What Is Experiential Learning? Insights for Unlocking Continuous Growth

Contributors: Sam Shriver

Truly effective leadership isn’t learned in theory. It’s earned through practice. This concept sits at the heart of the work of David A. Kolb, who developed the dynamic process of experiential learning in 1984 through which individuals can turn their experience into knowledge.

Kolb’s model, often depicted as a four-stage learning cycle, shows how individuals move from experience to experimentation. This offers a powerful lens for leadership development, as it enables leaders to understand how their team internalizes and learns from experiences to acquire new skills. By applying Kolb’s insights, leaders can be more intentional about their team’s growth and better support their learning, development and performance as a whole.

The Four-Part Learning Cycle That Promotes Continuous Growth

Kolb’s experiential learning cycle has four stages:

1. Concrete Experience

In the first stage, the learning is rooted in doing. Concrete experience focuses on deliberately engaging in specific activities in order to gain real-world ability and expertise. These can be new situations or reinterpretations of familiar experiences under different circumstances. The key here is direct involvement, as learning stems from real-life situations, not hypotheticals. As Sam Shriver, Executive Vice President here at The Center for Leadership Studies (CLS), says, “Most people learn by doing, so give your team opportunities to tackle new projects, try different approaches and grow their skills at work.” 

2. Reflective Observation

After having a concrete experience, the learner reflects on it. This is a chance for the learner to pause and look back on what just happened, considering what went well and what didn’t. By creating space for awareness, this stage sets the stage for deeper understanding to take place.

3. Abstract Conceptualization

The abstract conceptualization stage takes what was learned in reflective observation and turns it into practical strategies. These reflections serve as the basis for improvement. This stage allows leaders to evaluate their reflections, identifying any patterns, insights or ideas they can use to better their approach.

4. Active Experimentation

The final stage of the experiential learning cycle closes the loop by enabling learners to apply what they’ve learned. This phase is when leaders can test their concepts to determine which of their new ideas are the most valid, practical and effective in the real world. Leaders can reevaluate and revise their processes to improve their approach. 

From here, the cycle repeats, reinforcing Kolb’s idea that learning is a continuous, evolving process, not a one-time event.

Leveraging the Experiential Learning Cycle

Leaders can use Kolb’s experiential learning cycle to drive continuous improvement in their employees. Here are a few ways leaders can intentionally apply the cycle in real life:

• Concrete experience: Create new opportunities for employees to go beyond their routine tasks to stretch their skills, whether it be with a new project or a new challenge, like presenting to stakeholders.
• Reflective observation: Build in structured moments to pause and debrief, reflecting on which strategies were effective and which might need refinement.
• Abstract conceptualization: Step back to help your team see the patterns and lessons learned, so they can turn these experiences into an improved strategic approach they can apply in the future.
• Active experimentation: Encourage your team to apply their new and improved strategy in real life, where they can evaluate its effectiveness and experiment further as needed to improve its impact.

Prioritize Continuous Growth With The Center for Leadership Studies

Ultimately, leadership isn’t about giving out orders or telling people what to do. It’s about guiding others on how to think, act and grow, so they can become a more resilient, capable and self-directed leader in their own right. 

The Center for Leadership Studies (CLS) offers numerous resources to teach leaders how to treat learning as an ongoing process, so they can move beyond reaction and start responding with intention. We believe that the Situational Leadership^® Model is an effective framework for assessing each team member’s Performance Readiness^®. This approach is the foundation of our Situational Leadership^® Essentials course, which empowers leaders to meet workplace challenges by tailoring their leadership approach to each employee’s needs.

Explore our numerous leadership courses, and contact CLS today to learn more.