Developers Love Learning, Non-Developers Avoid It Altogether

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A fundamental difference between the Developer and the Non-Developer is how they orient around learning.?

We will define learning as the willingness to expose ourselves to new inputs in order to acquire new knowledge and perspectives that can ultimately raise our proficiency in anything. Learning, like development, is an infinite game that requires us to continually assess our deficiencies and seek out new and improved answers. And this, like development, is extremely difficult.?

Learning requires us to be vulnerable–learning is another form of a culture rep.

In order to truly learn, we must start from a place of vulnerability. "I do not know this thing" or "I have to improve my team in some way, but I don't have the solution available" is a difficult place to be. Learning asks the question, "Do I want to really explore new solutions to this current problem or not?"?

Learning, like development, requires us to lean into the pain of not knowing and transform it into something greater, but not every leader is up for this.

The Developer’s Learning Process (DLP) is a flywheel with 4 phases: Expose, Explore, Create Clarity, and Artistry. By iterating on this learning flywheel, Developers evolve into a more complete coach, leader, and person, benefiting the development of their organization, team, and people. Non-Developers stop at phase 1 (expose), and even then, they aren't exposing themselves to new ideas.?

Many times, they surround themselves with evidence (and people) that only confirm the biases and incomplete knowledge they already employ.

The rest of this article will define the 4 stages of the DLP flywheel so you can grow as a coach and integrate its principles into your organization.

1. Expose?

Step 1: Expose yourself to different learning opportunities that have the potential to uncover new ideas and/or advanced ways of solving your biggest questions.?

When you become a coach, you jump into the deep end by gaining practical knowledge by just doing, or you can gain theoretical knowledge from just observing. Coaching Education courses should provide both types of learning opportunities. This phase simply requires us to show up and be open to the new potential knowledge that is available.?

In the exposure stage, continually ask yourself the questions "What connections, patterns, and intuitions are starting to emerge?"

2. Explore?

Step 2: Explore the new information and intuitions against your previous understandings.?

How do these new experiences fit and jive with my current level of knowledge? Within this phase, you are looking at the new inputs with curiosity and trying to figure out what, if anything, can provide greater texture to your ideas. The point of learning is not to simply copy and paste someone else's artistry–the job is to extract an idea or two and make sense of it in your own unique way.?

In the explore stage, keep asking yourself, "How has my understanding and knowledge potentially improved?"

3. Create Clarity?

Step 3: Create clarity around this potential knowledge by constructing a plan to integrate the new learnings into your environment.?

If Non-Developers stop at exposure, then sometimes Developers will stop at the creating clarity stage. This new specific knowledge is only a theory until you do the work of creating a plan to test its efficacy within your environment. PIT (Plan, Implement, Track) is a good mental model for integrating new knowledge into an environment and reevaluating its efficacy at the next planned Environment Inventory.?

In the create clarity stage, always ask yourself, "How can my increased understanding be used to develop the organization and myself further?"

4. Artistry?

Step 4: Exercise your artistry by transmitting these new understandings to your people to move the entire organization closer to its potential.

Artistry is a coach's ability to teach and transmit their ideas to their players to effect change developmentally. The very best Developers in the world (Guardiola, Klopp, for example) are not only able to get their ideas across almost instantaneously, but also, they are able to transmit new knowledge to help their team to continue performing at their highest levels. The very best Developers are artists because they can transmit their ideas effectively AND integrate, evolve, and teach new knowledge over the course of their tenure.?

To keep the DLP flywheel turning, even in the midst of your new small win of improved artistry, continue to ask yourself, "What smaller circles, new questions, or new frontiers are still out there for me?"

Conclusion

Learning hurts.?

It can trigger some inner parts that aren't conducive to learning. Every time I expose myself to new levels or new environments, a perfectionist, a self-critic, and/or a pusher will always shame me for not already knowing what I am exposing myself to for the first time. This is simply my ego trying to protect me from the pain points that learning can provide, instead of empowering me to do the necessary work required to be better at anything.?

Hopefully, this article can help you build a more complete awareness around what learning (and development) requires so you can transform the inevitable discomfort into the next step towards your potential.?

To be the best version of ourselves, we must be willing to continually play the infinite game of learning.

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