What are the practical implications of differences in learning styles for you, the leader?
➠ Don’t assume others like to learn in the same way you do.
➠ Don’t assume failure is due to ignorance; with a different learning design, a person may
excel.
➠ Help people to see that differing learning styles are a benefit, not a curse. Successful
projects need to employ a range of learning styles to capitalize on the strengths and
minimize the weaknesses of each style.
➠ Use a variety of approaches when designing a communication or a learning event, thus
appealing to the different learning styles.HOW TO USE THIS LEADERSHIP TOOL
“Zorba scratched his head. ‘I’ve got a thick skull, boss, I don’t grasp these things easily. Ah, if only you could
dance all that you have just said, then I’d understand. ...Or if you would tell me all that in a story, boss.’”
—Nikos Kazantzakis, ZORBA THE GREEKThis tool has many applications for a leader:
✔ Learn about your own learning style.
✔ Understand the learning preferences of others.
✔ Diagnose communication difficulties based on differences in learning styles.
✔ Minimize conflict by valuing different learning approaches.
✔ Help assign people to appropriate jobs or tasks.
✔ Design a job to increase the chances of success by accommodating individual learning
preferences.
✔ Build a team by recognizing learning styles and capitalizing on the learning strengths
of the members.
✔ Help to design a communication or learning event.
✔ Coach, teach, and facilitate the learning of others in a way that capitalizes on their
strengths.
✔ Assess training and development packages to determine how they accommodate dif-
fering learning styles.
✔ Help to set up a coaching relationship.WEB WORKSHEET
YOUR PERSONAL LEARNING STYLE ASSESSMENT AND APPLICATION
Use the workspace provided to assess your learning and instructional style as a leader.
SECTION 14 TOOLS FORLEARNING 445
- What are your personal learning preferences?
- When and how are these personal learning preferences a strength?