Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 15

BUILDING LEADERS
SAM SHRIVER & MARSHALL GOLDSMITH

PERCOLATING
BUILDS DEPTH

No matter how hard people try to expand
their mental imagery, when people hear
the word "leader" they typically imagine
a hierarchy and think about a person
with some form of legitimate power.
In reality, regardless of one's position,
a significant percentage of his or her
attempts to lead others target peers
and senior associates, proving that
leadership isn't as hierarchical as one
might think.
The same is true when people hear the
word "learning." Often, people associate
learning with a subject matter expert
(SME) in formal control of a classroom
(either physical or virtual) in order
to impart knowledge. Upon further
review, however, it is evident that
there are numerous ways people learn.
For instance, have you ever gotten in
your car (even for a short drive across
town) and "unplugged" (i.e., eliminated
all sources of outside distraction)? It's
amazing where your mind can go when
it's not distracted. You may start thinking
about people you sincerely appreciate
but haven't seen or spoken to in a while,
or things you have been meaning to take
care of but, for whatever reason, haven't,
or even things you need to investigate
more closely. By the time you get where
you are going, you have generated
a prioritized list of actions you need
to take.
An expanded version of that same
drill can yield countless unforeseen
benefits when you have a couple other
people driving with you (perhaps on
a little bit longer of a trip). When you
limit external competing responses by

unplugging, the quality of your time
together can be greatly enhanced. You
may remember things that have long
been forgotten, or learn things about
your passengers you never would have
known. If traffic cooperates, the time
flies and, at minimum, the depth of your
understanding about each other has
increased dramatically.
Believe it or not, activities like these used
to be key components of formalized
learning in leadership training (albeit,
not the driving part). A facilitator would
introduce a concept, ask learners to
thoughtfully consider it in the context
of their life experiences, and then share
those thoughts with peer learners before
engaging in a large group discussion
where everyone had informal access to
what everyone else was thinking. It was
a highly collaborative sequence that
allowed whatever was being discussed
to percolate. Almost invariably, that
percolation resulted in an increased
depth of understanding.
So, where did all this percolating in
formalized leadership learning go? Long
story short, it turns out it's much easier
to quantify the cost savings of making
a three-day program a two- or oneday program than it is to demonstrate
the tangible pull-through or return
on investment (ROI) of that threeday program. In general, what wound
up getting cut to deliver that reduced
seat-time? Introspective reflection.
Small group discussions. Large group
discussions. Pretty much anything
that remotely resembled intellectual
percolating. What suffered (or, at a

minimum, became more challenging
to demonstrate)? Training transfer. Pullthrough. Behavior change.
But guess what's making a huge
comeback? Percolation! With everincreasing regularity, the leadership
training event is being extended to
bring self-directed and communitybased learning activities back into
the mix. Learners can be paired and
scheduled post-event to engage in an
ongoing series of virtual, peer-driven,
real-world application activities. Those
activities can culminate with virtual or
live presentations on lessons learned,
behaviors altered and results achieved.

PERCOLATION IS
MAKING A HUGE
COMEBACK IN
LEADERSHIP TRAINING.

Learning, like leadership, is so much more
than simply receiving and implementing
a message from someone with formal
authority. It's a function of creating the
time and opportunity to reflect on and
discuss that message in a manner that
yields discernible progress.
Marshall Goldsmith is the world authority in
helping successful leaders get even better. Sam
Shriver is the executive vice president at The
Center for Leadership Studies. Email Marshall
and Sam.

T R A I N I N G I N DUSTR Y MAGAZ INE -FORMALIZ ING INFORMAL L E ARNI NG 2 019 I W W W .T RAI NI NGI NDU S T RY .C OM/ MAGAZI NE

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Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019

Thinking More Broadly About How Adults Learn
Table of Contents
Mentoring: 4 Keys To Making it a Meaningful Learning Experience
Formalizing Informal Learning: Tinker Dabble Doodle Try
The Accidental Learner
Percolating Builds Depth
Coaching is a Cop-Out
Close More Deals With Story Selling
Partnering for the Power of Knowledge: How Can Knowledge Sharing Foster Collaboration Among L&D and Employees?
Organizational Resiliency: a Function of Leader Adaptability and Versatility
Rules of Engagement for by Laura Francis Mentoring Reverse
Steps to Formally Make The Informal Part of Your Content Strategy
The Play's the Thing': The Power of Story-Based Learning
Fujitsu’s Experiment With Peer Coaching Pays Off
How to be Authentic When Collaborating on Multicultural Virtual Teams
Making the Case for Informal Learning at Work
Formalizing Informal Learning to Improve Performance
Making Learning Fun Again
Investing in the Future of the Worker, Not Just the Future of Work
Company News
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - Cover1
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 2
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - Thinking More Broadly About How Adults Learn
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - Table of Contents
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 5
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 6
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 7
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 8
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - Mentoring: 4 Keys To Making it a Meaningful Learning Experience
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 10
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - Formalizing Informal Learning: Tinker Dabble Doodle Try
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 12
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - The Accidental Learner
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 14
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - Percolating Builds Depth
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - Coaching is a Cop-Out
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 17
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 18
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 19
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - Close More Deals With Story Selling
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 21
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 22
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 23
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - Partnering for the Power of Knowledge: How Can Knowledge Sharing Foster Collaboration Among L&D and Employees?
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 25
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 26
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 27
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 28
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - Organizational Resiliency: a Function of Leader Adaptability and Versatility
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 30
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 31
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - Rules of Engagement for by Laura Francis Mentoring Reverse
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 33
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 34
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 35
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - Steps to Formally Make The Informal Part of Your Content Strategy
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 37
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 38
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 39
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - The Play's the Thing': The Power of Story-Based Learning
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 41
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 42
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 43
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - Fujitsu’s Experiment With Peer Coaching Pays Off
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 45
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - How to be Authentic When Collaborating on Multicultural Virtual Teams
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 47
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 48
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 49
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 50
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - Making the Case for Informal Learning at Work
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 52
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - Formalizing Informal Learning to Improve Performance
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - 54
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - Making Learning Fun Again
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - Investing in the Future of the Worker, Not Just the Future of Work
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - Company News
Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2019 - Cover4
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