Why Learn Experientially?
Experiential Learning is a “full body” experience and radically different than traditional training approaches.
There are trainings where you are glued to your seat for hours at a time and you passively listen to the lecturer and look at power point presentations. In this type of training, everything takes place from the neck up. There are also trainings where you are asked to break into smaller discussion teams and report back to the group. Here, you get to engage with each other, and consider other thoughts and perspectives.
Both of these modalities are literal in the sense that what you are learning is usually the information itself and are primarily cerebral experiences.
Experiential training, on the other hand, is geared towards discovery, exploration and innovation. There are two major benefits for your team using this approach.
One of the benefits is greater bonding amongst your team members which can translate into greater collaboration and productivity. Often, team members do not leverage their insights and expertise in constructive ways with each other for the benefit of the entire team. When team members truly see themselves as part of a team, they are willing to share their thoughts, ideas, and challenges with each other for the mutual benefit of one another and for the greater success of the team.
This approach will also help team members internalize key learning points related to team development and leadership development . The experiential learning process departs from the literal and offers participants a new way to conceptualize and imprint learning points. How does this happen?
We are all motivated by the power of experiencing something new. The adage, “been there, done that” or “same old, same old” does not apply with this type of training. Each person is asked to engage in challenges that they have never done before. They don’t necessarily know what they will do, nor do they know what their team mates will do. As a result, everyone is on a level playing field which is fertile ground for creativity and insights to emerge. It’s not unusual for someone who is generally seen as quiet, to be the one person who surprises the group by stepping out with sage leadership advice.
Through facilitated discussions, what has just happened for individuals or for the team can be processed and discussed in relationship to how it is relevant back at work. Because people are actively engaged physically, emotionally and intellectually, this “full body” experience becomes imprinted for participants. Through the combination of active engagement through doing, and reflective integration through discussion, these insights can be easily recalled and accessed back in the workplace.
The group too, will be able to discuss these concepts easily at a later date because they have a shared experience (the challenge that they all participated in) to access that learning point. “Remember how we explored effective communication during the “Triple challenge” at the workshop. This is the same challenge we’re having now when we communicate with each other.”
Discover who really benefits from our approach…
Find out which programs are a good fit for your team.
Contact us or call 443-255-7018 for more information.