As with any new job, when you first become a manager, you will probably experience a very steep learning curve. You will be faced with many new challenges and find that you are continually trying to learn new skills. Understanding the way that you prefer to learn will help you to make the most of the opportunities presented to you during these first months of your new job.

Peter Honey and Alan Mumford identified four different learning styles. They proposed that individuals are activists, theorists, pragmatists, or reflectors. Consider the following statements. Which applies to you and the way that you like to learn?

1. some people have to do things
2. some people have to read about things
3. some people want to apply new skills immediately
4. some people like to research and compare

Each of the learning styles has its own characteristics, and associated strengths and weaknesses. These learning styles can be defined as follows. Consider, as an example, each associated person to see how that learning style affects how they learn about a new computer model.

Theorists – like to integrate their observations into logical frameworks by combining new ideas with old ones. They like to analyze, and are able to remain objective, although they are often perfectionists.

Beth is a theorist. She is detached and analytical. She is likely to challenge things that do not fit with her view of the world. She has been testing the features of her new computer and comparing it against the old one.

Reflectors – like to consider experiences carefully and listen and observe. They prefer to stand back and gather data before coming to any conclusion. Because of this consideration, reflectors can be seen as overcautious.

Bruce is a reflector. He likes to ponder new experiences. He is cautious and observes as a way of understanding. He waited to see what experiences other people had with the computer model before he bought one.

Activists – are enthusiastic about anything new and like to be the center of attention. They thrive on challenge, and will try anything once. However, they often become bored with implementation.

Joe is an activist. He is enthusiastic about anything new. He is enjoying the challenge of mastering all of the features of his new computer, but he will quickly become bored once the novelty wears off.

Pragmatists – like to try out ideas to see if they work in practice. They are constantly trying to find better ways to do things. They are practical and good problem-solvers, but often become impatient with lengthy discussions.

Donna is a pragmatist. She likes to look for better ways to do things, is a good problem-solver, but is not interested in discussions. She has not looked at the manual for her computer, because she wanted to push ahead with practical things.

So which category do you fit into? If you understand how you learn, you will be able to optimize your learning experiences. As a busy manager, it is important that you make the most of your time and of opportunities to develop more skills.