Psychology, education science and neuroscience have made huge progress in understanding how people learn and they provide us with helpful insight. It turns out, that explaining or showing, understanding and even stupid exercising don’t do a thing when it comes to learning. They are pre-requisites, at best.

People only learn if they execute something (more or less) successfully and, at the same time, are aware of what they have done and accomplished. Further, learning becomes more effective if people are intrinsically interested in what they try to learn and if they exercise with great joy.

To me, the most powerful realization is that you cannot teach anyone anything in the way we were thinking for so long. All you can do is invite people to exercise, provide them with an environment where they have the opportunity to do so and offer honest, respectful and suitable feedback to their exercise; and, of course, patience.

Think about it the next time you coach an employee, plan a training or an entire change program – or if you do homework with your kids.