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When the Student Is Ready, the Teacher Will Appear

When the Student Is Ready, the Teacher Will Appear
By Robert Burnside, Partner, Chief Learning Officer 

"When the student is ready, the teacher will appear." This ancient Eastern proverb refers to the fact that despite a student's eagerness to learn, some lessons need to wait until he or she has built up a certain amount of knowledge and mastered fundamental skills. The saying suggests that once the student succeeds, then the teacher can impart new wisdom. The truism underscores the importance for students to master their current skills, so they can better understand the context of new teachings and be able to successfully apply them in the future.

And even though the adage is centuries old, it still rings true today. Think about it. Despite being connected to all of the world's knowledge on Google or Wikipedia at the click of a button, knowledge means little if we're not ready to understand it, put it into context and use it.

Theories on adult learning suggest that personal and professional growth is best stimulated when there is pressure to reach challenging but attainable goals. The same field of study also notes that growth and development occur in stages, and prematurely moving from one stage to the next can hinder growth. So how do we ready ourselves to be taught? And how do we understand our stage of development so the "teacher" knows when to show up?

A proven career-stages model from adult-learning literature highlights four development stages in a typical career. Understanding these steps can help colleagues - the "teachers" and "students" among us - facilitate dialogue around career development.

  • Stage One - Helping and Learning
  • Stage Two - Contributing Independently
  • Stage Three - Contributing Through Others
  • Stage Four - Shaping Organization Direction
The first stage usually spans one to three years, the time it takes for a person to acclimate to their responsibilities and begin mastering the skills required to be successful in their role. The second stage, which involves individual responsibility for delivering client service, can last a lifetime, but many people often want to move to the next phase after three to seven years, where they'll have the opportunity to manage and mentor others. This is often a difficult transition to make. In fact, stage three requires that you move from being a student to a teacher. Your primary identity and self-worth shifts from one that is "you"-oriented (where you're focused on how you deliver excellent client service) to one that is tied to helping others learn, master and deliver client service excellence. And finally, the fourth stage addresses a person's role when they are part of upper management. In this stage, an individual's work focuses on developing the overall organization and positioning it for growth. People at this level harness all their past learnings and experiences from the three earlier stages to drive growth for the organization. 

Which stage are you in now? Considering your role, what stage should you be in? Are you ready to move to the next phase - have you learned all that you can in your current role?

It's important to recognize the value of immersing yourself in all there is to learn in your current role and responsibilities, as well as voicing your desire to acquire new skills. This will help drive alignment between Ketchum's "teachers" and "students." When managers and their teams connect at this level everyone at the agency benefits. It accelerates growth at the agency by heightening the level of service teams provide to clients, while also enabling colleagues to advance their careers.

If you'd like to learn more about the career stages model mentioned above, e-mail me at robert.burnside@ketchum.com and I'll send you more information about it.