“I love learning, I hate being taught”
The nature of managerial knowledge
Management science has advanced the understanding of how managers carry out their activities (Drucker, 1971). Research distinguishes the attitudes of managers, leaders and entrepreneurs and identifies common points related to engagement (Cristol, Radu, Laizé, 2018).
Some researchers formulate an “entrepreneurial learning style” (Bayad, Garand 1998) that focuses on achieving an entrepreneurial vision: “Learning does not mean accumulating knowledge, but using the skills necessary to achieve specific goals.”
To this end, managers learn diverse knowledge related to the main functions of the company, strategy, decision-making, crisis management, management or leadership (Baron, Baron, 2015), 72% of a group of 225 managers surveyed by Petit (2012) believe that leadership can be learned is.
These leaders also experience significant personal development, growth from within to mobilize new resources (Lenhardt, Lenhardt, 2001). Managers can have different relationships with knowledge, influenced by a variety of factors.
Psychosociological sources on the concept of cultural capital or theories of organizational socialization provide information about these dynamics. The cultural context, educational and professional experiences of leaders play a role in constructing their attitudes towards knowledge and learning, as well as the psychology of leaders in the way they acquire, process and use knowledge to make decisions and after decisions to get back on your feet.
Personality traits such as open-mindedness, intellectual curiosity, emotional resilience and the ability to learn new information also influence how managers approach knowledge.
For example, one of the most common cognitive biases among managers is internal attribution. They often attribute the cause of their actions to themselves, regardless of whether that action leads to favorable or unfavorable results. Likewise, managers would be subject to the probability bias of a fact or event to which they have been heavily exposed.
Applied back to education, the projection arises that the learning process experienced in childhood is viewed as normal; it is internalized. In addition, work on leadership and knowledge management can also provide insights into how managers manage knowledge and use it in their decision-making.
Learning influences
- Cultural capital and education (Bourdieu 1984) : Managers from privileged backgrounds often have high cultural capital, which can have a positive impact on their relationship to knowledge by promoting access to quality education. They also participate in the reproduction of what has enabled their rise and the transmission of economic and cultural capital.
- Professional experience (Varey 2008) : Managers' previous professional experiences shape their understanding of knowledge, especially in certain industries, for example in marketing, and thus influence their decisions. Managers' life stories recall situations in which they adapted and learned, but be careful that the manager's story is not an illusion (D'almeida, Merran-Ifrah, 2005).
- Social cognition (Simon 1955): The way managers interpret information and interact with their environment is influenced by social cognitive processes that may play a role in their relationship to knowledge. By developing his theory of “bounded rationality,” Simon won his Nobel Prize in Economics.
- Transformational leadership (Bass 1985): Leaders who focus on transformational leadership are often more open to continuous learning and seek to drive innovation and develop their team's capabilities. However, according to a Harvard survey (2010), there are more than 100 character traits related to leadership, making it difficult to attribute a specific prediction of a predisposition to learning to just one of them and encouraging us to be cautious.
- Organizational climate (Edmondson, 1999): An organizational climate that encourages intellectual curiosity and learning can foster a positive relationship with knowledge among leaders.
- Knowledge management (Nonaka, 1991): Effective leaders are often those who understand the value of knowledge and implement knowledge management mechanisms in their organization. The question of the learning organization is at the heart of Nonaka and Takeuchi's work. It is about the manager developing knowledge that promotes the growth of the company. Here, knowledge is an instrument that serves an economic purpose.
- Adaptability (Hill, 2010): Leaders who are able to adapt to rapid change often demonstrate a flexible and positive relationship with knowledge and incorporate new knowledge to remain relevant.
- Corporate culture (Schein, 2017): Company culture can influence the way leaders perceive the importance of knowledge, especially if it encourages questioning and continuous learning.
- Professional Networks (Burt, 2004): Managers who cultivate professional networks can gain privileged access to diverse knowledge, which can enrich their relationship with knowledge.
- Ethics of Knowledge (Quinn 2020): Some leaders may adopt a knowledge ethic, emphasizing truth, objectivity, and ethics in the search and use of knowledge.
- The Growth Mindset Developed by Carol Dwerk (2017) is particularly relevant for managers for several reasons:
- Personal development : Leaders with a growth mindset understand that their efforts make them stronger. They therefore invest more time and effort in achieving their goals, which logically leads to better results.
- Team Management: Leaders with a growth mindset tend to give more feedback and coach their teams. They also ask for feedback in order to grow and develop personally.
- Adaptability: In an increasingly uncertain world, leaders with a mindset open to development and change are best suited to meet the extraordinary challenges we face.
- Innovation: The “growth mindset” promotes solving new problems and building a relationship for continuous learning. This can lead to innovative ideas and continuous improvement, which is essential in the leadership role.
How managers learn
For business leaders, especially SMEs, there are few studies and sources characterizing learning and, apart from Copernic, developed by the CJD, few specific documented programs.
According to research from subject matter experts, leaders learn in different ways. Fernagu (2018) found that leaders learn from each other through club meetings, while Vasquez-Bronfman (2007) states that leaders learn from each other among like-minded people. Desmergès also noted that leaders can learn from art, while Thievenaz (2020) noted that leaders learn from others in their working relationships. Moingeon (2003) found that managers learn from research when the proposed pedagogy is consistently adapted and based on management science, while Dufour and Plompen (2006) studied corporate universities, for example following an action learning approach (Rolland, Einstein, 2000 ). or according to specific programs from important schools (e.g. IMD Lausanne).
All routes
Managers' knowledge relationships are identity trajectories with dimensions
- cultural,
- anthropological (there are rituals of objects of power and mutual knowledge),
- autobiographical (upgrading and/or repairing egos identifiable in life stories),
- sociological (transfer of family, cultural and monetary capital),
- psychological (biases and mental models specific to economic decisions),
- philosophical (progressive construction of personal ethos),
- technical (mastery of corporate finance, marketing, strategic functionalities).
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