LEARNING THROUGH EXPERIENCE

LEARNING THROUGH EXPERIENCE

Definitions:

• Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge, skills and attitudes about something, from study, practice, example/observation or experience. (Baron, 2006) • Experiential learning starts from assuming that experience provokes knowledge (Kolb, 1984). By doing something, one reflects on how one does it and is able to reach generalizations and discover patterns (Baron, 2006). • Human capital refers to the potential of people to deliver results based on their knowledge, experience or skills (Becker, 1968). Skills and capacity that reside in the people (Gianesini et al., 2018). Human capital is viewed traditionally as a function of education and experience, the latter reflecting both training and learning by doing. • Acquisition: refers to the transformation from experience (and not knowledge) to skills, while transfer is the application of knowledge acquire in one situation to another (Unger et al. 2011). (Gianesini et al., 2018). • Orientation towards learning: refers to the fact that successful entrepreneurs search for new knowledge and skills in order to develop themselves. It refers to participating in training and development activities, following up on new developments, knowing where to find relevant information and being interested in new methods and techniques that are relevant for their profession (Kyndt & Baert, 2015). Hint: • Learn by doing.

Descriptors:

• Use any initiative for value creation as a learning opportunity. • Learn with others, including peers and mentors. • Reflect and learn from both success and failure (your own and other people’s). Thread FOUNDATION Discover – Explore Relying on support from others INTERMEDIATE Experiment-Dare Building independence ADVANCED Improve-Reinforce Taking responsibility

Reflect.

On failures, achievements.

Give and collect feedback Find examples of failures that have led to valuable achievements and the creation of value.

Reflect on failures and achievements

(mine and others’), their causes, and learn from them, so that I improve my ability to provide value. Help others reflect on their achievements and temporary failures by providing honest and constructive feedback. I can take my team or the organisation to a higher level of performance, based on

the feedback collected

and by learning lessons from achievements and failures.

EXPERT Expand-Transform Driving transformation, innovation and growth

Learn to learn.

Understand the need of learning to learn.

Actively search opportunities to learn.

Help others to learn. Anticipate that my abilities and competence will grow with experience, through both successes and failures.

Actively engaging in

opportunities to improve my strengths and reduce or compensate for my weaknesses through a variety of learning opportunities (interaction with others, training, mentoring,…) Even when opportunities for learning are not available in my organisation or network, I will proactively seek them out elsewhere.

Help others develop their strengths and reduce or compensate for their weaknesses.

Reflect on my competence of

learning to learn and design strategies to improve my future learning to learn. (Metalearning)

Learn from experience.

Recognise what I have learnt from previous experiences and in value-creating activities.

Explain the process of learning from

experience and the relevance to the entrepreneurial activity. Learn from the

interaction with

others (peers, mentors, stakeholders) and from the experiences (positive and negative) of the value-creating activity. Learn from my own thoughts, actions and feelings. Learn about the business, but also about myself, my relationships, the customers and other stakeholders.

Help others reflect on their experience and interaction with others.

Help others spot barriers to learning

from experience (e.g., lack of reflection, closed-mindedness, …) and develop strategies to become more effective at it.

(intrapreneurship) Foster a culture of learning in the organisation.