Javier was recently promoted to lead his team. With the promotion came access to a content library of thousands of videos on the topic of leadership. “With all this information at my fingertips, I should quickly learn how to be a great manager,” Javier thinks. But, after watching a few videos, Javier struggles to stay alert and pay attention. He’s also confused by learning so many different ways of doing things. Which one is the best? After a month, the content library sits unused, and Javier is struggling to lead his new team.
Michael is a middle manager at the same company. Because he’s at a higher level of management than Javier, he was recently assigned a leadership coach. Michael meets with his coach every couple of weeks and makes progress on some issues he’s been struggling with.
However, he often wonders how the approaches he’s learning align with those of other leaders in his company. He wishes he had more chances to compare notes. At a meeting, Michael mentions some concepts he learned from his coach, thinking the other managers will understand, but they look confused.
Paula, an executive new to the company, just attended her first in-person senior leadership retreat. When the company sends out a survey to evaluate the retreat, Paula rates it a 10/10, commenting, “This was the best learning experience I’ve ever had. The sessions were so educational, and I enjoyed forming deeper relationships with my fellow leaders. I can’t wait to apply what I learned in my daily work.” One month later, the glowing memory of the retreat remains, but new skills and habits have faded. Especially in times of stress, Paula falls back into her old ways of doing things.
