Learning

I've been reading Tim Gallwey's excellent Inner Game of Golf. Gallwey essentially proposes that people are much more capable of learning rapidly if they improve their awareness. In many contexts (especially those where complex actions are required) this, he argues, has a more direct route to performance than explaining concepts. He argues that the learning of concepts has become over-emphasised in our educational systems and people find it difficult to relearn how to trust their own learning. Furthermore, Gallwey argues that concepts are essentially the wrong language for physical performance; physical performance, and awareness of the performance, is the right language.

I have thought about and experimented with Gallwey's approach for a few years, but I've always had a nagging doubt. While I accept his arguments, I have found it difficult to accept that it makes sense for the individual learner to reinvent the wheel - if there's complex technique why not learn from other people's experience? But yesterday I saw a parallel.

As well as learning to play golf, I'm also learning to play the piano.

I realised that this point about concept vs performance was so much more obviously true of playing music. The score is not the music. We may learn to read music, but when we play, we play with our fingers. Our fingers know the piece, the score just acts as an anchor or reminder. A cue not a script. And our fingers learn the piece through practice and repetition - a physical, not a conceptual embodiment of the music. If you have any doubts about this, just think of the great musicians who only play by ear. Or notice how much more difficult it is to sight-read.

So what might this have to do with management? Well I'm wondering if managers coming from a technical background have a greater propensity to emphasise concepts and conceptual learning. In fact, that's not a very big 'if' - I'm pretty sure that's true. Does this make us less inclined to experiment and take risks? To engage with the dangerous business of experience?