Learning from the best

Posted by Sarah Hobbs

Learning from other people is one of the fastest, most effective ways of learning – and a crucial tactic for getting a reputation for being a fast track learner.

How do you get really good at this?

However, it’s important that you don’t fall into a frequent trap.

If I asked you which you’d prefer to learn from, I’m guessing your answer is going to be “the best”. But sometimes that takes a little bit of extra effort, and too often people instead opt to learn from whoever is convenient. But I promise you; the extra effort is almost always worth it.

So, assuming that you have got the chance to learn from the best, how do you go about picking their brains?

1. Put in the work to learn from the best
   The difference between a degree from Oxford or Harvard and a degree from Muddington College lies in one thing – the Faculty. It’s the professors and lecturers and on-going research that raise the standard of your education. If you want to be a fast track learner, the first step lies in being constantly on the alert for superior performers. Look everywhere – and don’t make the mistake of assuming that you only learn from senior managers. You may find that the person with the best system for handling email is your departmental PA, or that the person who manages so well that their team is hugely motivated is managing a team in another division. And don’t just think about people you know. When you want to improve your skills in running meetings, ask others – who runs the most effective meetings you go to. So when you need to get high quality input, superb feedback and great ideas – you need to put in the work to find out who the outstanding performers are. Don’t ask them to be your mentor – that may come with time. Just ask for a small amount of their time, to help you with a real work challenge.


2. Be prepared!
   The worst thing you can do is just turn up and assume the other person is going to take control of finding out what you need to know and teaching you. Not all experts are great teachers; so you need to be a great learner. You’ve been given a fantastic opportunity to spend time with an expert; don’t make them do all of the heavy lifting. Take time to think about what you’re trying to get out of the session and the questions you want answered. If you can, tell them in advance what you want to know and give them a chance to prepare too – rather than springing it on them on the day. They will think much more highly of you as a result.


3. Look after them
   When you are arranging your time together, find a great environment that gives you the best opportunity to learn from them. Make sure they have all of the details of the meeting logistics and your agenda in advance of your meeting. You want to start promptly and to get the best out of your time with them – be sure to take responsibility for that. But there is no harm in supplementing learning with good coffee and cake or strawberries – a treat for them, on you!


4. Ask detailed questions
   When you ask people about what they do, they may well give you a very high-level, superficial answer – which won’t be that helpful when you try to apply it. Instead, ask them to talk you step-by-step through how they would approach your challenge. Ask for real-life examples of what they are talking about. Ask them about mistakes they’ve made, or times when everything has gone horribly wrong and they’ve had to deal with it. At the end, get them to summarise with questions like “What are the three key tips you’d give me as a learner?”


5. Be prepare for them to look blank
   Being “the best” often comes along with not being very self-reflective. Which means the person you’re spending time with may not know why they’re the best or what they do that leads them to success. Questioning them may draw it out – particularly if you can get into some of the detailed questions above – but they are likely to have to think hard as they search their memory for examples, or martial their thoughts to come up with 3 key tips. Calm down, give them a bit of space to think, and you’ll often be rewarded with the comment “That’s a very good question” followed by some really useful help. Remember that a silence seems twice as long to the questioner than to the person thinking out the answer – and consciously stretch the amount of time you wait before trying to move the conversation on. If you are getting nowhere, perhaps they find it hard to put into words – in that case sometimes you will just have to settle for watching what they do and learning by observing (for tips, see our blog on shadowing).


6. Thank them
   Make sure they know that you really appreciate their time and the effort that’s gone into the time to try and teach you. If you really want to be impressive, don’t stop there. What’s really prized by pretty much every mentor I’ve met, is the email that comes 2 weeks later, or months later – when the learner reconnects with the person who taught them. “I’ve been trying out what you suggested – and had a really big win today!” This proves that you have applied the learning, remembered who helped you, and are getting great results. They are likely to spread the news around, and build your reputation.


7. Take the best from the best
   Experts don’t get everything right! While it’s really important to learn from them, you don’t have to become a slavish clone. Consider everything they said and cherry-pick the things that interested you and the things that you’ll have the gall to do, and apply these lessons to build up your own personal style. After all – you won’t be learning from just one expert – will you?

TAKE AWAY
If you want to be a fast track learner, find the best people and spend time with them. It’s a lot less painful to learn from others’ mistakes and tough experiences than to work through the whole same process yourself. Get a fast start by taking advice.