Can't Learn to Swim Without Getting Wet

Most everything we learn to do in the field for construction comes down to hands-on practice.

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You can’t learn to operate equipment without operating equipment every day.  You can’t learn to bend conduit without bending conduit for thousands of hours.  This is the core of all apprenticeship programs.  

You can't learn to swim without getting wet.

When we move people into supervision and management roles we often forget the need to truly practice hands-on to get great at doing something.  Individually we might gravitate towards the things we like the most and stay away from those things we aren’t as good at.  

We should remember that most of us don’t like the feeling of the cold water when we first get in.  Most kids aren’t running to jump into the water first thing; there is nearly always that hesitation and fear when they are first learning.  

Nearly all kids however LOVE to swim after they get reasonably good at it.  

Management development training programs need to be as hands-on as our apprenticeship programs to truly have an impact.  Individually we must always be focused on jumping into the proverbial cold water knowing that once we gain reasonable competency we will love what we are doing.  


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Definition - Organizational Development (OrgDev / OD)
Organizational Development is an effort that focuses on improving the organization’s capability through the alignment of strategy, structure, people, rewards, metrics, and management systems.
Coachability and Capability Matrix
Sustainable growth over time in your career and as a company has to do with being coachable and capable. Optimum growth occurs when we are stretching ourselves and others just beyond our current capabilities and then developing the needed capabilities.
Quote about Winning - Bob Knight
There is an excitement about winning and definitely a need to instill that vision and passion in your team. This however is just the top of the mountain and reaching the summit is momentary. It's the discipline of preparing to win that is critical.