Is Experience the Greatest Teacher of Leadership?

My approach in training leaders is as an apprentice or through a candidate program. Leadership is a discipline that must be learned and practiced. We have all heard the expression, experience is the best teacher, or you may have heard; he or she only knows what comes out of a book. It is one thing to know what to do. It’s another to do it, and adapt as things change along the way. This is why we study leadership, to help us balance the practical application of experience with the theories of education and human behavior.

In getting experience it is critical to have application, or training exercises, and assignments based on educational theories that increase in difficulty once each assignment is completed on time, on budget and according to standards you move the leadership apprentice or candidate to the next level. The student’s competence mastering each assignment qualifies him or her to move to the next level of difficulty. Each exercise or assignment must be followed by an after action assessment. The leadership apprentice or candidate, and his or her instructor conducts a SWOT assessment to relive the experience, and build a foundation for the next level. Practice, practice, practice.

I’ll see you in the front row of success.