Connecting deep learning, leadership and social change

Frederick Law Olmsted never trained as an architect.  Jane Jacobs didn't even have a college degree.  How did they become so smart about urban planning -- and so influential?

Frederick Law Olmsted,
urban planning pioneer

Olmsted and Jacobs were "deep learners."  They were the kind of people who talked with and listened to a diverse range of people.  They read a lot, and shared what they learned.  In other words, they weren't the kind of people who were satisfied sitting in the back of a conference session hearing about what they already knew.

Then they shared their knowledge with colleagues in their writings, in presentations and through a lot of 'quiet conversations.'  (Jacobs enjoyed having them at the White Horse Tavern in New York's Greenwich Village.)

Many people get frustrated when the time they spend in training doesn't lead to much change.  They might blame the program, or continuing education as a whole. But often the problem is one of trying to use the wrong tool for the job.

No matter how good they are, conferences, webinars and training by themselves cannot create change.  They can help give you a start, but that's about it.

Conferences and webinars are great when you want to get introduced to a subject or learn a little more about it. (That's of course if you pace yourself.  One of the biggest problems conference participants have is trying to absorb too much at one time.  They wind up learning less and less about more and more.)

But having knowledge doesn't by itself cause change. As the saying goes: "If truths were self-evident, we wouldn't need lawyers."

Jane Jacobs at the White Horse Tavern

Training sessions also are not designed to promote organizational or social change -- they are designed to help you learn new skills. Of course those skills may be valuable to promote change.  Training is great for teaching skills that can be repeated regardless of the environment.  How to use a software program, how to take pictures for a public presentation -- those sorts of things.

Training alone often fails to lead to behaviors that change social systems (e.g., organizations or communities).  That's because your success depends on adapting those skills to the unique qualities of your environment.

As management guru Edgar Schein says in "Models and Tools for Stability and Change in Human Systems":  "...New behaviors may not remain stable unless they also fit into the ongoing relationships and the work context of the person or group that has changed... The trainees come back full of enthusiasm only to find that their [organization or community] does not support the new attitudes and behavior.  They are now [frustrated] all over again and thus will start a new change process that may well lead back to the original behavior."  Read more of his reflections on managed learning.

(This is why The Leading Institute and the Professional Development Institute don't pretend to teach "the complete guide to..." or "everything you need to know.." in two-day workshops.  If something so complex as leadership and management could be taught in two days, our world would be filled with great leaders and managers.)

To achieve change at a group, organization or community level, you need to learn at a deep level the conditions that cause you to think change is needed, and the constraints to making the change.  And no, there is almost never a simple reason or a single person to blame. If that were the case, the change would have already happened.

This kind of learning takes time and reflection.  You have to become aware.  Then you need to test your assumptions.  Then try the change and see what happens.  Then reflect on what worked or didn't, and what you know now that you didn't before.  Try something new.

You could do this on your own, as some people do, but you're better off sharing your thoughts with people who are different from you.   As Jim Collins says in Good to Great and other writings, the most effective leaders are not the "geniuses with a thousand helpers," but the ones who open themselves to ideas from throughout their organizations, their clients and partners.  Leadership guru Warren Bennis echoes these words in On Becoming a Leader.  "Leaders are learners."

This is why we offer 5.5 week "Deep Learning" courses through the Bloustein Online Continuing Education Program and why we encourage learners to learn from one another while they are learning the material.

It is also why Leading from the Middle is a four-to-six-month program, and not a weekend crash course.


If what you want is to know a little more about a subject or learn a new skill, a webinar, conference, or one-day training session should be fine.  But if you want to cost-effectively manage change for sustainable outcomes, get deeper in your learning.

--Leonardo Vazquez, AICP/PP

Photo credits:
Frederick Law Olmsted: Public domain photo found on Creative Commons
Jane Jacobs: http://www.futureofny.org/learnmore