The thing that was so different about studying for a Masters Degree in Business Administration, or an MBA, at the University of Toronto was the students asking questions of other students.
Until that MBA experience I had not seen learning as a social process.
We were acquiring knowledge through group discussions led by a professor who never lectured about anything. But he asked a lot of questions.
On the other hand, during my years as an engineering student the process was about studying the science and applying the science to make things work. It was a very practical and very complex experience.
And we were told in our first year that only a third of us would graduate in four years. Scary. I was excited about the learning experience but lived with nothing but fear for my first couple of years.
Part of the difference working for an MBA degree was being with older students from different walks of life. In our class was a nun who was going to manage a hotel that was being converted to a home for girls. Then we had a teacher from India. And lots of people from industry with up to 20 years of work experience.
During my years at what was called “teacher’s college” group sessions were encouraged because we were told some students learn more effectively in a social setting. Others we were told will shine doing assignments on their own.
“Let your students see the practical outcomes associated with acquiring knowledge.” Just the kind of comment we would hear at one of their lectures.
But as I evolved in business through the creation of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, group sessions with staff were more like those MBA classes than any class time I spent as an engineering student.
A group of what we called District Managers, had a primary interest in higher earnings. I always had the top producers explain how they find prospects or close sales. And they were always asking each other questions.
Then there were groups of legislative people who lobby politicians and public servants. Their interest was public policy and building legislative competence.
And these legislative officers were always interested in what the public policy agenda was in the different provinces. Their staff meetings were superb examples of collaborative learning.
In the world of advocacy, the development of policy is a process that goes around and around. Nothing is ever new. So, by asking questions of your colleagues you learn about the past and how to deal with the present.
Over the years I learned how to turn business meetings into real learning experiences. And why? Because learning collaboratively is hugely motivating. I often felt more like a professor than a president.
But my experience with learning as a social process really got a boost when I helped form the International Small Business Congress in the mid 1970s. We created a governing body called the International Steering Committee which was made up of business leaders from Europe, North America and Asia.
Now I saw how different cultures made decisions and reach consensus. With my Asian colleagues, for example, the concept of a vote was repugnant. They just kept talking until everyone was on the same page.
What we had at work was a process of group learning through collaboration. One of the participants was the president of a Japanese university. I remember him telling me, “It is the Japanese way. We listen, we learn.”
And I also learned just how social language is when operating internationally. Our translators working for the Korean, Japanese and Taiwan delegations all had PhDs from North American universities.
They were so careful how people were addressed and how they explained each other’s positions. Over the years those translators made the International Steering Committee a highly functional and educational body.
Yes, I believe in “edumacation”