Intellectual understanding – emotional insight – practical implementation: Results show who someone is. Words show what someone would like to be.
"Mr. Grundl, I already know everything you're saying."Some time ago,a young, smart man approached me after a lecture and said these words. It hit a nerve. I was annoyed and wondered why.
After some reflection, my annoyance gave way to a realization. It has become fashionable to know many things. Many methods, many theses, many theories, many books. Yet it is clear to everyone that intellectual knowledge (knowing) does not necessarily produce the desired results (being able to do). With this fresh insight, I asked him, "Do you know it, or can you do it?" He became quiet. His forehead reflected intense thought. Finally, he grinned, nodded gratefully, and walked away.
What had happened? He realized that he had made a common mistake in his thinking. He wanted to impress more with knowledge than with impact. He thought: What I say is enough; it's not what I achieve that counts! He believed that understanding something intellectually was enough to master it in practice. But he had not yet grasped that everything learned must first enter the heart and then be transformed into results in order to make a difference in the world. This error in thinking plagues many people. Even leader not immune to it when they want to quickly reap the benefits and profits of ever-new knowledge. It is often much more effective to implement a small amount of knowledge in depth, but all the more decisively.
Successful learning is therefore not just about acquiring knowledge. It encompasses the intensive process of assimilation, so that knowledge can be put into practice. Here is an example. If you want to lose weight, you have two options: reduce your food intake or increase your calorie burn. The best approach is to do both. This is easy to understand intellectually, but much harder to implement emotionally.
As a supporter, always give others time to absorb information. Reduce the amount of knowledge to fewer, but more important, topics. Then consistently demand that they be implemented until the results speak for themselves. This may seem inconvenient at first, but it is very effective. And invest the same amount of time in yourself when you work on yourself. Never underestimate the energy required for profound change. Change is highly active, not a passive process that happens on the side.
Who someone is is never revealed by their words alone, but essentially by the results they achieve. Franz Beckenbauer didn't talk about becoming a soccer world champion as a player and coach and bringing the World Cup to Germany. He delivered these results. That's what counts! Even the best leadership training is useless if you don't first internalize the new knowledge. After all, you have to exemplify what you want to teach your employees every day.
The closer your results reflect your words, the more consistent and authentic you are. The more consistent you are, the more people will want to develop themselves with your help. The triad for this is: intellectual understanding – emotional insight – practical implementation. Less knowledge, more skill!
