Don’t Just Delegate. Develop: The Power of Gradual Release... Steal this Strategy Series

WEBVTT
00:00:05.679 --> 00:00:07.679
Welcome to Lead with Learning.
00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:14.560
I'm Tess, and here we explore what happens when the science of learning meets the art of leadership.
00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:16.239
Let's get started.
00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:27.600
What if we stopped managing adults based on what we think should work and started managing them based on what we already know about how people learn?
00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:30.800
That is the idea behind this series.
00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:42.159
I'm Tess, and in the next few episodes of Lead with Learning, we're taking strategies that educators have been using for years and asking a very business-focused question.
00:00:42.719 --> 00:00:45.920
Could this solve a leadership problem?
00:00:46.479 --> 00:00:50.640
Because your team already knows a lot of things.
00:00:50.880 --> 00:00:55.520
You've hired experienced people and you've trained them and coached them.
00:00:55.679 --> 00:01:00.479
You've probably tried a dozen different approaches to get people up to speed.
00:01:00.719 --> 00:01:03.439
So this isn't about starting over.
00:01:03.600 --> 00:01:08.079
It's about adding another tool to your leadership repertoire.
00:01:08.319 --> 00:01:13.760
And today we're starting with something educators call gradual release of responsibility.
00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:21.040
Or in less academic terms, stop throwing people into the deep end and calling it empowerment.
00:01:21.359 --> 00:01:23.519
So here's what educators do.
00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:26.879
Think about a good teacher introducing something new.
00:01:27.120 --> 00:01:32.239
They don't usually say, here's your assignment, you're smart enough, go figure it out.
00:01:32.560 --> 00:01:34.719
Instead, there's a progression.
00:01:34.959 --> 00:01:41.439
First, the teacher models, and then the teacher and students work through things together.
00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:47.200
Then the teach then the students take more of the responsibility while the teacher steps back.
00:01:47.359 --> 00:01:51.680
And eventually the learner does the work independently.
00:01:51.920 --> 00:01:57.120
And it's often described as I do, we do, you do.
00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:02.239
And the important part is the transfer of responsibility.
00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:07.280
The teacher isn't supposed to remain responsible for the learning forever.
00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:11.120
The goal is to transfer the independence.
00:02:11.360 --> 00:02:13.840
But independence doesn't mean abandonment.
00:02:14.080 --> 00:02:23.919
There's an important distinction for leaders because we could sometimes confuse empowerment with, I've explained it and now it's yours to do.
00:02:24.159 --> 00:02:26.479
Those are not the same things.
00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:30.000
So here's why this works for learning.
00:02:30.240 --> 00:02:39.199
When someone is learning something new, there's a gap between knowing about something and being able to do that thing independently.
00:02:39.439 --> 00:02:45.439
And the gradual release model gives people a way to cross over that gap.
00:02:45.759 --> 00:02:48.639
You demonstrate what good looks like.
00:02:48.879 --> 00:02:51.120
You make your thinking visible.
00:02:51.439 --> 00:03:00.960
You let people try it with support, and you gradually remove that support because eventually they're operating without you.
00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:03.759
This is essentially scaffolding.
00:03:03.919 --> 00:03:10.960
It's a temporary support that helps a learner accomplish something that they aren't yet able to accomplish independently.
00:03:11.199 --> 00:03:14.400
And there's a beautiful leadership implication here.
00:03:14.719 --> 00:03:18.240
Your job isn't to make yourself indispensable.
00:03:18.479 --> 00:03:22.400
Your job is to make other people increasingly capable.
00:03:22.639 --> 00:03:24.960
And that can be kind of difficult.
00:03:25.199 --> 00:03:30.400
So here's what adult learning theory says because adults are not children.
00:03:30.639 --> 00:03:33.439
Adults don't learn the same way that kids do.
00:03:33.599 --> 00:03:47.360
And I'm not here saying we need to use this strategy exactly as it's used in the classroom, because adults bring with them experience and expertise and assumptions and existing mental models.
00:03:47.680 --> 00:04:05.919
And Malcolm Knowles's work on androgy emphasizes that adults bring prior experience into learning and are generally more motivated when learning is relevant to them and problem-centered and connected to something that they actually need to accomplish.
00:04:06.240 --> 00:04:16.079
So if you're leading an experienced employee, the I do portion doesn't necessarily mean standing in front of the room and demonstrating everything.
00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:24.399
It might mean, here's how I approach the situation, and you do more of a think aloud, sharing your thoughts with your team.
00:04:24.560 --> 00:04:30.959
Or maybe it's here's what I've learned about this customer, and you're sharing your knowledge base.
00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:37.759
Or here's the decision-making process I use when these three things conflict.
00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:43.439
You're not giving them the answer, you're exposing them to your thinking.
00:04:43.759 --> 00:04:45.920
And then you invite theirs.
00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:54.000
That's where leadership gets more interesting because your employees might say, I actually handle that differently.
00:04:54.160 --> 00:05:01.519
And instead of thinking, well, that's not how to do it, you get to then ask, well, walk me through your thinking.
00:05:01.839 --> 00:05:07.360
Because now we're not just transferring a procedure, we're comparing mental models.
00:05:07.519 --> 00:05:11.199
And that's much more appropriate for adult learners.
00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:16.399
And here's why this becomes particularly important in business.
00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:26.639
Baldwin and Ford's foundational work on transfer of training makes a distinction that organizations still struggle with decades later.
00:05:26.800 --> 00:05:34.319
And that is that learning something during training isn't the same as transferring it into the job.
00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:40.959
Transfer means being able to generalize what you learned to the workplace and maintain it over time.
00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:50.480
Their model points to training design, the learner, and the work environment as factors that influence whether transfer actually occurs.
00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:55.040
So imagine your company introduces a new CRM.
00:05:55.279 --> 00:06:10.959
You have a training, everyone attends, everyone clicks through examples and nods, and then Monday morning arrives, the inbox is full, customers are calling, there's deadlines, and suddenly that CRM training is competing with reality.
00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:13.120
And that's the transfer problem.
00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:21.120
You can't simply assume that because someone understood the training, they'll independently execute the new behavior under pressure.
00:06:21.439 --> 00:06:24.560
Gradual release gives us another option.
00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:28.879
Don't just train, stage the independence.
00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:33.759
So, how can a manager use this on Monday morning?
00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:38.560
Think about something that you're currently asking someone to do differently.
00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:45.600
Maybe it's a new process or a new leadership responsibility or even a new software system.
00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:50.079
Instead of asking, have I explained this clearly?
00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:54.160
Ask, where are we in the release of responsibility?
00:06:54.399 --> 00:06:57.759
Maybe we're still in the I do, and that's okay.
00:06:58.000 --> 00:07:01.040
But maybe it's time to move into the we do.
00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:04.240
Work through the first examples together.
00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:08.319
And then you move into you do and I'll observe.
00:07:08.720 --> 00:07:14.319
Eventually, the person's owning it and you're just saying, hey, let's check in on Friday.
00:07:14.560 --> 00:07:17.839
And here's the piece that leaders can sometimes miss.
00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:22.720
The support should change as competence changes.
00:07:22.959 --> 00:07:27.839
If you're doing everything for someone who's ready to do it themselves, you're not developing them.
00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:29.839
You're creating dependency.
00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:34.399
But if you remove that support too quickly, you're not empowering them.
00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:46.319
You're increasing the likelihood that they'll struggle, and then you'll eventually take the work back, which is how leaders end up saying, I tried delegating, but it was just faster to do it myself.
00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:50.959
Yes, it's faster because you've skipped the learning process.
00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:53.360
So here's your Monday morning challenge.
00:07:53.600 --> 00:08:00.720
Pick one responsibility you've recently delegated, or one you keep saying your team isn't ready to do on their own.
00:08:00.959 --> 00:08:03.920
Don't ask, why can't they do this?
00:08:04.319 --> 00:08:09.040
Consider what level of support does this person need right now?
00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:14.240
And what would it look like to intentionally remove that support over time?
00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:16.639
That's gradual release.
00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:20.160
It's not about good teaching, it's good leadership.
00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:23.360
Because the goal isn't to build a team that needs you.
00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:29.759
The goal is to build a team that can think, decide, and act without you standing over them.
00:08:29.920 --> 00:08:34.799
And honestly, that's probably the kind of team most of us are trying to build anyway.
00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:40.080
So maybe we should stop throwing people into the deep end and calling it development.
00:08:40.320 --> 00:08:43.919
Sometimes the better move is to teach them how to swim first.
00:08:44.480 --> 00:08:46.799
Thanks for listening to Lead with Learning.
00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:50.240
I hope you're walking away with something you can put into practice.
00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:54.799
Until next time, let learning change the way you lead.