First Principles Based Leadership Requires First Order Learning

Premise

I read this post by John Hunter, which was originally published in 2014 but is still very relevant. In this blog, he shares one key insight from the work of Deming – managing (or leading) can’t be taught (prescriptive) and needs to be learnt (experiential).

First Order Learning Vs Second Order Learning

One needs to learn to lead by leading and to manage by managing. We can learn from our own experience (first order learning) or from the experience of those who have gone before us (second order learning).

When we learn from our own experience, we start to develop what we call instinct. And instinct is a key ability when we are put into new situations and when the context is shifting all the time.

So, while second order learning is important, first order learning is foundational if we want to become good (or even) great leaders or managers.

First Principles Based Learning (to Lead)

However, this first order learning doesnt happen by default. We need to be intentional about it. Think of it as a process.

1. You need to be intentional about learning from your experience.
2. Then you start paying attention to things you are experiencing.
3. Notice and make your assumptions about what you are seeing.
4. Make sense of everything and make a decision about how to act.
5. Take action based on your decision.
6. Observe the reactions to your action (intended and unintended).
7. Then you do reflection about what caused those reactions and whether your assumptions were right or wrong.

In conclusion

This is nothing but first principles based thinking. And as a leader (or a manager) we need to be constantly thinking about the situations or the contexts within which we operate before we can act.

Over a period of time, we will develop instincts for certain situations and can start acting instinctually. This process becomes easier when our instincts are honed.

Even then, we need to be intentional not to allow our instincts in one area dictate our actions in another area. That is the most common mistake that we can do as leaders and has the potential to land us and our teams in some very uncomfortable positions.