Do you remember the joy when you discovered something new? Do you remember how it makes you feel… do you have to be reminded of that thought, that feeling, or that lesson again ever in your life? Of course not! We own that permanently – we discovered it!
A famous proverb says –
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”.
I say why even teach directly! Teaching or training is usually not very well accepted and internalized. Even if someone understands what is being taught their retention of the idea is not assured.
On the other hand what would happen if we all – Let people discover things! What would be the impact of that learning?
Imagine kids who discover how fire can be harmful (albeit with a little pain); imagine a teenager learning about money by actually having money and using it and making mistakes with money early on! The lessons they learn early on their own will be indelible and unshaken.
Imagine employees discovering the pain the customers go through by more exposure to the customers and their difficulties, would they need customer service training?
Imagine letting your junior make a mistake (of course non-fatal) and then realizing its impact? Would he have to taught Quality sensibility in a classroom?
Bottom line is we all want to teach people, when the reality is that the power of self discovery is hundred folds more.
So can we resolve to give space, support, facilitations, guidance to discover themselves what they need to learn? What would be the impact of that!