What Bristol Pallin Can Teach Us About Learning Transfer Change

In the U.S.A. there is a very popular reality TV show called Dancing With The Stars in which celebrity guests are paired with professional dancers and they compete each week in a ballroom dancing competition. Each week one pair is eliminated and then they compete again the next week, one is eliminated, etc. Last night the elimination left three pairs to compete in the finals next week.

So what does this have to do with learning transfer you are probably thinking. Well, one of this season's contestants is Bristol Pallin. For those who may not recognize the name, she is the daughter of the former governor of Alaska and vice-presidential candidate Sarah Pallin. Now I am not a fan of Sarah Pallin as a politician, but I have grown to admire her daughter Bristol on this dance competition.

Here's why. Bristol came on the show with NO dance experience and NO performance experience. The other two finalists have either dance experience or performance experience. When Bristol started she was almost as clumsy as a baby learning to walk (not that I would be any better). But this young woman has really hung in there and gotten better and better each week. She has taken the coaching from the judges and her professional dance partner so well and just works her you-know-what off to get better. She overcame her fear and darn if she hasn't made the finals! In my mind she is a winner already.

Many organizations I visit are a bit like Bristol Pallin at the start of the dance competition when it comes to learning transfer--floundering and just getting by. Unfortunately, many of them aren't willing to go on the journey like Bristol Pallin has to become excellent at something that is unfamiliar and scary.

I think we can all learn from Bristol. Learning transfer change is a journey. You don't have to be excellent in the beginning, but rather just take it one step at a time and try to get better with every training program you do. With good coaching and some time, you CAN be excellent at learning transfer. And, you can't let your fear of change and doing things a new way stop you.

Bristol remarked last night that she has found a new confidence from her dancing journey. Achieving high rates of learning transfer can do the same thing for you professionally.

So who's ready to put on their dancing shoes and make learning transfer change happen?