| Purpose: Show how immersion leadership training | | | | calls abstract conceptualization when we make the |
| makes strategic initiative success possible.Adults learn | | | | introduction of our focus subjects. Our students take |
| through experience. We learn behaviors through | | | | these new concepts and use their time as a leader to |
| experience. This is the flagpole fact of the educational | | | | actively experiment with their implementation as they |
| world. This flag is visible for everyone to see, and it's | | | | have a concrete experience. Finally, they have the |
| where educators know they need to be whether they | | | | opportunity to perform reflective observation. It is in this |
| are training hard or soft skills. Deborah Solomon Reid | | | | reflective period that we derive lessons learned and |
| of Tuck School of Business strikes a bell to be heard | | | | build bridges to the workplace and life.In my book, No |
| by anyone considering this most fundamental element | | | | Excuse Leadership, I sadly acknowledge that after the |
| of adult learning. "While conceptual learning is important, | | | | nine-week immersion training that is U. S. Army Ranger |
| the major leaps forward-these so-called 'aha!' | | | | School, some people fail in life and in work. "The |
| moments when mental maps are rearranged-are most | | | | reason is simple - they failed to take advantage of at |
| likely to happen when students encounter these | | | | least two opportunities provided by the school. They |
| theories experientially." The widespread use of | | | | either did not think about what there was to learn or |
| experiential training in the development of the soft skills | | | | didn't take action on the lessons they did learn." For |
| of leadership and teamwork can transform individuals | | | | various reasons, ranger school does not have a |
| and your organization.The question is, "What | | | | mechanism for such feedback and it is the individual's |
| transformation do you want?" What end state do you | | | | responsibility to take that extra step. Fortunately for us, |
| envision for your organization, and what behavioral | | | | corporate immersion training can use a much shorter |
| alignment must take place in your employees before | | | | period of time utilizing extensive feedback and achieve |
| that vision can be realized? The answer to that | | | | remarkable behavioral results.The power of rapid |
| question often traverses the corporate culture. For | | | | repetition:The compression of time for behavioral |
| instance, the characteristics necessary for an agile and | | | | changes is because the same leadership patterns that |
| responsive company, one of the strategic focuses | | | | exist in the workplace are mimicked in the training, only |
| highlighted by IBM in their 2004 CEO survey, require | | | | they are rapid and clear. In the unguided and |
| employees, who value agility and responsiveness. | | | | unanalyzed workplace, decisions are made, yet the |
| Properly guided experiential training can create fertile | | | | consequences of those decisions are days or months |
| conditions for a rapid adjustment in corporate culture, | | | | in the future and are rarely completely seen or |
| no matter the direction you wish to go. Whether it is | | | | understood. Certainly, the interpersonal communication |
| agility and responsiveness, sustainability, or lean | | | | aspects of impressions, perceptions and clarity are |
| systems you wish to ingrain, it can be done. However, | | | | never addressed. Compress this pattern and repeat it |
| to reap the greatest rewards you must make two | | | | multiple times in a matter of days in a guided |
| commitments.First, you must embrace the experiential | | | | environment where the decision-consequence link is |
| training model for its ability to quickly influence behavior. | | | | clear, and you will rapidly change behaviors.After |
| Second, because everyone has a role in corporate | | | | traveling the cycle once, it would be nice to stop there |
| culture you must commit to training nearly everyone. I | | | | and pat each other on the back, but in immersion |
| acknowledge that this is a tremendous distance to go | | | | training, there is always more to do to. There is a |
| for most companies. You will see that there are many | | | | superposition achieved by moving immediately into |
| powerful uses for experiential training that will enhance | | | | another round of introduction, experience, analysis and |
| your company's performance without a wholesale | | | | bridging; then another and then another, etc. This |
| assault on your corporate culture. Any significant | | | | training gets leaders leading; making mistakes, |
| impact on your leadership core should be embraced. | | | | evaluating decisions, and doing it again in rapid |
| However, if you are looking for that sweeping | | | | succession.This superposition of progress was logged |
| modification, you need to plan and resource for results. | | | | by a university study performed on the Leading |
| Bring a ladder tall enough to at least reach the lowest | | | | Concepts' Ranger TLC (teamwork, leadership, |
| branches.Changing values for maintainable strategic | | | | communication) Experience, a four-day, 80 hour training |
| initiatives:Frances Hesselbein said, "Soft skills are now | | | | course. It showed consistent improvement in the areas |
| hard," and she is right. In so many strategic initiatives, | | | | of trust in peers, group awareness, group |
| particularly in sustainability and lean systems, we must | | | | effectiveness (cohesion), group bonding and |
| get into the person's brain and adjust their value | | | | interpersonal communications. Although those were the |
| system. That's not easy. Experiential training and | | | | only areas considered in the study, the lessons can be |
| immersion training as I'll define here require a thoughtful | | | | much farther ranging. In addition to the focus areas |
| approach by leaders determined to make | | | | selected for instruction, a recent Entrepreneur |
| improvements and dedicate the necessary resources | | | | Magazine article showed how immersion training can |
| to do so.When I refer to experiential training, I mean a | | | | inspire people. "Many enter leadership training believing |
| guided experience intended to teach specific lessons. | | | | their most valuable lessons will be in the areas of |
| Immersion training is an extended use of experiential | | | | policies and procedures, but they come away with |
| training where no other focus is allowed. Immersion | | | | more fundamental insights that are ultimately more |
| training (table 1) uses all available time allotted for the | | | | valuable." The article went on to say that, "owners |
| achievement of the intended results. The understanding | | | | who rated their experiences most highly were those |
| is that the entire day is a training environment. There | | | | who detached themselves the most."Those who are |
| are no distractive devices that connect the students to | | | | detached the most and who have no outside |
| work or home, and there is no happy hour or tee time. | | | | distractions have the greatest opportunity to develop a |
| No matter the number of days, and more than one is | | | | clear picture of what the teaching and experience |
| preferable, the objectives of the course have the | | | | mean to them. They have time to reflect, not only |
| un-interrupted attention of the students.Table 1. | | | | during the analysis and bridge period, but during their |
| Immersion training is characterized by:Experience | | | | downtime also. It is that hidden after-hours time that |
| Based (table 2, 2a) - Students are involved; physically | | | | can lock the principles and values into a person's |
| and emotionally. Not in role playing but with actual | | | | decision cycle. Facilitation of the learning of the |
| responsibility within the scenario. Their decisions have | | | | intended message as clearly and deeply as possible is |
| consequences.Distraction free - For the duration of the | | | | the beginning of the future, and it is another product of |
| training, there are no connections, such as cell phone, | | | | experiential training that less-involved methods cannot |
| pager, laptop, to non-scenario, outside | | | | match.Have your message received clearly:One of the |
| responsibilities.Multiple day - More time for repetition of | | | | reasons there is so little progress on the soft-skills |
| scenarios, which aides in internalization of intended | | | | despite mountains of writing, speaking and training, is |
| lessons. Facilitates application of lessons in real | | | | because the teachers are writing on a crowded |
| life.Extended work hours - More time for repetition of | | | | blackboard of the student's education. The distortion of |
| scenarios, which aides in internalization of intended | | | | writing with a big piece of chalk in the small, open |
| lessons. Facilitates application of lessons in real | | | | places of the blackboard, or in giant letters over |
| life.Narrow focus - Allows for frequent reoccurrence, | | | | existing writing, obstructs even the understanding of |
| reinforcement and internalization of intended lessons. | | | | the intended lessons. If proper understanding is never |
| Facilitates application of lessons in real life.Reflection - | | | | achieved then the persistence needed to take a |
| Distraction free environment allows for down-time | | | | lesson and create a habit cannot start.Compounding |
| assimilation of lessons. Facilitates application of lessons | | | | the difficulty of implementation of new behaviors is the |
| in real life.Regardless of the variables chosen for the | | | | fact that the work environment, where these |
| realignment of your corporate culture, teamwork, | | | | behaviors are intended to work, is not a guided |
| leadership and communication must be the constants. | | | | experience. There is a mash of activities that don't lend |
| When those components are taken out, all other | | | | themselves to 8-1/2 x 11 margins. If we get to the point |
| initiatives suffer. In the IBM 2004 CEO survey, they | | | | of attempted application, we see mutated lessons, |
| "recognize that it is the skills of their people and their | | | | adapted by a person in a job where the cause and |
| capacity for change and leadership that will ultimately | | | | effect of leadership are rarely evident. The results are |
| determine the outcome."Bob Doppelt, a leading | | | | mutated and misattributed if they are recognized at all. |
| researcher on sustainability, writes, "Leading | | | | This approach leaves everyone shrugging their |
| organizations are blessed with - or take explicit steps | | | | shoulders in frustration.Some would rightly say that it is |
| to develop - exemplary leadership at the top and | | | | precisely a person's background, education and work |
| throughout the enterprise. It is not possible to initiate or | | | | experience that make it possible for them to learn new |
| sustain the tremendous transformation required to | | | | materials quickly. They are able to link new information |
| become more sustainable without exceptional | | | | with existing experience to create new understandings. |
| leadership."Warren Bennis put it this way, "Without | | | | That is completely accurate, and extremely valid in a |
| leaders who can attract and retain talent, manage | | | | hard skill. The problem this encounters in the soft-skill |
| knowledge, and unblock people's capacity to adapt | | | | environment is that people's existing leadership |
| and innovate, an organization's future is in jeopardy."If | | | | experience, if they have any, is trial and error and |
| you don't have leadership, you will lose the capability to | | | | seldom firmly planted in accurate guiding principles. |
| fully exploit the preparedness for the new culture that | | | | Their experience then becomes the confusing |
| this training makes possible. You can spend all of your | | | | scribbling on the blackboard.The way to overcome the |
| training time and effort on sustainability or agility, and | | | | whiteout conditions of the student's education is to find |
| your company will become very smart on these | | | | their clean blackboard. You must have a place where |
| subjects. You can use experiential training to make the | | | | a clear message can be communicated, and in a |
| lessons real, but if you don't have an expansive, | | | | method that will change behaviors beyond the last |
| dedicated and perseverant leadership foundation, you | | | | slide.The immersion method gives you a clean |
| will fail.One of the key advantages you have by | | | | blackboard for nearly everyone in your company. In |
| making the commitment to a broad immersion | | | | the top left hand corner of the board write "Guided |
| campaign is that through the process, you will not only | | | | Leadership Experience." (table 2) Underneath that, |
| steer your corporate culture, but you will also enhance | | | | write, "Actual Leadership Experience." For the most |
| every aspect of your ability for success by creating a | | | | efficient progress, these two must go together. Actual |
| prevailing culture of leadership. Fortunately, leadership | | | | experience is often called on-the-job experience, the |
| principles are nearly universal. The same principles that | | | | preponderance of which is unguided. Guided |
| are used to successfully lead a project team are used | | | | experience is what we call professional development. |
| to lead a sales organization or a tech staff. The better | | | | To add to my definition of experiential training, it starts |
| those principles are incorporated into the operating | | | | beyond books, speeches and seminars at a level |
| habits of your people, the more advantage you will | | | | where a person is making leadership decisions that will |
| have.In addition to the critical leadership aspect of the | | | | have consequences.Table 2. Guided Experience is |
| training, you will customize your training to include those | | | | characterized by:Focus subject instruction - Education |
| areas you want most understood and valued. A | | | | on focus subjects. (Teamwork, Leadership, |
| narrow focus is more effective, and I recommend only | | | | Communication)Free-play scenarios - Leaders and |
| one or two. Fortunately, when it comes to cultural | | | | followers experience real stresses of teamwork and |
| issues a short list should be more than sufficient. You | | | | the consequences of their actions with as few |
| are in the process of turning an ocean liner with | | | | controls as possible.After action reviews - Discovery, |
| momentum, so the unsettling notion of a realigning of | | | | structured around focus subjects, by students of |
| company values must be prepared for by an | | | | lessons learned and discussion of potential |
| extraordinary event. Doppelt's first intervention for | | | | improvements.Table 2a. Guided Experience is |
| creating a sustainable organization deals with change. | | | | augmented by:Bridge building - Creating links from the |
| "Disrupting an organization's controlling mental model is | | | | lessons learned to work and life application.Post training |
| the first - and most important - step toward the | | | | follow-up - Consistent reinforcement of lessons |
| development of new ways of operating. Little change | | | | learned through complimentary instructional material, |
| will occur if this step is unsuccessful."The nature of | | | | chain of command interaction, and advanced guided |
| immersion training is that it gets under your skin. It's | | | | experiential training.Guided leadership experience is |
| disruptive because in order to align the training with | | | | nearly non-existent. To be fair, most of the top |
| how adults learn best, people have to be allowed to | | | | business schools have incorporated experiential training |
| fall down, be uncomfortable, challenged, stressed and | | | | and role-playing into their curriculum. Unfortunately, the |
| sometimes broken. This seems to go against our | | | | guided nature of the experience does not have a |
| desire to protect people's self-esteem. Understand that | | | | foundation of actual experience on which to build. In an |
| true self-esteem and confidence comes from | | | | informal survey of one of the top business schools, |
| achievement not coddling. One of the greatest things | | | | only 10-15% of the student body had ever had |
| we as leaders can do to build up the capacity of our | | | | leadership responsibility for other people prior to |
| people is to allow them the chance for | | | | enrollment.Harvard Business School professor Linda A. |
| achievement.Immersion training allows for the complete | | | | Hill in her book, Becoming a Manager warns, "Newly |
| involvement of each of the participants at every step, | | | | minted MBAs who have never had subordinates |
| whether a leader or follower. It allows for the | | | | reporting to them before may take jobs in which they |
| immediate illumination of the relationship between | | | | will have considerable people management |
| actions and consequences. It provides the ability to | | | | responsibilities, with little sense of the risk in doing |
| learn how to do things better through educated | | | | so."This leadership risk can be mitigated, not only for |
| analysis and experimentation. It allows the | | | | the new MBA, but for everyone - EVERYONE. |
| consequences of mistakes to be experienced in a | | | | Leadership is risky. Arranged properly, it is the leader's |
| training environment and not in the office environment, | | | | leather chair that is on the line for consequences of |
| where they would be much more costly. It | | | | decisions made. By giving the person the best possible |
| compresses the on-the-job learning cycle from months | | | | chance for success, the risk of monetary, morale and |
| and years down to a number of days. It is an | | | | self-esteem losses are all mitigated. The best chance |
| experience that aids in the internalization of positive | | | | for success is achieved when leaders at all levels are |
| practices of teamwork, leadership, communication and | | | | allowed the privilege of testing and developing their |
| the variables you choose.Begin and end properly:At the | | | | leadership skills in non-job threatening, guided |
| beginning and end of this visceral, emotional experience | | | | environments.Conclusion:Write your message on the |
| are the critical pieces of instruction and analysis. The | | | | clean blackboard of guided leadership experience and |
| format of the experience is of ultimate importance, but | | | | purposefully develop your company's leadership core. |
| in order to keep it from wastefully spilling out of the | | | | Immersion training offers the best way to |
| ends, the classroom time is the cinch.The introduction is | | | | communicate a clear message that will quickly change |
| where the primary focuses are defined. It is where | | | | people's behaviors. The relatively dramatic nature of |
| their meaning and importance are explained. Next, the | | | | the training also prepares people for receptivity to new |
| students get to actually lead and follow in their | | | | information that can in turn transform your corporate |
| experiential environment. They get to make decisions | | | | culture - no matter what you want it to be.Individuals |
| that have consequences. They get to feel the stress | | | | are the building blocks of teams, of companies, and of |
| of having eyes and expectations on them, and they | | | | corporate cultures. The good news is that you do |
| get to learn what it means to make a decision and | | | | have the ability to influence and build individuals in a |
| stand by it. Everyone gets to operate as a team and | | | | rapid fashion. You have to remain dedicated to the |
| learn to depend on each other towards the | | | | ideal and with a firm hold on the flag pole of |
| accomplishment of an objective.The cinch at the end is | | | | experiential training.To learn more about how |
| when together they get to participate in the important | | | | immersion team building and leadership training can help |
| closure of an after action review, or a post-mortem. | | | | you visit: |
| They get to analyze their experience with respect to | | | | Copyright 2005 Brace E. BarberAbout Author: Brace |
| the course focuses, and create better ways to | | | | E. Barber works extensively in the field of immersion |
| perform in the future. The experience really excels | | | | soft-skill training. His partnership with Leading Concepts, |
| when attention is given to building bridges between the | | | | Inc. ( ) has allowed for the expansion of this |
| lessons learned and the student's workplace and | | | | extraordinary level of experiential training. Brace's |
| life.David Kolb explains in his book Experiential Learning | | | | focus is on how to develop leaders, who are prepared |
| that a cycle of learning exists. It is a good exercise to | | | | for and can succeed under stressful circumstances. |
| place our guided experience onto his well-used | | | | He is the author of the book No Excuse Leadership. ( ) |
| framework. We provide the opportunity for what he | | | | (J. |