1

Personal Learning and the MBA

Developing a Perspective on Life-long Learning

Today’s Agenda  Guiding Principles for this class  Personal Learning

•  Five insights into learning •  Your personal learning style

 Your core purpose and learning  Self-assessment and reflection  Getting to know each other…

Interview and Introduce •  Name •  Previous Undergraduate/Graduate

degrees and majors and what school they are from

•  Important work experience •  Hometown •  Favorite hobbies •  Favorite “adventure” in the past one

year

2

Why Focus on Professional Skills in an MBA

Program?

What Do Employers Look For?

•  National Association of Colleges & Employers (NACE) 2005 skill list: –  Written and verbal communication skills –  Honesty/Integrity –  Interpersonal skills –  Strong Work Ethic –  Teamwork – ability to work well with others –  Analytical skills –  Motivation/flexibility –  Computer skills –  Leadership and organizational skills Source: NACE Job Outlook 2005 Survey of Employers

How Do You Create a High-Impact Learning Environment?

•  Two questions: 1.  We have all experienced instances of high impact

learning – where we have found ourselves transformed in some meaningful way after participating in a course, attending a workshop, or working on a project. Thinking back over the educational experiences that you have had, select one such experience to describe. What was happening, who was involved, what were you doing? Tell the story with as much detail as possible.

2.  Now consider the next 12 months in your MBA program. What personal characteristics do you value most in yourself? How will you contribute to making this a high impact learning community?

3

Themes •  Groups discuss what stood out most in

the interview stories

•  Groups brainstorm a list of themes that came out of the interviews –  Record and post the themes

Guiding Practices •  Based on your discussion and the

themes that emerged, what practices will guide your interaction throughout the next 12 months?

•  How will you support each other in creating high impact learning experiences?

Personal Skill Learning - What and How

•  Five critical insights –  Knowledge acquisition and skill acquisition

are different. –  Effects of individual style differences. –  Performance model underpinnings for

personal skill learning. –  Personal learning in complex settings. –  Skill development as a continuous

improvement process.

4

Reminder: Objective of MBA Program

•  As a result of successfully completing this program you will: –  Acquire and enhance your skills as a

manager –  Become excellent “personal learners”

•  Personal learning is the “meta-skill” of leader and manager development

INSIGHT ONE: Skill Learning is Different from

Knowledge Acquisition •  Most historical experience in higher education

is knowledge acquisition •  To be an effective manager, you must work

on learning skills •  Thus, learning through experience and

application critical

Performance Requires One to “Do” •  To be effective with skills, you need to be

flexible enough to respond immediately, correctly, and instinctively.

–  Snowboarding over moguls –  Driving when a truck swerves into your

lane –  Playing tennis –  Responding when colleague gets upset

with you in a meeting –  Delegating a task to a peer or subordinate

•  Success depends on Practice.

5

Interactive Learning Continuum

INSIGHT TWO: Emphasis on Performance in Varying Contexts

Changes the Learning Model •  Learning requires reflection •  Inductive learning plays a substantial role

–  Personal experience and practice with feedback:

•  Using skill building loops

•  Observational learning. –  Choosing good role models

Kolb's Learning Cycle CE

RO

AC

AE

Sensors Divergent Thinkers

Thinkers Connection Makers

Creators Convergent Thinkers

Doers Accommodators

6

Cycle Attributes •  CE = focus on concrete experience. •  RO = reflection and observation of experience. •  AC = abstract conceptualization of experience. •  AE = active experimentation with new

experience. •  Cycle is continuously reoccurring for everyone. •  Direction of learning is related to our own

goals and interests. •  Learning style is highly individualistic - each

has strengths in overall process.

Kolb's' Learning Styles Normed on 1,933 highly educated adults aged 18-60 -

Used median cutoffs. •  CE: Asks: what happened? Strong CE's are good in

reflecting on immediate situations. Emphasize feeling (vs. thinking). Value relating to people and being involved. Good at brainstorming new ideas.

•  RO: Asks: why did it happen? Strong RO's focus on understanding and meaning. They are concerned for "what is true" rather than "what is practical." They value patience, impartiality and thoughtful judgment. They see the “big picture” and connect it to the experience.

Kolb's Learning Styles •  AC: Asks: what does it mean for the future?

Strong AC's focus on logic. They emphasize thinking rather than feeling. They are concerned with building models and planning for the future. They value precision, rigor and the aesthetic qualities of a neat conceptual scheme.

•  AE: Asks: how do we best implement our plan? Strong AE's focus on influencing people and situations. They emphasize the practical. Their emphasis is on doing rather than sensemaking. They value having an impact and like to see results.

7

The Wheel of Learning

More Concrete

More Abstract

More Action More Reflection

Doing (Coordinated

Action)

Deciding (Joint

Planning)

Reflecting, thinking & feeling

(Public Reflection)

Connecting (Shared

Meaning)

Many people take more naturally to one or two phases of the cycle

Individual level (Team level)

Senge, 1990

Learning Styles •  Divergent Thinkers

–  Combines interest in experiencing and reflecting. –  Best at brainstorming in the Reflection stage.

•  Assimilators or Connection makers –  Combining an interest in reflecting and thinking. –  Best at the Connecting stage.

•  Convergent Thinkers or Solution finders –  Combining an interest in thinking and doing. –  Best at the Deciding stage.

•  Accommodators –  Combining an interest in doing and experiencing. –  Best at Coordinated Action.

Knowledge About Your Learning Style…

•  Prepares you to get the most learning possible from each of your MBA courses

•  Applies to developing effective teams

•  Enhances your “life-long learning” capabilities –  Through knowing where you are strong

and where you are weak

8

INSIGHT THREE: Conceptual Underpinnings of

Performance •  Diagnosing causes of good (and

poor) Performance – Performance = Motivation * Ability

•  Ability = Aptitude * Training * Resources •  Motivation = Drive * Commitment

Managing Performance •  Antecedents and consequences can be

“personal”: –  Intentions, plans, goals –  Skills and abilities –  Feel good about project

•  Antecedents and consequences can be “environmental”: –  Seahawks game on TV? –  Recognized for good work by your boss –  Parking Ticket…

Managing Performance •  Antecedents and consequences can be

“scheduled”: –  Plan a vacation, schedule project deadlines –  Schedule a company reward dinner

•  Antecedents and consequences can be “accidental”: –  Run across a competitor’s new product idea in

WSJ –  Boss comments favorably on how you handled the

meeting –  Parking ticket…

9

Purposeful Behavior

•  Manage cues and consequences –  Have clear “bigger picture” - systematic

schema for choices among cues –  Know steps which will lead us to our ends –  Arrange to guide performance to meet our

chosen ends –  Substitute “scheduled” for accidental –  Substitute “mechanisms” for strategy

INSIGHT FOUR: Learning From Problems in Complex

Settings

Problem

Work design

Reward system My Manager

Work team

Subordinates The economy Myself

Attribution Theory •  Attributing behavior to:

–  Factors outside our control (External) –  Factors we control (Internal)

•  Three factors influence External/Internal attribution: –  Distinctiveness

•  Is an individual’s behavior similar within different situations? –  Consensus

•  Does everyone respond to a situation in the same way? –  Consistency

•  Is an individual’s behavior the same over time?

10

What Interferes with Correct Attribution?

•  Fundamental attribution error –  We underestimate the impact of environmental

factors and overestimate the influence of personal factors in evaluating someone else’s behavior

•  Self-serving bias –  When we achieve good outcomes -> internal

attributions –  But when we achieve poor outcomes -> external

attributions –  Effect is to psychologically remove “self” from

situations with possible negative outcomes

Argyris’ Viewpoint •  Success depends upon learning •  Most engage in “Single Loop

Learning” (SLL) which is not an effective way to learn –  Define learning too narrowly as solving an

immediate problem •  The thermostat example

Argyris’ Alternative •  “Double loop Learning” (DLL)

–  The thinking thermostat example •  Learning as continuous improvement

–  Requires reflection on failure and success •  Accept problems as having multiple

causality and reflect upon: –  How your own behavior contributes to problem –  How changing your own behavior can

positively impact problem resolution

11

Moving to Double Loop Learning

•  Argyris calls this “productive reasoning” –  Use of valid, public data –  Careful analysis –  Test inferences against data

•  Style: –  Reflective and inquisitive approach to our

role in a problem

Personal Learning and the MBA •  During your MBA Program, you will be

put in situations which will test your limits •  Choice is yours

–  Choose to “tough through it” (SLL) –  Choose to “grow through it” (DLL)

•  Being good at DLL is likely the single most important skill you can develop in this program!

INSIGHT FIVE: Skill Development and

Continuous Improvement •  Intersection of two fundamental ideas

–  Continuous improvement –  Skill mastery learning model

12

Long-term, Continuous Process

Master

Expert

Proficient

Competent

Novice

The MBA Journey •  Begins with self-awareness and self-reflection •  Knowing our strengths, weaknesses and core

purpose enhances planning effectiveness for continuous improvement

•  Developing effective professional skills is never complete –  Personal and professional development is

truly a lifelong journey

Self-Assessment Measures •  Values

•  Rokeach Value Survey (on course website)

•  Cognitive style •  Keirsey Temperament Sorter II (cost of $15)

–  Fill out on-line at www.keirsey.com •  Assertiveness Personality Test

–  Fill out on-line at www.queendom.com (free test)

•  Orientation toward change •  Tolerance for Ambiguity (Handed out in class) •  Locus of Control Survey (on line at

http://www.dushkin.com/connectext/psy/ch11/survey11.mhtml

•  Learning Style •  Learning Style Inventory (Handed out in class) •  Bring for session on Personal Learning

13

Assignments •  Mission Statement

–  Written assignment due July 28th (see –  Brief, informal presentation

•  Time Management Data Log –  Keep track of how you spend your time over a 48-

hour period –  We will discuss the results tomorrow –  Note the following:

•  What you do •  How urgent the activity is •  What domain your activities fall under •  Who else is involved