Chief Learning Officer - March 2008 - (Page 22)

learning solutions Applying a Strategy of Learning by Example Michael Rosenberg Learning by example is a very old yet very powerful method for transferring skills to novices. Technology has boosted the number of approaches and tools learning professionals can use to support this development strategy. My Uncle Jack never wrote a book on leadership. I would be surprised if he’d even read one, much less attended a leadership workshop. He is not an expert in learning design or high-performance consulting, but when he was a Chicago-area sports writer, he took me to see a Chicago Cubs game from the dugout. I noticed how my uncle interacted with the players and the mutual admiration they had for each other. I knew that somehow I wanted to be like him. I noticed everything about him: how fast he typed, his meticulous grammar and use of words and even how well he spelled. My uncle inspired me to learn without even telling me about what he did. I became an editor for my school newspaper. I did well in English and grammar. And I eventually became a writer. Michael Rosenberg is a principal with OYG Consulting Inc. and the author of The Flexible Thinker and co-author of The Flexible Thinker: A Guide to Extreme Career Performance. He can be reached at editor@clomedia.com. threat. She inspired me to learn how to keep my head low and not share ideas. Learning by example, as I did in these two very different instances, is the oldest and still most powerful learning strategy. In the old days, when nobody had ever heard of competencies or training and development, there was the idea of apprenticeship. A trade or skill was handed down from generation to generation through a system of formal mentoring. In fact, family names were based on the skill that was handed down. Baker, Taylor, Smith and Plummer were examples of skilled trades that became surnames. Even during the Renaissance, great masters such as Michelangelo started as apprentices for other great masters. They would stretch the canvas or mix the paint or do any other series of menial tasks, hoping to upgrade to perhaps assisting in painting backgrounds or providing shadows. They would then diligently observe the teacher, and after years of assisting and learning, would become masters in their own right and have their own apprentices. Not much has changed today in organizational learning, as we still learn by observing and doing. The only difference is the technology. March 2008 I www.clomedia.com I Chief Learning Officer 22 I also learned a lot from a former manager. She not only read leadership books but wrote one herself. She knew all the buzz words: collaborative leadership, holistic leadership, allowing others to rise to their potential, helping others succeed, etc. It turned out that she wrote better than she lived. She would surround herself with cronies and “yes” people, and she would work to undercut anybody she perceived as a http://www.clomedia.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Chief Learning Officer - March 2008

Chief Learning Officer - March 2008 Editor's Letter Table of Contents Imperatives Selling Up, Selling Down Strategies Take Five Learning Solutions The Treasury Board of Saskatchewan: Training the Trainers With Experiential Learning Clo Profile Environment Xerox: Creating a Learning Masterpiece Tactics Capturing the Knowledge of the Workforce Productivity Succession Planning Tips from the U.S. GAO Human Capital Influencing Competency Management Case Study Case Study Business Intelligence Advertisers' Index Editorial Resources In Conclusion

Chief Learning Officer - March 2008

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