Here is Charlie Thompson’s president’s message from this month’s journal. I was discussing this message recently with a colleague who is a very experienced and knowledgeable contractor. We both agreed that it was a very though provoking idea to challenge the idea that we already know all we need to know.
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not only be those that cannot read and write, but those that cannot learn, unlearn and re-learn”
One of my favorite articles ever written is “Confessions of a Recovering Knower” by Brian Hinken. He points out that most of us have achieved our successes in life from what we know. We have been promoted, we have been complimented and revered, etc. because, at least in part, of what we know. This pattern has been supported over and over again through most of our lives from our childhood to adulthood.
The problem with this is “knowers” are generally unwilling, or unable, to admit when they don’t know something and to be influenced. Knowing is so central to who they are that even when they are not sure of the answer they act as if they know it even though they don’t. They give up some of their ability to learn new things because the focus for them is on what has already been learned (the source of their success).
The alternative to this is to be a “learner”….Someone who effectively uses knowledge and experience, not to solve someone’s problems with what they know but rather with what they ask. They use inquiry masterfully. They understand that their knowledge and experience is only part of problem solving and not the single, magic bullet answer.
I found that having all the answers, or at least appearing to have all the answers, served me well when I was younger just starting out in my career. As I moved into higher levels of leadership it became an anchor more and more. Being a “Knower” held back those around me that I needed to develop. I found that being a “Knower” was not a very humble approach and therefore did not convey transparency and an unassuming
approach that I desired in order to help develop leadership in myself and others.
I have shared this view with enough people around the office that we compliment “Learner” behaviors in each other. We use this view to help evaluate employment candidates as well as existing employees for leadership positions.
I have found when I am more of a “Learner” that I see things and learn things that I would have never seen or learned if my focus had been on me and my knowledge. I have been able to enlist and collaborate better, develop allies, and in the end achieve more from what I don’t yet know than from what I already knew.
Charlie Thompson – An aspiring “Learner”
Brian Hinken is the long-time organizational development facilitator for Gerber Memorial Health Services in Fremont, Michigan, and the author of the recently published book, The Learner’s Path: Practices for Recovering Knowers.
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not only be those that cannot read and write, but those that cannot learn, unlearn and re-learn”
One of my favorite articles ever written is “Confessions of a Recovering Knower” by Brian Hinken. He points out that most of us have achieved our successes in life from what we know. We have been promoted, we have been complimented and revered, etc. because, at least in part, of what we know. This pattern has been supported over and over again through most of our lives from our childhood to adulthood.
The problem with this is “knowers” are generally unwilling, or unable, to admit when they don’t know something and to be influenced. Knowing is so central to who they are that even when they are not sure of the answer they act as if they know it even though they don’t. They give up some of their ability to learn new things because the focus for them is on what has already been learned (the source of their success).
The alternative to this is to be a “learner”….Someone who effectively uses knowledge and experience, not to solve someone’s problems with what they know but rather with what they ask. They use inquiry masterfully. They understand that their knowledge and experience is only part of problem solving and not the single, magic bullet answer.
I found that having all the answers, or at least appearing to have all the answers, served me well when I was younger just starting out in my career. As I moved into higher levels of leadership it became an anchor more and more. Being a “Knower” held back those around me that I needed to develop. I found that being a “Knower” was not a very humble approach and therefore did not convey transparency and an unassuming
approach that I desired in order to help develop leadership in myself and others.
I have shared this view with enough people around the office that we compliment “Learner” behaviors in each other. We use this view to help evaluate employment candidates as well as existing employees for leadership positions.
I have found when I am more of a “Learner” that I see things and learn things that I would have never seen or learned if my focus had been on me and my knowledge. I have been able to enlist and collaborate better, develop allies, and in the end achieve more from what I don’t yet know than from what I already knew.
Charlie Thompson – An aspiring “Learner”
Brian Hinken is the long-time organizational development facilitator for Gerber Memorial Health Services in Fremont, Michigan, and the author of the recently published book, The Learner’s Path: Practices for Recovering Knowers.