LCP LCP LCP
Skip to content

The 70/20/10 Theory

In any talent management discussion, it doesn’t take long for someone to invoke the 70-20-10 theory. 
 
The theory is that to develop leaders and managers, their learning will come from three sources: their work (70 percent), their peers, relationships and exposure to role models (20 percent) and formal training/coursework (10 percent).
 
The model was created in the 1980’s by three researchers and authors at the Center for Creative Leadership and emerged from 30 years of CCL research. The theory has stood the test of time in part because of its research foundation but, more importantly, because it resonates with how most of us think we’ve learned to lead.
 
How it is put into practice, however, is a different story.
 
 

Adults Don't Learn by Doing

When we assume that adults learn by doing—learn solely through experience—we are missing the point. Adults don’t learn by doing, they learn by reflecting on the doing. Unless leaders pause to reflect on what happened and why, they run the risk of making the same mistake again in the future—or being unable to replicate a success.

The original researchers highlighted the importance of hands-on experience as the foundation for dialogue with more experienced leaders and immediate feedback on performance.

As the pace of work accelerates and the rate of business system and organizational change amplifies, what often gets lost is the pause to reflect. Carving out time to step back and see an experience from a different perspective takes time and attention. Even group opportunities for reflection and learning (for example, After Action Reviews) are postponed because of the pressing demands of daily work.
 
If your goal is to develop yourself and your organization’s leaders through experience, make it an explicit activity with three simple steps:
  1. Find a cadence that works for you to pause and consider “how” you are leading—whether it is a project or a team or a business. Find a habit that reinforces reflection: a walk? Blocked time on your calendar? A walk with a “sounding board” peer?

  2. Be intentional about taking on new experiences and activities—but pay attention to what you want to learn and are gaining from the experience.

  3. Ask for feedback - and listen carefully. Don’t be too self-critical of your missteps: you’ll miss important insights.

 

Accelerate performance

Business simulations are an extraordinary laboratory for practicing these skills:

  • The cycles of decision-making impose “pause points” for reflection.
  • The immediate feedback of time-compressed business results helps leaders understand cause and effect.
  • The experience offers a practice ground for paying attention to how we learn.

 

So, when the 10% of 70/20/10 includes a business simulation, it has a disproportionate benefit. A simulation is a unique accelerator for the 70% of learning that comes from experience.  For many leaders, the single greatest key to accelerating performance is learning how to learn. 


 

Amanda Young HIckman co-founded Insight Experience, a Boston-based firm delivering contextually rich, immersive business simulations and learning experiences to accelerate and integrate leadership, business acumen and strategy execution.

Subscribe to Our Blog

Let's Talk

We'd love to hear about your leadership development goals.

Leave Comment

Recent Posts

Leadership Illuminated: A Q&A with Women Shaping the Future-featured-image
Leadership Illuminated: A Q&A with Women Shaping the Future
Click to view Leadership Illuminated: A Q&A with Women Shaping the Future

Four years ago, just before heading back to work after the birth of my second child, I spoke to my close...

Category:-  Featured , Leadership

Learn More Click to view blog post
Digital Handshakes: Embracing Virtual Networking-featured-image
Digital Handshakes: Embracing Virtual Networking
Click to view Digital Handshakes: Embracing Virtual Networking

In today's evolving professional landscape, virtual networking has become vital for corporate leaders looking...

Category:-  Featured , Leadership

Learn More Click to view blog post
Your Guide to Bringing Strategic Leadership to Life, Part 2-featured-image
Your Guide to Bringing Strategic Leadership to Life, Part 2
Click to view Your Guide to Bringing Strategic Leadership to Life, Part 2

Back in September, in a blog post titled "Your Guide to Bringing Strategic Leadership to Life," I explored...

Category:-  Featured , Business Simulation

Learn More Click to view blog post
New Offerings to Help Your Leaders Succeed-featured-image
New Offerings to Help Your Leaders Succeed
Click to view New Offerings to Help Your Leaders Succeed

At Insight Experience, we believe in the constant evolution of our offerings to meet our clients'...

Category:-  Featured , Leadership

Learn More Click to view blog post
Lead from Your Feet: The Leadership Benefits of Taking a Walk-featured-image
Lead from Your Feet: The Leadership Benefits of Taking a Walk
Click to view Lead from Your Feet: The Leadership Benefits of Taking a Walk

Recently, a member of my team asked if they could sign off a bit early to go for a bike ride, “now that it...

Category:-  Featured , Leadership

Learn More Click to view blog post
Insightful Ideas: 2023 Flashes of Understanding-featured-image
Insightful Ideas: 2023 Flashes of Understanding
Click to view Insightful Ideas: 2023 Flashes of Understanding

A few weeks ago, a colleague sent me this (delightfully) cryptic message via Slack: "Today's NYT crossword...

Category:-  Featured , Leadership

Learn More Click to view blog post
Winter Wisdom: Reframing Leadership in the Quiet of the Season-featured-image
Winter Wisdom: Reframing Leadership in the Quiet of the Season
Click to view Winter Wisdom: Reframing Leadership in the Quiet of the Season

Note: This is the second blog post in our Season of Leadership series. Look for one about summer here, and...

Category:-  Featured , Leadership

Learn More Click to view blog post
Why Giving Tuesday Matters-featured-image
Why Giving Tuesday Matters
Click to view Why Giving Tuesday Matters

Today marks the National Day of Giving, more commonly known as Giving Tuesday, which was initiated in 2012 by...

Category:-  Featured , Leadership

Learn More Click to view blog post
Leadership Express Sims: Interactive Learning in a 2-4 Hour Format-featured-image
Leadership Express Sims: Interactive Learning in a 2-4 Hour Format
Click to view Leadership Express Sims: Interactive Learning in a 2-4 Hour Format

Business simulations bring complex ideas to life. Simulations enable adult learning because they engage...

Category:-  Featured , Business Simulation , Leadership

Learn More Click to view blog post
What Is Cost of Capital and Why Is It Important?-featured-image
What Is Cost of Capital and Why Is It Important?
Click to view What Is Cost of Capital and Why Is It Important?

The cost of capital is an indication of the cost a business incurs to finance itself, and it’s an important...

Category:-  Featured , Business Acumen

Learn More Click to view blog post