A Shortcut to Experience

‘The only source of knowledge is experience.’ —Albert Einstein

Published: Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - 12:01

A story is told about a reporter who was interviewing a successful bank president. He wanted to know the secret of the man’s success. “Two words: right decisions,” the banker told him.

“And how do you make right decisions?” asked the reporter.

“One word: experience,” was the banker’s reply.

The reporter pressed on. “And how do you get experience?”

“Two words: wrong decisions,” answered the banker.

We all recognize the importance of job and life experience, especially for leaders. Experience gives leaders context for important decisions that they must make and insight into how best to lead, motivate, and respond to their people. Experienced leaders have been through the wringer before and can use their past learning and decisions to guide them moving forward.

Yet, for many new leaders, experience can be hard to come by. And in today’s fast-changing, competitive environment in which more and more young people are assuming leadership roles, it can be critical for them to find ways to gain experience quickly to ensure that they make as few “wrong decisions” as possible, for their own sake as well as for those whom they lead.

What can new and aspiring leaders do to gain the benefits of experience when they simply don’t have much on-the-job learning under their belts?

1. Go for training. Identify educational programs that are reputable, respected, and offer cutting-edge instruction and hands-on learning that translate well into real-life situations.

2. Volunteer. See if volunteer opportunities exist for such things as managing a project for an overworked leader. (If they presently don’t, go ahead and pitch an idea. Someone is bound to take you up on it if he thinks that you can help.) Use the opportunity to engage in meaningful work as well as reflective conversations about the leadership task. In this way you can learn much about leadership and how to plan for it in an environment where there is less pressure to perform and risk of backlash.

3. Find a mentor or a peer group. Mentors can cut down the learning curve significantly by offering their experiences and sharing their views on how they would handle certain situations. (Click here to learn more about key qualities of strong mentors.) Peer groups for young leaders can fill a similar role and offer the benefit of helping people learn and grow together. It also helps new leaders build social networks that can be immensely valuable over time.

4. Read and watch leadership experts. There is much to be gained by reading or watching leadership thought leaders discuss their craft and their experiences. It is so simple to access nowadays and can really help you accelerate your leadership learning curve. Many leadership and self-help experts recommend reading for at least 30 minutes a day in order to stay current and deepen your skill set and understanding of important issues.

5. Reflect and take notes. As you engage in your leadership tasks, take the time to think and reflect. What worked well today, and what didn’t? What might have happened had you responded differently to that situation or taken more time to learn about the issue before acting? Sometimes we are inclined to try to put failures out of our memory and focus on moving forward. Although that may be useful at times, we must be willing to learn from our experiences if we are to avoid making the same mistakes again.

6. Ask for feedback. Feedback is critical for the reflective process. We may have one perspective on things, but we can be assured that at least some others see things differently.

Confucius once said, “By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” Every new leader would be wise to take the necessary steps to gain as much wisdom as possible without having to endure the bitterness of wrong decisions.

About The Author

Naphtali Hoff

Naphtali Hoff is an executive coach, organizational consultant, trainer, and lecturer. He has a doctorate in human and organizational psychology, which analyzes successful individual or organizational change and development, and he holds two master’s degrees in education and educational leadership. Hoff’s personal experience in the leadership field allows him to understand leaders’ needs and craft solutions to help them optimize their performance and success.