Jingkan Blog

When you are in your coaching role you may find yourself helping a team member to decide on the best way to learn a new skill. This is likely to be in response to a need that has been identified in an earlier or current coaching session. Research by Honey and Mumford (1992) shows that we each have preferred ways of learning. Their work is based, in turn, on Kolb’s interactive learning cycle (1984).

We have an experience that may be intended or may simply happen. If we learn from that experience, consciously or not, we reflect and perhaps gather further information. We then draw conclusions. In the process we formulate frameworks, models or theories or we establish beliefs. These may be intricate or very simple. They may be conscious or unconscious. We then apply the theories, frameworks, models or beliefs in a new situation that then leads to a new experience and so the cycle continues.

Honey and Mumford have discovered (1992) that each of us tends to learn more effectively at one or two of the points on Kolb’s learning cycle than at the others. They describe these as our preferred learning styles. They label individuals according to these preferences:

1. Activists feel more comfortable learning from experience. They tend to prefer activity to reflection and are rather impatient with academic debate and theories. When they buy a new gadget they are more likely to try it out, and learn by doing, than read the article of instructions.
2. Reflectors feel more comfortable learning by listening, reading or observing. They prefer to avoid learning situations where they are required to be in the limelight.
3. Theorists feel more comfortable when learning by solving problems, using analytical skills and relating what is being learnt to a broader system, model, concept or theory or to the ‘big picture’. They like ideas even if they do not have an immediate application. They are suspicious of checklists and assertions unsupported by research data.
4. Pragmatists feel more comfortable with acquiring knowledge and skills that have an immediate practical application. They like tips that can be put into effect. They tend to be less interested in analysis and theories. Checklists appeal to them

You can get a pretty good idea of your team members’ preferred learning styles by observation and discussion with them during coaching sessions. If there is a need to acquire or develop knowledge and skills quickly then it makes sense to identify a learning activity that matches the preferred style. On the other hand, if you are concerned with someone’s longer term career development you might decide, between you, that it makes more sense to select a learning activity that matches a weaker style. For example, although we can all acquire the basic knowledge of how to make an effective presentation from a article, we are unlikely to be very good at it unless we practise and receive feedback. The ambitious ‘reflector’ might not be comfortable with making a presentation. Nevertheless it might be a crucial experience if it is something that the person would be expected to do later on when in a more senior position within the firm.

Here are some suggestions to help you when planning learning events:

Activists learn best when:

1. they have the opportunity to learn by doing, by for instance chairing a meeting, making a sales pitch or delivering a seminar;
2. they participate in brainstorming sessions;
3. they are thrown in at the deep end with a task and are given the opportunity to fathom out the answer for themselves.

Reflectors learn best when:

1. they can observe others at work, for instance by shadowing an expert or taking a back seat at a meeting;
2. reading articles;
3. surfing the net;
4. watching videos;
5. they have time to think before acting, by for example having the opportunity to read a brief giving background data beforehand;
6. they have an opportunity, with a coach, to review what has happened and what has been learnt.

Theorists learn best when:

1. they have the opportunity to explore methodically the links between ideas and events;
2. they can relate the learning to a system, model, concept or theory;
3. they have an opportunity to question and probe methodologies, by for instance checking papers for inconsistencies or taking part in question-and-answer sessions;
4. they are stretched intellectually, for example by analysing complicated data or by teaching intelligent people who ask searching questions;
5. they undertake a tough research project;
6. they solve problems requiring rigorous analysis and logical thought.

Pragmatists learn best when:

1. there is an obvious link between the subject matter and tasks that have to be undertaken;
2. they receive tips, techniques and checklists for doing things with practical benefits, such as how to use time effectively, how to draft a document and how to deal with difficult people;
3. they have the chance to practise techniques, in simulated conditions, with feedback from a skilled performer and from video recordings. Examples include doing an interview, making a presentation and conducting a negotiation;
4. there is an early opportunity to implement what has been learnt;
5. they can draw up a list of action points;
6. learning is rooted in real issues or problems.

Our understanding of the different ways that people learn helps us, and those whom we coach, to choose appropriate vehicles for further learning. In organizational life, training courses, seminars or workshops are perhaps the more common ways of meeting learning needs. Sometimes they are public and sometimes tailored specifically to the firm’s requirements. Our understanding of learning preferences helps us to judge the effectiveness of these formal training courses. Given that any course or seminar is almost certain to include participants with each of the preferred learning styles, we need to ask ourselves if there is a good mix of learning events sufficient to satisfy all needs. Although there are other important factors to consider, the better courses and tutors are likely to offer a range of experiences appropriate to each of the preferred styles of learning.

The team leader, as coach, can play a useful role in debriefing people who have attended courses and seminars. When I was a young manager returning from my first external training programme, my boss said, ‘Well, have you enjoyed yourself?’ I nodded. He went on, ‘Good, then that’s over and done with; now back to work’. Clearly that wasn’t the ideal way to debrief. The more helpful questions to ask would have been ‘What have you learnt?’ and ‘What are you going to do as a result?’ Good coaches follow up, subsequently, by discussing what has happened and helping with further learning.

There are a number of other useful learning assignments that can be undertaken in-house. In each case a good role for the coach is to help the learner to plan and then periodically to discuss progress and implementation. Among the more common possibilities are reading, use of software (especially if it is interactive), research projects, shadowing credible performers, secondments, short- or long-term membership of firm-wide project teams, and scheduled experience in new work activities.

The use of learning sets is a more recent innovation. They are usually made available for those with leadership responsibilities but can be extended to others. The idea is to bring together a group of, say, six people from different parts of the firm or from different firms. They meet for a day, every two months or so, usually with a facilitator who manages the process and makes his or her own contribution to the proceedings. There is no formal agenda. Individuals take turns to raise issues of current concern. They may relate to any aspect of work, career aspirations, life-and-work balance and so on. The other participants contribute to the learning process first by asking questions to get to the nub of the issue and, secondly, through further questioning and the sharing of thoughts and experiences, to identify possible solutions. The benefits are threefold. Problem owners usually get some insights that help them to take action.

The other participants learn, in general terms, about the handling of specific issues that they may not have previously experienced. Everyone has the opportunity to hone their listening and questioning skills. In one sense a learning set is an exercise in collective coaching. It is a good way, apart from the other benefits, for team leaders to develop their coaching skills.