“Without some awareness of the whole—
without some sense of how means converge
to accomplish or to frustrate ends—
there can be no strategy.
And without strategy, there is only drift.”
– Paul Kennedy and John Lewis Gaddis, Yale University
Introduction
The events which led to my desire to obtain a MBA after years of business experience were as much circumstantial as they were self-driven. After a failed attempt to secure a well-deserved raise, I took a hard look at myself, surveyed my career and recognized that to continue moving forward, I needed to travel from where I was to identifying who I was, believing that this process would somehow transform me. A wise man often told me, “Spend the first 40 years of your life putting yourself in every possible situation to learn. Then, spend the next 40 years of your life applying what you learn to earn.” That man—Art Seiler, a man 62 years my senior, a mentor and a friend—practiced as much as he preached.
According to recent brain research, “human beings have an innate desire to learn; we are literally born with intrinsic motivation. Learning is required for survival. The brain is built to seek information—integrate it with other information, interpret it, remember it, and bring it to bear at the appropriate times” (Arter, 2002, p. 2, emphasis added).
This research also suggests that certain adverse conditions can “drive out one’s intrinsic motivation—providing a fight or flight reaction which inhibits the production of neuron-chemicals required to learn” (p. 3). These conditions can include: coercion, intimidation, having rewards/punishments linked to one’s self-worth, negative competitive relationships, infrequent or vague feedback, the limitation of one’s control of a situation, and/or having responsibility without authority to act. This research goes on to suggest that there are things one can do to “increase intrinsic motivation and prepare the brain neuro-chemically to learn.” These include: providing a sense of control and choice, increasing frequency and specificity of feedback, challenging ideas and concepts without personal threat and providing for self-assessment (Arter, 2002; also see Caine & Gaine, 1997 and Jensen, 1998).
While it takes at least an IQ of 110 to 120 to earn an advanced degree such as a MBA (Spencer & Spencer, 2001), outstanding performance in executive ranks of organizations also requires that individuals develop advanced competencies beyond book smarts. A competency, or underlying characteristic of a person’s personality, can successfully predict behavior in a wide range of situations or job tasks.
As defined by Lyle M. Spencer, Jr., PhD, and Signe M. Spencer, competencies indicate ways of behaving or thinking, which can be generalized across situations and endure for a reasonably long period of time (2001, p. 9). The Spencer research suggests there are five types of competency characteristics, which include: motives, traits, self-concept, knowledge and skill.
While knowledge and skill competencies tend to be visible characteristics of people, self-concept, traits and motives are deeper and much more hidden. As seen in Figure 1 below, surface competencies such as knowledge and skill are more easily developed than core competencies such as traits and motives.
In other words, selecting individuals for leadership roles who exhibit valued core personality traits and motives will be more cost-effective in the long run than selecting individuals based on knowledge and skills alone (see p.11).
While graduate business education currently focuses on developing skills and knowledge, it seems that the real value added to individuals is within the hidden part of the iceberg model—to self-concept, traits and motives. If our brains are wired with intrinsic motivation to learn, and one removes the adverse conditions that drive out one’s intrinsic motivation (given the intellectual capacity of members of the MBA classroom) one could conclude that the possibility exists that core personality competencies (while more difficult to develop) would become more developed during the graduate business education process.
So if such development is possible, why is there such disparity in the quality of MBA graduates coming out of advanced business programs? It is easy to write this off as: some students are better, more intelligent, experienced than others, etc.? I’m not buying it. While each individual has the capacity to learn, and the amount of knowledge any individual can obtain at any one time in an adult classroom setting will vary, the important question remains: how much of what professional educators want students to learn is actually learned—that is, translated to “rich knowledge” which can be applied to real-life problem solving?
Having been exposed to the institution of education from a very early age by my father, a professional educator, and by mentors such as Art Seiler who inspire personal excellence through lifelong learning, I see this paper as a way to contribute, as a practitioner, my observations to the body of knowledge. While I will hardly scratch the surface of learning theory or Argyris’ double loop learning, I will take you on a journey through the landscape of graduate business education to shed light on areas where rich knowledge can be further developed within the student practitioner. I will anchor personal insight and observations to expert evidence to support and clarify for the professional educator why the focus on these areas will net higher returns to the MBA investment, both to the individual and the business community.
The purpose of this paper is to provide a window into how practitioners think, view education and the MBA classroom. I hope to build from expert insights on adult learning and focus specifically on what motivates adult learners to become lifelong learners. My hope is that professional educators can use this knowledge from their colleagues to bring more practical relevance to the MBA experience by working with student practitioners as active participants in the education process to increase intrinsic motivation and lifelong learning.
While you will find this paper quote heavy, I am merely a questioning observer and leave the imparting of knowledge to the experts. As my paper topic is written for the academic community, I felt it was much more effective to assemble information from practitioners and professional educators in a user-friendly format to invoke personal reflection to improve the MBA classroom. Understanding my audience, I believe it is easier to pallet the thoughts of colleagues and of a successful CEO, rather than just the observations and conclusions of a newly minted MBA student.
without some sense of how means converge
to accomplish or to frustrate ends—
there can be no strategy.
And without strategy, there is only drift.”
– Paul Kennedy and John Lewis Gaddis, Yale University
Introduction
The events which led to my desire to obtain a MBA after years of business experience were as much circumstantial as they were self-driven. After a failed attempt to secure a well-deserved raise, I took a hard look at myself, surveyed my career and recognized that to continue moving forward, I needed to travel from where I was to identifying who I was, believing that this process would somehow transform me. A wise man often told me, “Spend the first 40 years of your life putting yourself in every possible situation to learn. Then, spend the next 40 years of your life applying what you learn to earn.” That man—Art Seiler, a man 62 years my senior, a mentor and a friend—practiced as much as he preached.
According to recent brain research, “human beings have an innate desire to learn; we are literally born with intrinsic motivation. Learning is required for survival. The brain is built to seek information—integrate it with other information, interpret it, remember it, and bring it to bear at the appropriate times” (Arter, 2002, p. 2, emphasis added).
This research also suggests that certain adverse conditions can “drive out one’s intrinsic motivation—providing a fight or flight reaction which inhibits the production of neuron-chemicals required to learn” (p. 3). These conditions can include: coercion, intimidation, having rewards/punishments linked to one’s self-worth, negative competitive relationships, infrequent or vague feedback, the limitation of one’s control of a situation, and/or having responsibility without authority to act. This research goes on to suggest that there are things one can do to “increase intrinsic motivation and prepare the brain neuro-chemically to learn.” These include: providing a sense of control and choice, increasing frequency and specificity of feedback, challenging ideas and concepts without personal threat and providing for self-assessment (Arter, 2002; also see Caine & Gaine, 1997 and Jensen, 1998).
While it takes at least an IQ of 110 to 120 to earn an advanced degree such as a MBA (Spencer & Spencer, 2001), outstanding performance in executive ranks of organizations also requires that individuals develop advanced competencies beyond book smarts. A competency, or underlying characteristic of a person’s personality, can successfully predict behavior in a wide range of situations or job tasks.
As defined by Lyle M. Spencer, Jr., PhD, and Signe M. Spencer, competencies indicate ways of behaving or thinking, which can be generalized across situations and endure for a reasonably long period of time (2001, p. 9). The Spencer research suggests there are five types of competency characteristics, which include: motives, traits, self-concept, knowledge and skill.
While knowledge and skill competencies tend to be visible characteristics of people, self-concept, traits and motives are deeper and much more hidden. As seen in Figure 1 below, surface competencies such as knowledge and skill are more easily developed than core competencies such as traits and motives.
Figure 1. Central and Surface Competencies
(Created from Spencer & Spencer, 2001)
(Created from Spencer & Spencer, 2001)
In other words, selecting individuals for leadership roles who exhibit valued core personality traits and motives will be more cost-effective in the long run than selecting individuals based on knowledge and skills alone (see p.11).
While graduate business education currently focuses on developing skills and knowledge, it seems that the real value added to individuals is within the hidden part of the iceberg model—to self-concept, traits and motives. If our brains are wired with intrinsic motivation to learn, and one removes the adverse conditions that drive out one’s intrinsic motivation (given the intellectual capacity of members of the MBA classroom) one could conclude that the possibility exists that core personality competencies (while more difficult to develop) would become more developed during the graduate business education process.
So if such development is possible, why is there such disparity in the quality of MBA graduates coming out of advanced business programs? It is easy to write this off as: some students are better, more intelligent, experienced than others, etc.? I’m not buying it. While each individual has the capacity to learn, and the amount of knowledge any individual can obtain at any one time in an adult classroom setting will vary, the important question remains: how much of what professional educators want students to learn is actually learned—that is, translated to “rich knowledge” which can be applied to real-life problem solving?
Having been exposed to the institution of education from a very early age by my father, a professional educator, and by mentors such as Art Seiler who inspire personal excellence through lifelong learning, I see this paper as a way to contribute, as a practitioner, my observations to the body of knowledge. While I will hardly scratch the surface of learning theory or Argyris’ double loop learning, I will take you on a journey through the landscape of graduate business education to shed light on areas where rich knowledge can be further developed within the student practitioner. I will anchor personal insight and observations to expert evidence to support and clarify for the professional educator why the focus on these areas will net higher returns to the MBA investment, both to the individual and the business community.
The purpose of this paper is to provide a window into how practitioners think, view education and the MBA classroom. I hope to build from expert insights on adult learning and focus specifically on what motivates adult learners to become lifelong learners. My hope is that professional educators can use this knowledge from their colleagues to bring more practical relevance to the MBA experience by working with student practitioners as active participants in the education process to increase intrinsic motivation and lifelong learning.
While you will find this paper quote heavy, I am merely a questioning observer and leave the imparting of knowledge to the experts. As my paper topic is written for the academic community, I felt it was much more effective to assemble information from practitioners and professional educators in a user-friendly format to invoke personal reflection to improve the MBA classroom. Understanding my audience, I believe it is easier to pallet the thoughts of colleagues and of a successful CEO, rather than just the observations and conclusions of a newly minted MBA student.
