Get to Know: 3 Questions (ok, a few more than 3) with Dr. Daniel LeBreton

CMNSH: What kind of learner are you?  What are you learning about right now? When do you find it the most challenging to learn?

DLB: When I was in school, I was a conceptual and visual learner.  I learned best when I could read about a theory and look at the structural model of a conceptual framework.  However, having spent 10 years consulting and coaching people in organizations, I’ve been exposed to a great many other “modalities” that I find resonate with me when I’m the learner — such as metaphors, stories, and empirical data mixed in with theory.  I find that my understanding is enhanced when I read something, view something, or hear something and then write it out — or write out my thoughts about it.  I’m terribly un-green — I generate several yellow legal pads of notes every month.  The process of actually writing (not typing but writing) my thoughts and ideas helps me integrate and process.  I do now have a laptop/tablet with a stylus, so I’m working on writing more notes in OneNote and saving a few trees :)

CMNSH: What are your favorite day-to-day resources to feed your brain? Do you have any favorite blogs or publications? Books that you chronically revisit?

DLB: I watch a lot of recorded talks (e.g., TED, 99U, Creative Mornings) — in part, because I can listen while doing other things (though that is a terrible habit and not a great way to really process information and develop an understanding).  I read research journals (e.g., Journal of Applied Psychology and Consulting Psychology Journal).  I try to read books that I can recommend to my clients as well.  Simon Sinek’s Start with Why is great…so is Difficult Conversations by Stone, Patton, and Heen — I probably recommend Difficult Conversations more than any other book and tend to pick it up every few weeks to re-read one part of it or another.  We’ve built a virtue-based leadership model that is largely based upon Peterson and Seligman’s Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification — so I find myself picking up that massive tome frequently as well.

However, my most profound learning experiences don’t come from reading or watching something.  They come from discussion, collaboration, and collective problem solving.  I’ve learned more from working collaboratively with my mentor and colleague, Dr. Larry Newton, than from all the books, articles, TED talks, and professional conferences combined.

CMNSH: On your site, you have a great in-depth series on the virtues of leadership- what would you name as the great virtues of education?

DLB: Great question!  My job is, in large part, about helping leaders learn and grow — so while we are very focused on the virtues of leadership we are also very focused on what makes a good learner — so I’ll answer the question with regard to my perspective on the virtues of a good learner.  The first virtue of a good learner is humility.  The people who learn the most are those who don’t ever think they’ve got it all figured out.  They don’t ever think they’ve arrived or that they know everything they need to know to be successful.  Humble learners are willing to look in the mirror and be objective about their learning needs.

The second virtue of a good learner is intellectual curiosity.  Some people just want to learn enough to get by and others have a thirst for knowledge that cannot be quenched.  They love to learn.  They love to learn things that will help them in their careers, their lives, and even things that won’t “help” them at all.  They just love to learn.  The most successful learners are the people who view education as a journey, not a destination.  They view it as a career-long and even life-long process that enriches their lives.

 The third virtue I’ll mention of a good learner is critical thinking.  In many ways, I think it is critical thinking that is most scarce these days.  A good critical thinker is someone who is a good consumer in the marketplace of ideas — someone who distinguishes between good ideas and bad ideas; between ideas that have value and relevance and those that do not.  For example, I learned a lot of stuff in graduate school — from leadership to work motivation to group dynamics to multivariate statistics to philosophy of science — but the most important thing I learned was the importance of good thinking skills.  Interestingly, critical thinking skills are, themselves, learnable.  Since I try to practice humility, I continue to work on my critical thinking skills as well!