Lead by example, but know what is being seen

Jason Lam
1 min readSep 17, 2020

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Photo by Edi Libedinsky on Unsplash

You wouldn’t get mad at a baby for not knowing how to speak. Isn’t had learned it yet (obviously).

Instead, it learns by listening to you speak. Eventually, after enough listens, it attempts on its own and suddenly it starts to develop competence. One way of explaining that is that it learns through imitation. Another way of saying it is that it was taught by example.

If someone has yet to reach your level of competence, there are many ways they can learn. You can provide feedback, encouragement, a regimen, or opportunities for practice.

The best way they might be able to learn, though, is by seeing how it’s done, as in how you would do it yourself. Of course, it also helps to follow your example with discussion, reflection, mutual explanation, and then be given a turn to try on their own.

If you’d like for others to work in the way you do, be the example, but also clarify what they are seeing.

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Jason Lam
Jason Lam

Written by Jason Lam

Head of Admissions Consulting | Point Avenue

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