Quality Transformational Leadership Skills through Effective Training

“A student is not above his teacher, but anyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher”

This is the key quote for understanding the importance of training. Many people are not able to differentiate between “Learning” and “Training”. While Learning is acquiring knowledge and skills about a subject or any topic in a specific field of specialization, Training is applying the knowledge and skills in practice by turning it into experience. When does learning begin? Well, it begins right from the formative days of a child in the mother’s womb and continues for a life time. The child’s formative years he or she spends in school are very important as they help in providing a deep and strong foundation for career growth. This is the concept of the lifelong consistent learning process. It is worthwhile to mention that Quality Transformational Leadership is a massive program that is based on this deep and strong foundation which will transform a child who is presently studying in 6^th grade (or even moving from 5^th grade to 6^th grade in the next academic year) into a self paced, dynamic, quality leader by the time he or she completes 12^th grade. This program covers the entire cross section of school students irrespective of the boards of study (i.e CBSE, IGCSE, or State Board).

ATTENTION PARENTS! YOUR CHILD’S EDUCATION IS NOT A CHILD’S PLAY. BE SERIOUS ABOUT PROVIDING AN EXCELLENT FOUNDATION AND BE A PART OF THIS NEW VENTURE OF DEEP AND STRONG FOUNDATION. 

You cannot spell Success without the two C’s in the middle of the word. What do these two C’s represent? “Consistency” and “Competencies”. Without these it would be almost impossible to achieve success.

What is Consistency?

If you are regular in doing something without deviating much from the usual routine, then you are consistent. You will like what you are doing and want to do it regularly on a daily basis. However, there is a difference between persistence and consistency.

What are Competencies?

The three basic components of competencies are “Knowledge, Skills and Attitude” (K,S,A). While Knowledge and Skills are like a pair of shoes, Attitude is like how to walk in the right path. By an definition, attitude is the mind set or mental faculty of our human organization that guides you how to apply the knowledge and skills acquired.

By the optimal combination of Knowledge, Skills and Attitude one can achieve Success!

There is one more “C” which I wish to add to these two  - “Core Values”

What are Core Values?

Core values can be classified broadly into four categories:

Behavior, Character, Ethics and Leadership Qualities.

Punctuality, Sincerity, Diligence and Trust are examples of core values .

Transformation is the process by which change is effective.

Quality Transformational Learning Phases revisited

Learning a skill involves four phases: (as already discussed in one of our previous posts). I am repeating it here to emphasize the importance of Quality Transformational Learning Process.

Phase-1: Unconscious Incompetence: “I don’t know what I don’t know”. This is the first phase of learning in which the learner (may be referred to as “student”) is new to everything he or she ought to know. Fear and anxiety looms the corner in whatever the student wishes to learn. We may call this as an “amateur” or “novice”. Unconscious means unaware or “out of wit” or “having the feeling of being in someone else’s shoes”. Incompetence means lack of or no competencies. Knowledge may be at a minimal level and skills may almost be zero. However, this is the phase in which the aspirant must have the right attitude – be positive and assertive. Attitude construction isn’t that simple, but it takes time.

Phase-2: Conscious Incompetence:  “I know what I don’t know”. This is the second phase of learning in which the learner begins to realize what he or she doesn’t know and puts efforts to enhance knowledge. In this process some time is also spent in developing the requisite skills. However, there is no significant increase in the level of competency. This is the critical phase where the rule “Learn by making mistakes” holds. Attitude is gradually built, but there is also a chance to get demotivated at this stage. Follow the golden rule: “Do not be discouraged by the mistakes you make but make some significant improvement next time”. 

Phase-3: Conscious Competence: “I know and grow and it begins to show!”.  This is a fantastic stage where the learner has attained a certain level of competence. Efforts are made to minimize the mistakes from past experience. Learning becomes fun and enjoyable! This is the actual stage of transformation that really produces tangible results. There is no magical formula here. It all lies in perseverance and consistency. The level of competence will increase significantly at this stage and the learner will be conscious or aware it  too. 

Phase-4: Unconscious Competence: “I simply go because of what I know”. This is a wonderful stage that paves its way to lifelong learning. At this point the learner takes control of the situation and he or she can do research or design something new or even provide training to others. This is the real phase of Quality Transformational Learning through Leadership Skills.

Once again let me repeat, “ENJOY THE PROCESS OF LEARNING” and have great fun. In our next post we are going to discuss “Problem Solving Skills”. Have a nice time till then...