Posted on Feb 20, 2013

The Value of Experience in Leadership

The value of experience means the accumulation of knowledge or skill resulting from direct participation.

Leadership Questions:

What was the toughest lesson you’ve ever had to experience in life?
What are the 3 most common life lessons you tend to share with others?
You are being watched. What are others learning from you?
What one practical piece of advice would you give to the graduating class of a local college?
If you were to write a book about your life experiences, what would be the title?

Improving Effectiveness through Experience

Some people refer to their life as the ‘school of hard knocks.’ In other words, they feel they obtained their knowledge and skills the hard way. It was all hands-on.

Studies have shown that hands-on learning is an effective way to really understand a subject. It sticks with you. Yet, why do so many people not apply the knowledge and skill they acquire through their hands-on learning?

A disregarded experience is wasted learning.

Smart leaders leverage their learning. They use their experiences to improve their effectiveness. Firstly on themselves. Then on their ability to lead others.

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” – John F. Kennedy

Joseph Lister turned his experience as a surgeon in the mid 1800s to find a better way to reduce the death rate in patient operations. He invented antiseptic surgery. Lister also leveraged his knowledge about British doctors (pride and egos) to eventually convince his peers to accept his important discovery. He just had to first become Professor of Surgery at King College Hospital in London.

Roald Amundsen used his experience as an explorer to lead a successful mission as the first group ever to reach the South Pole, in 1911. Unlike Robert Scott, the leader of a competitive crew, Amundsen relied on careful preparation, good equipment, appropriate clothing, an understanding of dogs, and the effective use of skis. Where did Amundsen acquire this knowledge and skill? From his experience crossing Canada’s Northwest Passage, between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.