Six Ways to Learn from Experts

There are plenty of ways we can learn, but one way that is as old as time, is now easier than ever. As our world has gotten bigger, our access to experts has grown. That has made the ability to learn from experts more possible. But like many things, as it got easier, we lost some of our appreciation of experts as a source of learning.

I’ve often said and written that human beings are learning beings. When we are learning, we are becoming more of what is possible for us – and becoming who were born to be. This article is meant to take one great way we learn and remind us how important it is, and hone our ability to do it today, in a world full of expertise.

The Six Ways

I’ve arranged my six pieces of advice into the mnemonic of FLOATS. I can’t promise taking these steps is as easy as floating on a river, but they can lead to as pleasant and satisfying experience as that lazy float might be.

Find. Never in human history have we had as much access to experts and expertise as we do now. The problem isn’t access; it’s sorting and finding the best experts for your needs. Doing this well is important and too often overlooked. Or worse, the plethora of options immobilizes us from connecting with an expert to learn from.

Listen. Once you have an expert you want to learn from, you must listen to what they have to say. If you can be with them one-on-one, great. But if listening in person isn’t always possible, there are podcasts and audio books! Remember to include listening here too.

Observe. Whenever possible, learn from experts by observing their behaviors and actions. If you are learning a physical skill, watching them do it is important – whether in person or on video. The same is true if you are learning human skills too. Make time to be around and observe expertise in action.

Ask. While we have more expert options, we have less chance to interact with or ask questions of experts. Look for ways and opportunities to do this – whether in person, virtually, or even asynchronously through emails or LinkedIn messages.

Try. Learning doesn’t become real until you try it for yourself. Practicing and using the skills we are learning is critical. In the time when we learned from experts as an apprentice this was obvious. Too often today, we stop short of application, somehow thinking knowledge accumulation is enough. Unless you are headed for Jeopardy, it likely isn’t.

Share. One of the best ways we can learn is by sharing what we are learning with others – whether talking about it, coaching or being coached on it, or simply sharing ideas with others. In our more virtual and disconnected world, this step is too often left out or underappreciated.

I know that you have done all these steps at times, but some you may have forgotten or not practiced as regularly as you could. It is my hope that by outlining these steps and giving you just a bit of guidance on each, that you will become a more ardent and intentional learner from experts that can truly help you reach your goals and potential.

We had all of these steps in mind in 2020 when we created the first ever Virtual LeaderCon – we hand-selected and curated thought leaders (Find) and brought them to a virtual platform (that supported the Listen, Observe, Ask, and share portions of Floats), and then did all we could to encourage the Try component.

I hope you will join us for Virtual LeaderCon 2025, then reengage and reinvigorate your interest in and ability to learn from experts. We’ll bring the experts, the platform and process. You bring your time and desire, and watch amazing things happen.