As leaders, we must also strive to become master teachers. One of the gifts of a master teacher is that he/she can craft a lesson in such a way that the pupils gain the desired understanding, yet never realize the lesson is being taught. It becomes an experience of learning, not a session being taught.
It has been said that our subconscious mind often learns at a quicker pace than the conscious. I first came to realize this as I studied the ways children learn. During that course of learning a case study was presented. When a family moves to a new country with a different language, it is the children who learn the new language first. The adults may attend numerous hours of class instruction over the course of several weeks attempting to learn the language. Yet, most adults still struggle in acquiring the language and its nuances.
Children on the other hand learn the language subconsciously while playing with peers their own age. The children weren’t trying to learn as they played. The learning simply came involuntarily as they did what children do, play. And children master the language much more quickly than adults. In every case studied, the results were always the same. The subconscious often learns quicker than the conscious.
As leaders, teachers, we must move away from being only dispensers of knowledge to become models, mentors and organizers of learning experiences. The conscious mind only receives facts it is prepared to receive. Perhaps you have heard students come out of a classroom saying, “I’m on brain overload.” It is not that his/her brain is truly overloaded. It is that the amount of facts or depth of information presented was much more than the mind was ready to receive.
I am no accountant, yet I do enjoy playing with numbers, sometimes. But to sit and listen to an accountant speak on the ins and outs of bookkeeping would remind me of screeching fingernails on a chalkboard. Accounting is deeper than my simple number crunching mind can absorb.
A good leader or teacher will learn how to arrange facts and information for easier memory recall. It is true that part of learning happens through repetition. Yet, I contend that nothing flips into your long-term memory until there is a benefit attached to the learning experience. You do not pull a map out each time you go to the grocery store, right. You do not have to because early on you realize there is a benefit to you by going to the grocer. That benefit is good tasting satisfaction.
Be a leader who creates learning experiences for those you lead. If they can realize a benefit to themselves, they will learn and be a more productive employee/volunteer.
To learn more about becoming an organizer of learning experiences, pick up a copy of Teaching That Bears Fruit or contact George Yates.
George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life