Into the mind of an Adult Learner

As a learner in the area of Performance Development, I am always on the lookout for products, methodologies, systems, reward schemes and ideas on sure fire ways of building Individual performance and hence corporate performance. Using ROI on Training as the end objective, we try various remedies, vendors and interventions, assuming that:
1.Individual A’s learning capacity is = his application capability, AND
2.Individual A’s learning capacity = Individual B’s learning capacity = Individual C’s learning capacity.

Of course we all know that it in real life such equations don’t hold.

I read Theory U of Otto Scharmer and Malcolm Knowles’ Principles of Adult Leadership to understand in-depth the mechanics of learning. I also carried out an experiment recently to understand some of the issues which can minimize the leaks in the equation given above . My observations are aired below. I welcome some of my readers to share theirs:


1.Besides commitment, it takes courage to start practising every day. I may fail umpteen times daily, yet I have to persist, daily. It also took courage to not cruise in safe waters, when I reach a particular level and continue to try an reach the next level. I had to go through the fire of failure to finally reach the pinnacle of achievement.
2.It requires a completely open mind, like a white board, to allow new knowledge / Skill/ Competency to become a habit. My old knowledge / known way of doing things were becoming a hindrance to learning.
3.The only person who prevented me from exploring my potential was I. And the only system / inspiration / motivator / scheme which worked was also myself…. My sense of accomplishment is what kept me moving from one level to the next.
4.My learning did not follow a set path, the way the coach had been trained to teach. For the learning to be successful, my autonomy required hands off coaching style, at times. Only an intuitive coach could give me the space and the independence to practise.
5.Though presence of a coach helped me to a large extent in taking risks while practising. The presence of the coach giving valuable feedback constantly and his supportive affirmations kept me going with my practise and thus perfecting my technique.

Perseverance pays to reach the pinnacle of what you can BE