on the most?

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his new ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website  or follow him on Twitter.

Following are six specific ways many organizations have traditionally thought about training – with a culture “shift” for each one.

Learning takes place during training events.

Shift: Learning takes place before, during and after training events – as well as on the job and after hours.

Gone are the days when training is simply viewed as a “vacation” from actual work. With attitudes like this, it’s no wonder management got so eager to cut training budgets. Make sure employees understand that they must complete pre-work assignments before arriving at the learning event so they are prepared to engage with the content as soon as the events begins. Have a follow-up plan. Even more importantly, help them understand the importance of learning through experiences on the job – as well as from external sources.

The instructor is the expert.

Shift: Everyone is an expert: facilitators, self and peers.

If the instructor is the only expert, the purpose of a learning event will be to simply download the information from the instructor to the participants. If everyone is an expert, the facilitator operates as more of a guide and participants learn from assessing their own experiences and from collaborating with the content and with others – both inside and outside of the event.

The organization is responsible for each person’s development.

Shift: Everyone is responsible for own their development and for sharing what they know with others. The organization is responsible for supporting development via the learning infrastructure.

If only the organization is ultimately responsible for the development of each employee, then employees will understandably take a passive role in the development process. On the other hand, if the organization plays a support role, each person must be a proactive participant in the process. The organization builds the system and the participants engage with the content, resources, and most importantly: each other (are you catching a trend for collaboration?).

Mistakes are unacceptable, so hide them.

Shift: Mistakes are unavoidable – so share and learn from both successes and failures. Encourage creative experimentation.

Some mistakes are truly unforgivable, especially if they involve safety, privacy, sensitive information or ethics. And yet they still occur. The worst response is to sweep them beneath the rug and pretend they never happened. This only ensures that the same mistakes will take place again in the future. Not only that, it damages an organization’s credibility with employees (and outside stakeholders) who know the mistakes happened. Many mistakes are not fatal. It takes guts to admit when we’re wrong, but it’s one of the most development-rich opportunities out there. Mistakes become examples of what not to do (again). Moreover, when there is freedom to fail, there is extra incentive to succeed. Truett Cathy once said, “Anything worth doing is worth doing wrong… until we can learn to do it right.” When it comes to admitting mistakes, leaders ought to lead the way and go first. And if you are going to fail, take risks and fail in a training environment first.

Grades come from learning assessments.

Shift: “Grades” come from feedback of self, peer, trainers, supervisor and business results.

The ultimate grades of any learning event come in the form of business results. It’s not enough to give a right answer – you have to perform the correct action on the job. But the real catch is that often there is no “right” answer. Many decisions are situation-specific and don’t net a result until further down the road. And let’s not discount the value of feedback. Oftentimes we have a decent assessment of our own level of understanding. “I’ve got this,” or “I definitely don’t get this!” Peers, training staff and supervisors help provide additional insight that we can take or leave. Take them.

A passing grade completes training (emphasis on passing).

Shift: Development is never “complete” (emphasis on continual growth, mastery and collaboration).

Learning is only “pass/fail” in the classroom but never in real life. For some technical training events, a certain level of quantitative proficiency must be attained. I don’t want someone operating on my who hasn’t passed extensive competency assessments! But the learning is never over. A training event is simply a stepping stone on the path to mastery. Also, the most complete learner is not the one who knows the most, but the one who shares the most with others.

Which of these shifts does your organization need the most? What additional learning shifts would you add?

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his new ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website  or follow him on Twitter.