Harriett
Thank you for your long response in difficult circumstances.
Yes, learning is very circumstantial, and this is why I wonder at the
reliability of transferring leadership skills to very different
circumstances.
My understanding is that many areas of understanding have been compromised
by over-generalisation - because we have an idea in our mind (like
leadership) we believe we are dealing with similar things although they
are in very different situations.
I would be interested in the evidence for that transfer of skills.
Yours
Gray
At 01:51 29/06/99 EDT, you wrote:
>Anyway, I have a quick response to your question because it may be a day
>or two before I can give you a more thoughtful and elaborate one. Yes, I
>think those lessons can be transferred given all the constraints you cite
>BUT (upper case BUT!), the trick for me is just WHAT lesson was
>transferred. I am willing to bet that 9 times out of 10 (i.e., most of
>the time), what people "learn" from a situation is not what the teacher
>thought s/he was teaching. Outcomes are always modified by the learner's
>individual experiences -- what s/he brings to the situation will
>inevitably alter what s/he takes away. Kind of like that example where an
>accident occurs at an intersection in full view of 5 eyewitnesses and they
>all saw the same thing -- but didn't see the same thing, if you know what
>I mean. That's why it's so important to share learning experiences, I
>think, and especially the leadership kind because as far as I know, there
>isn't any manual that covers every situation. It's a question of context
>and then choices and everyone will define the context a little differently
>and construct their choices a little differently. There's a lot more to
>say but I'm not capable of it at this moment. Anyway, I have some
>references on outdoor experiences and their value in leadership
>development and would be happy to share if you are interested. To me,
>leadership issues and the concepts of a learning organization are
>inextricably linked. I'd like to keep talking about this if it is of
>interest to the other members of the listserve. Thanks for writing.
>Harriett.
>
>HJRobles@aol.com
-----------------------------------------------------------
Gray Southon
Senior Lecturer in Knowledge Management
Department of Information Studies
University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
Ph 02 9514 2724, mobile 0414 295 328
Fax 02 9514 2723
email Gray.Southon@uts.edu.au, web page http://www.ozemail.com.au/~gsouthon/
Knowledge Management Web Page:
http://www.uts.edu.au/fac/hss/Departments/DIS/km/
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--Gray Southon <Gray.Southon@uts.EDU.AU>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>