HOW DO MANAGERS CREATE THE
TIME FOR LEARNING?
At one of our recent Leadership and Mastery programs, I talked to a
manager who was born and raised in India, and who has worked in
both United States and Japanese firms. She said that when a person in
a Japanese firm sits quietly, no one will come and interrupt. It is
assumed that the person is thinking. On the other hand, when the
person is up and moving about, coworkers feel free to interrupt.
"Isn't it interesting," she said, "that it is exactly the opposite in
American firms? In America, we assume that when a person is sitting
quietly they aren't doing anything very important."
How can we expect people to learn when they have little time to
think and reflect, individually and collaboratively? I know of few
managers who do not complain of not having enough time. Indeed,
most of the managers with whom I have worked struggle unceasingly to
get the time for quiet reflection. Could this be a cultural norm that we
take for granted—the incessant "busyness" of our daily lives?