Learn­ing can have mag­i­cal trans­for­ma­tive pow­ers. It lit­er­al­ly can change who we are by cre­at­ing new pro­fes­sion­al and per­son­al iden­ti­ties. In a very real sense, you are what you learn. 

Eight impor­tant insights from the Expe­ri­en­tial Learn­ing The­o­ry, along with cor­re­spond­ing tips for edu­ca­tor practice.

An exam­i­na­tion of expe­ri­en­tial learn­ing appli­ca­tions in high­er education.

Giv­en the demands of the fast-chang­ing world we live in, what do indi­vid­u­als need to do to make sure they stay ahead of the change curve, remain fit with the chang­ing envi­ron­ment, sur­vive, and thrive?

Becom­ing an expe­ri­en­tial edu­ca­tor involves more than just being a facil­i­ta­tor or match­ing learn­ing style with teach­ing style. Expe­ri­en­tial edu­ca­tion is a com­plex rela­tion­al process that involves bal­anc­ing atten­tion to the learn­er and to the sub­ject mat­ter while also bal­anc­ing reflec­tion on the deep mean­ing of ideas with the skill of apply­ing them.

Knowl­edge is gen­er­at­ed from expe­ri­ence through a cycle of learn­ing dri­ven by the res­o­lu­tion of dual dialects of action/reflection and experience/abstraction.

As a leader, do you ever feel like your habits auto­mat­i­cal­ly engage to turn a new expe­ri­ence into an old pat­tern of response?  If so, you might con­sid­er using a sur­pris­ing approach to per­son­al and pro­fes­sion­al devel­op­ment: learn­ing from experience.

We often hear the term blind spot with respect to an obstruc­tion in the field of vision, or an area in which one fails to exer­cise judg­ment in an eth­i­cal dilem­ma. But I could see nei­ther an obstruc­tion of the field or an eth­i­cal dilem­ma when I recent­ly wit­nessed a col­league expe­ri­enc­ing a “blind spot moment.”

Are you a leader try­ing to tran­si­tion a com­­mand-and-con­trol hier­ar­chy to a cul­ture of employ­ee empow­er­ment and orga­ni­za­tion­al learn­ing? If the shift is not hap­pen­ing as eas­i­ly as you expect­ed, con­sid­er that you may be direct­ing instead of empow­er­ing, or com­mu­ni­cat­ing mixed messages.

Lead­ers are in the busi­ness of change, so under­stand­ing how peo­ple change and grow is an essen­tial skill. To do this, lead­ers need to learn how to learn, since the way peo­ple learn is the way they change, make deci­sions and work on teams.

The move from spe­cial­ist to leader can be chal­leng­ing. For­tu­nate­ly, new advances in neu­ro­science sup­port a focus on learn­ing to lead.

Every­one expe­ri­ences fail­ure now and then. What do you do when a poor per­for­mance trig­gers a strong reac­tion of shame and regret? How can you turn per­for­mance fail­ure into learn­ing? Here are nine steps to follow.

Our cur­rent sit­u­a­tion has forced dras­tic change on us that is beyond our expec­ta­tions. For many peo­ple, it has eclipsed the capac­i­ty to cope as a learn­er. But these times have a sil­ver lin­ing: the oppor­tu­ni­ty to expand and grow.

Lead­er­ship devel­op­ment is a pri­ma­ry focus of exec­u­tive coach­ing. And it’s no won­der. A recent McK­in­sey study esti­mates that orga­ni­za­tions spend around $50 bil­lion on lead­er­ship devel­op­ment efforts. Yet, they also report that only 11% of CEOs believe their lead­er­ship devel­op­ment pro­grams are suc­cess­ful in achiev­ing desired results.

Learn­ing styles are not traits or pigeon­holes; they are more like a habit or steady state. Thus, styles are self-rein­­for­c­ing; we find a sweet spot in the way we nav­i­gate the learn­ing cycle and con­tin­ue to per­fect that approach. We lead with our pre­ferred style and default to it when we are on auto­mat­ic pilot or under stress.