How can you effectively empower your team to achieve transformative personal development?
We all recognise that merely attending a training course, while potentially beneficial, often falls short in sparking meaningful change. Instead, consider leveraging Jack Mezirow’s 10 Steps of Transformative Learning as a valuable blueprint for guiding and nurturing your team’s expansion and evolution
Mezirow’s 10 Steps of Transformative Learning are:
- A disorienting dilemma
- Self-examination
- Critical assessment of assumptions
- Recognition of a connection between feelings and beliefs
- Exploration of new roles
- Planning a course of action
- Acquiring knowledge or skills for implementing new roles
- Provisional trying of new roles
- Building competence and self-confidence in new roles
- Reintegration into one’s life on the basis of the new perspective
Step 1: A Disorienting Dilemma
The first step in transformative learning is experiencing a disorienting dilemma, a situation that challenges our existing beliefs, values, and assumptions. This can be a difficult and uncomfortable experience, but it is necessary to create a foundation for change.
Step 2: Self-Examination
After experiencing a disorienting dilemma, it is important to engage in self-examination. This involves reflecting on our beliefs, values, and assumptions and questioning whether they are still relevant and accurate.
Step 3: Critical Assessment of Assumptions
In step three, we critically assess our assumptions and evaluate whether they are accurate and relevant. This involves questioning our beliefs and challenging them with evidence and alternative perspectives.
Step 4: Recognition of a Connection Between Feelings and Beliefs
In this step, we recognise the connection between our feelings and beliefs. We begin to understand how our emotions can influence our beliefs and attitudes and how this can impact our behaviour.
Step 5: Exploration of New Roles
Once we have examined our assumptions and recognised the connection between our feelings and beliefs, we can begin to explore new roles and ways of thinking. This involves identifying new perspectives and exploring alternative ways of behaving.
Step 6: Planning a Course of Action
In step six, we plan a course of action for implementing our new perspectives and behaviours. This involves setting goals and creating a plan for achieving them.
Step 7: Acquiring Knowledge or Skills for Implementing New Roles
To successfully implement new roles and behaviours, we may need to acquire new knowledge or skills. This can involve seeking out training, education, or other resources to support our development.
Step 8: Provisional Trying of New Roles
In this step, we tentatively try out our new roles and behaviours. This can involve experimenting with different approaches and evaluating their effectiveness.
Step 9: Building Competence and Self-Confidence in New Roles
As we continue to try out our new roles and behaviours, we build competence and self-confidence. This involves developing a sense of mastery and confidence in our ability to apply our new perspectives and behaviors.
Step 10: Reintegration into One’s Life on the Basis of the New Perspective
In the final step, we reintegrate our new perspectives and behaviours into our lives. This involves making them a part of our identity and continuing to apply them in new situations.
As leaders and HR professionals, we can use Mezirow’s 10 Steps of Transformative Learning to support the growth and development of our employees. By creating an environment that encourages self-reflection and exploration of new perspectives, we can help our employees to transform their beliefs and behaviours and achieve their full potential. By engaging in transformative learning ourselves, we can also model the behaviours we want to see in others and create a culture of continuous learning and growth.
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