Learning Bytes by Steve Semler

There are a lot of good uses for custom business cases. They can expose people to new ideas or situations or document important decisions made by the organization. A good business case tells an exciting story right up to the point of the critical decision. Readers are hooked, they are into the story, they understand what’s at stake and how it matters. Then the story stops and asks, “What would you do?” This gets them to move from passive consumption to active thought and innovation. The...

This week I received two separate links to articles I thought were outstanding. I want to share one of these with you about how you can avoid a very common leadership trap. In his article, “Everyone lies to leaders,” Jade Rubrick has captured what happens to all leaders promoted to a senior level. People start lying to them, or at least concealing anything “bad.” And their ideas suddenly all become praiseworthy. What gives? He explores the reasoning for this just as well as I could, and...

When you’re faced with a major change opportunity, how do you decide what is worth changing? That can be confusing, so let me explain. For the last two years, and really since 2016, I have been working in an entrepreneurial mode. I have done a lot of great work through my LearningSim business. In 2022 I added on coaching services with FocalPoint. Steve Semler, LearningSim banner But along the way, I discovered that I am a “reluctant entrepreneur.” I work really well with a business partner...

Working with one organization, I started a new multi-day program every month for people new to their first leadership role. When I took people through the section on making the transition from individual contributor or subject matter expert to manager of others’ work, I often heard people express some concerns about “Imposter Syndrome,” where the person feels like an imposter in the role. For example, “It looks like everyone else knows what they are doing, but I have no clue.” “As I learn...

Personality plays out in leadership roles in different ways. I was wondering recently if it is okay for a leader to be friendly, but not social. I’m curious about your thoughts on this. Which way do you lean on this question? By “friendly, but not social” I mean that the leader is open, welcoming, supportive, positive, and encouraging, but not outgoing. This person is probably good to work with, but wouldn’t usually be interested in going out for a beer. They may not reach out just to chat....

"Great works can only be performed through unity, not uniformity." Where are you seeking to do great things? Perhaps you could tap into the power of unity to accomplish your objectives. Image by Gary Butterfield on Unsplash Unity and uniformity are different things. Uniformity is things being the same, without variation. Unity is things being part of one greater thing, contributing their variation to a collective whole. Uniformity is critically important for efficiency and quality. Often,...

Some people ask me what I mean when I say I work with simulations. I explain that the best learning happens when people practice real tasks in simplified real-world conditions. This simulates what they would do on the job. The more that learning activities feel like real work situations, the better the learning transfers to the real world. Typically, by 50% or more over traditional methods! Real-world relevance is why this simulation-enhanced learning strikes a better balance of complexity,...

📌 Sim·u·la·tion [sim-yuh-ley-shun]: imitation or enactment, as of something anticipated or in testing. A lot of people in the training world have been using simulations for a long, long time. I've been using simulations for learning since 1989 because they are fun, cost-efficient, and super-effective. (Yep, sorry. Dating myself there.) Why? You ever hear the phrase, “learn by doing?” Yep. That’s what simulations are for. Simulations can be very effective learning strategies, and deeply...