In the crucible: Robert J. Thomas explains how leaders learn

Purpose – Findings by leadership researcher Robert J. Thomas suggest that organizations reconsider what they know about how successful leaders actually learn. In an interview Thomas aims to explain what he means by crucible experiences and how leaders learn from them. Design/methodology/approach – The paper takes the form of an interview with leadership researcher Robert J. Thomas. Findings – Thomas believes that organizations can develop more leaders by helping promising employees learn from experience, especially situations he calls “crucibles.” Potential leaders, he says, must then develop and apply a personal learning strategy, and they must practice as they perform. Aspiring leaders must learn from experience, develop and apply a personal learning strategy, and practice their craft as they perform it. The five criteria for experience‐based leadership development are presented. Practical implications – Thomas found that leaders benefit from difficult experiences that transform their attitudes or behavior. These tests – crucible experiences – can and often do provide rich opportunities to learn leadership lessons and learning perspectives that last a lifetime. Originality/value – Thomas describes the methods of Toyota and Boeing (with its Waypoint program), two corporate exemplars of experience‐based leader development. These programs prepare people to extract learning from experience. They understand that people have to be supported while they're engaged in experienced‐based learning.