Learning and Vague Statements of Intent
I have been reviewing learning logs sent in by the many people whom I am currently mentoring here in Harare, Zimbabwe. There is a common theme that needs to be addressed. I wonder if this theme applies to others in the global village?
First I need to explain:
As part of my mentoring procedures my mentees learn for themselves. Mentoring is not teaching or training. It is helping people to learn. My mentees learn from on-line courses, MOOCs, reading, visiting websites, watching YouTube and TED videos and they also learn from their day to day experiences, both the good and the bad.
With pre-determined frequency they send me in their learning logs which cover: -
·???????The subject of the learning
·???????What they knew on the subject already
·???????What they learned (from the learning medium)
·???????What more they need to learn on the subject
·???????How they will apply what they learned to their work/what they will do differently
The key statements are those I have highlighted – the last two. If learning is to have personal and organisational value, then learners need to apply what they have learned to their work which almost always requires them to do things differently.
This encourages a growth mindset, builds grit and resilience all three of which are the essence of personal growth. (I recently attended a webinar on this subject and one question we were asked by the presenter stood out above everything else: “When did you last do something you have never done before?”)
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Back to my mentees: Contrary to the Dunning-Kruger effect[1] they need to recognise that there is always more to learn on any given subject and they need to determine a means of learning more. In recent weeks I have discovered that my mentees are experts in writing up about what they learned. They are also very good at identifying what more they need to learn.
But what they are not that good at doing is determining how and where they are going to find a resource for learning the next steps. Many of them make vague statements of intent.
On what they are going to differently and how they will apply what they learned to their work, some have brilliant ideas, some just good ideas and others – well, let’s say, ideas. But in many cases these brilliant and other ideas turn out to be (frequently vague!) statements of intent.
These ideas need to be developed into SMART plans – Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Time-bound. Then we have real value of learning that most surely impacts on the bottom line. And so I tell them this.
I remember years ago my former boss, Allen Bridgland telling me about ‘vague statements of intent’ which seemed to proliferate in our government of the day. Then there were others who made prolific plans which were rarely specific, measurable or realistic.
What do you do with your new knowledge? Do you apply it? Do you do things you have never done before?
And how about the people who work for you? Do they have a growth mindset? Do they learn? Do they make vague statements of future intent or do they make SMART plans?
Do you allow them to do things they have never done before? More on that subject the next time I write on Linked-In.