Four Approaches to Learning from Experience

Abstract

Investigates what lies behind the cliche that “managers learn from experience”. Reviews a project undertaken with 21 directors in 15 organizations in the United Kingdom, who were interviewed over a period of three months about their experiences at work and what they had learned from them. Shows the possibility of enhancing capacity to learn from experience through an improved analysis of the alternative ways in which managers approach their experiences. The apparently obvious proposition that managers learn in hindsight by looking at the experiences they have had and, much less frequently, learn by identifying in advance learning opportunities needs to be turned into a more discriminating analysis. Instead, shows that there are four approaches: (1) Intuitive; (2) Incidental; (3) Retrospective; and (4) Prospective. Offers a description of each of these Four Approaches and presents examples of the thinking involved in each description. In addition presents a case in which four different individuals illustrate each of the Four Approaches in relation to a shared experience of discussing a problem at a meeting. Briefly illustrates the results of the Four Approaches in terms of whether directors acquired knowledge, skills or insights as a result. The concept of insights is developed as an alternative to the more familiar attitudes, it being suggested that this description is more suitable in terms of what the directors actually said about the nature of their learning – the “A‐ha” effect. Briefly presents the view that the Four Approaches concepts could be used to enhance individuals′ awareness of their own ways of learning from experience, and suggests that this is particularly necessary in terms of both formal management development philosophy, which involves providing lots of experiences, and also of the many informal and accidental experiences which managers will have. Finally, reviews the extent to which the project team experienced their own learning from the project in terms of the Four Approaches.

Citation

Mumford, A. (1994), "Four Approaches to Learning from Experience", The Learning Organization, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 4-10. https://doi.org/10.1108/09696479410053386