Leaders Teaching Leaders

Leaders Teaching Leaders by Steve Cohen, Kevin Wilde and Cheryl Bethune   As organizations leverage the valuable experience of their leaders as teachers, they should implement an instructionally sound framework that addresses the technical and emotional needs of all stakeholders.   You've been trying to convince your senior leaders for some time now that they have much to offer in teaching other leaders in your organization. By actively sharing their experiences and perspectives on the company's values and expectations, they send an unmistakable message of commitment to the company's success and to growing its leadership pipeline. Now you've finally gotten your chance. You are sitting across the desk from one of those executives, who has agreed to participate in your newly developed high-visibility senior leadership academy as a presenter. You're simultaneously excited and terrified: excited because you know the value that executives can bring to the program and terrified because you want to have a highly engaging learning experience, not a death-by-PowerPoint presentation or an unfocused stream-of-consciousness agenda.   Sure, many executives have risen to the top because of their ability to charismatically communicate and present to their teams, boardrooms and customers. But can they facilitate a real learning experience?   There are really only two factors that will influence the success of a leaders-teaching-leaders initiative. The first involves the creation of a simple, adaptable framework that facilitates the type of breakthrough learning experience you desire. The second factor addresses the emotional element of making executives comfortable doing something that may not come naturally: truly engaging the leaders in their audience.   Not Presentation Skills   With some direction, executives can learn the basics of creating engaging, meaningful and action-oriented learning experiences based on any content they want to present. Now, this isn't about teaching presentation skills. We assume these leaders already know how to present, as it's something they've likely been doing for years. This is about learning to facilitate a session that participants will remember and internalize.   That said, we recognize that senior executives aren't going to sit through a course in instructional design - nor should they. But they would benefit significantly from being introduced to an instructional design "lite" model that wouldn't take that much time to understand and apply, but would yield concrete results.   Such an instructional design "lite" process includes the following six phases.   Phase 1: Content Mapping   This phase involves identifying, organizing and sorting out the relevant content to be communicated in the session. Internal and external sources for the information are first determined and then accessed in order to be mapped. This mapping process classifies the content into one or more of the following three areas:   a) Knowledge, or the information one needs to know about the topic. b) Skill, or the ability one needs to demonstrate about the topic. c) Attitude, or those beliefs one has to embrace about the topic.   Leaders tend to know what they want to say but sometimes need an organizing framework to make the information meaningful to their audiences. This simple threefold approach allows them to create relevant and concise information. They also need to not only identify lessons learned from previous experience but create a story around their teachable point of view, which then can be mapped by the knowledge, skills and attitudes that story communicates.   Phase 2: Learning Objectives   Based on the content identified in Phase 1, specific learning objectives are created describing the intended and expected outcomes that will be addressed. These are aligned with the content classifications from Phase 1 such that the following questions can be answered as a result of participation in the session:   a) What do learners know now that they did not know prior to the session? b) What can learners do now that they were notable to do prior to the session? c) What do learners believe that they did not believe prior to the session?   Phase 3: Instructional Design   Based on the desired learning outcomes identified, create an initial teaching process in the form of a high-level design document. The format for this design resembles teaching notes that, when finalized, are used by the leader to instruct the session. This process takes into account the level and experience of the learners, the audience size, the specific business context involved and the desired learning objectives.   The methodology used involves three key elements: the "what," the "so what" and the "now what."   1. The "what" refers to the content that will be discussed. It revolves around the mindset required to learn the intended topic or point.   2. The "so what" provides context for learners and helps them understand how they will need to apply the content in their specific job roles. It focuses on the skill set required to apply the content.   3. The "now what" addresses the application of the content - helping direct reports, managers and others become more effective. To apply the skill sets developed, leaders now need an appropriate tool set designed specifically to address their business challenges.   Phase 4: Materials Development   Once the overall session's instructional design has been completed, learning executives can work on developing the most appropriate learning experiences to convey the necessary information. This can be facilitated by matching intended learning outcomes with appropriate learning strategies. Then, all the materials for the session - such as reading materials, tools, workbooks, PowerPoint presentations and teaching notes - can be developed.   Phase 5: Module Delivery   Prior to the actual delivery of the session, conduct a practice walk-through with a small group of colleagues who provide feedback on the teaching process and materials. All revisions should be made prior to a final printing and delivery of the session.   Optional Phase 6: Cascading Rollout   Once the initial session has been delivered, CLOs might want to implement a process to teach participants how to deliver the module to their own direct reports, thereby extending the leaders-teaching-leaders model. Given that these learners are already familiar with the content and delivery, a working session can be organized for all interested to review key elements, answer questions and practice delivery.   This six-phase approach is easy to implement and combines the science of learning with helping the executives become emotionally comfortable with developing others. Once they have applied this approach, they should be able to do it on their own the next time around. True, the learning executive may have to co-facilitate a session at first, but over time, these leaders will become more and more comfortable with the continued success they are having. Furthermore, those learners seeing this approach modeled by their senior executives can even more quickly understand its benefits and follow it when creating their own leaders-teaching-leaders sessions.   A Few Final Tips   When working with executives, CLOs would do well to keep the following in mind.   1. This has not been their job. While they have been successful at telling and selling, facilitating a learning experience is likely to be out of their comfort zone. Therefore, provide them with a simple framework that engenders their confidence. It's your job to bring them to their conscious competence.   2. It's their style, not yours. Encourage them to use their own words, provide their own perspective and articulate their own points of view. A "facilitator" outline can help keep them on track and even a sample script could assist, but allow them the space to work within their own structure.   3. They must "own" their content. They need to believe in what they are teaching if they are going to effectively model and influence other leaders. In fact, minor flaws in their facilitation skills will likely be forgiven if they are passionate owners of their content.   4. You are the learning pro. As such, you must offer a collaborative and competent approach. Leaders will look to you for help, so don't back down from a framework you know will work. Having said this, you need to demonstrate your confidence and business savvy, so avoid using learning and development jargon.   The approach described in this article provides a framework that replaces the oft-dreaded uninspiring executive presentation with an engaging, relevant and impactful learning experience.     [About the Authors: Steve Cohen is the founder and a principal of the Strategic Leadership Collaborative, a global leadership strategy and effectiveness consultancy. Kevin Wilde is the chief learning officer and vice president of organization effectiveness for General Mills Inc. Cheryl Bethune is the manager of organization effectiveness at General Mills.]