Higher-Order Learning

Anna Kayes and D. Christopher Kayes
Additional contact information
Anna Kayes: Stevenson University
D. Christopher Kayes: George Washington University

Chapter 4 in The Learning Advantage, 2011, pp 69-91 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract When leaders engage in higher-order learning, they experience a continual improvement in their capacity to learn. Leaders who develop higher-order learning are not limited by their pre-existing experience but learn to transfer their learning to new situations. Learning no longer becomes constrained but can be applied to a variety of situations. Leaders seek out new and unfamiliar situations and continue to learn. Higher-order learning involves three progressive steps: learning from experience, deliberate practice, and meta-learning. Stress, multiple competing demands, and emotional burnout conspire to undermine higher-order learning. Higher-order learning marks a turning point in learning-directed leadership as it is one of the more complex of the leadership practices to master. As leaders adapt to new challenges, the way they learn must adapt as well. Leaders develop the ability to meet new and unexpected challenges by developing higher-order learning. Those who demonstrate higher-order learning are more agile and flexible in their learning and thus are more likely to learn in the face of stress, novelty, and ambiguity. The result of higher-order learning is a consistent focus on relevant information, simultaneously balancing the larger mission with short-term tactics, taking action in the face of ambiguity, and managing multiple, even conflicting goals.

Keywords: Mental Model; Situational Awareness; Deliberate Practice; Leadership Practice; Career Stage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-0-230-30559-5_5

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.palgrave.com/9780230305595

DOI: 10.1057/9780230305595_5

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Palgrave Macmillan Books from Palgrave Macmillan
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().