One of the topics for discussion and debate in academic and business spheres is how to learn the set of skills and competencies related to an effective performance of the leadership role.
This debate is generated by the coincident assessment that is made about the low effectiveness of most training programs aimed at acquiring these skills. Many companies invest significant sums of money in training programs that, although they are of very good quality (not all are) and no matter how much the participants leave these events highly motivated and excited, the mid-term evaluation shows that they have achieved meager results in terms of the effective incorporation of competences and their application to the workplace. It is verified that the participants of these programs have acquired knowledge and information but have not been able to incorporate (put into the body) new abilities and skills that are contrasted in daily practice.
This equation of poor return on investment in training, added to the growing importance attached to the development of these skills in those who lead and lead work teams, calls into question the training and development methodologies of people in organizations.
Diving in this regard, analyzing the most modern but also the oldest practices, a study by a group of anthropologists who investigated the customs of the Sioux Indians in North America came into my hands. One of the topics that caught my attention and that I think can provide some clues for the topic in question, is the analysis of the rigorous and systematic practices that the Sioux carried out to train their men as warriors and hunters. In other words, translated into terms of business management, it is analyzed what their training and development policy was to achieve the acquisition of the necessary skills to perform effectively in a highly competitive market.
Let's consider that the formation of the men of the tribe to be excellent warriors and hunters, was the key element for the survival of the community. In this sense, the first element to take into account is that the formation and training practice was aligned with the Shared Vision of the community and with the Personal Vision of each one of its members. All the members of the tribe were aware of the importance of this formation and each one of the young people who started in it, took great pride in participating in this process. Becoming warriors and hunters was the ultimate goal of their lives and this acted as a stimulant and motivator. That is to say,There was a shared sense of purpose and this encouraged young warriors to overcome all the obstacles that might arise and in turn received the encouragement and support of the instructors, companions and family members.
The "development policy" had an objective and a limited time. Instruction began when the child, around the age of ten, was able to carry out and coordinate his movements, and the proposed goal was to achieve the skills of hunters and warriors, between the ages of twelve and thirteen.
The process had a clear beginning and with a high symbolic and emotional content, the father gave his son a bow and arrows, built with his own hands and appropriate to his size and strength. From there, training began until they achieved their complete command, when they went out to hunt for small prey.
There was a moment of practice and training that was led by what we would now call an instructor, who also played the role of facilitator or coach.
He was responsible for providing them with the knowledge, monitoring the learning process and supporting and accompanying them to overcome difficulties. There was also another moment where the apprentices went hunting and did it in small groups, accompanied by the most advanced practitioners who were transmitting their experience on the specific ground. What we would call a mentor today.
A key role in the process was the support and encouragement of the learning group. Sharing experiences and successes, feeling validated, supported and stimulated in continuous learning consolidated ties and encouraged its members to take on the challenges, as permanent action for their own good and that of the community. When the boy brought his first prey, the whole family entertained and celebrated him and this was an invaluable stimulus for the new hunter.
Only when it was evaluated that he had successfully completed the first stage of training, was he in a position to enter a new stage, and that was how he was given a more powerful bow and arrows.
The learning methodology was repeated in the quest to improve dexterity and to hunt for a larger prey, a deer. The celebrations were renewed at the end of the objective and thus entered the third and last stage of training, where the weapons were already grown and the great coronation as hunter and warrior (certification of skills) was the hunt for their first bison.
Undoubtedly, for the Sioux people, success in the learning process was not a mere formality, a goal that the training area had to fulfill, but the key to their livelihood and the defense of their territories.
If we thought that the challenges posed by the current competitiveness of the markets are of the level that subsistence posed to this tribe, perhaps we can extract some lessons. For example, the need to align training with the Vision, to link work effectiveness with personal development, to generate communities of practice and to combine training with coaching, but fundamentally not to confuse the acquisition of knowledge with the incorporation of competences.
