What It Looks Like for Leaders to Model Learning

What does it really mean for a leader to model learning?

In this episode, Nathan Freeburg joins Dr. Linda and Brian Schubring to explore how leaders shape team culture—not just through direction, but through example. The conversation highlights how learning, when modeled visibly and intentionally, can influence curiosity, creativity, and growth across an entire team.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode

•  Why leaders are always modeling behavior (whether they realize it or not) 
•  How stepping outside your comfort zone fuels creativity and innovation 
•  The difference between learning privately and learning publicly 
•  A practical framework: learning from, with, among, and for others 
•  Why vulnerability and sharing mistakes can strengthen team culture 
•  The importance of choosing the right people to learn from 
•  How learning relationships can be seasonal—and why that matters 

Key Takeaway

Leadership isn’t just about encouraging growth—it’s about demonstrating it. When leaders model curiosity, openness, and learning, they create a culture where others feel invited to do the same.

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Transcript

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Why Leaders Must Model Learning

SPEAKER_00 0:00

You are the main character that is invited to do this learning to be a part of a community where where people are growing and evolving and transforming their lives, hopefully for the better. But be very discerning about who you will listen to and um how it fits into your own narrative.

SPEAKER_02 0:25

You are listening to the Leadership Vision Podcast, our show helping you build positive team culture. Our consulting firm has been doing this work for the past 25 years so that leaders are mentally engaged and emotionally healthy. To learn more about what we do, you can click the link in the show notes or visit us on the web at Leadership Vision Consulting.com. Hello everyone, my name is Nathan Freeberg, and today's episode explores a simple but often overlooked question. What does it actually look like for a leader to model learning? Now, we talk a lot about growth, curiosity, and development, but those ideas don't really take hold in a team unless they're visible, unless they're embodied, unless they're modeled. And that often means leaders going first. Now, in this conversation with Dr. Linda and Brian Schubering, we unpack how learning isn't just something that you do privately. It's something you live out publicly. It's something you invite others into, and sometimes it's something that you do for the benefit of someone else. Now, as you listen, here's a question to hold on to. Where in your leadership are you modeling learning for others? And maybe even more personally, who are you learning with and who is learning because of you? Because the truth is that people are always watching. The question is, what are they learning from you? This is the Leadership Vision Podcast. Enjoy.

Fashion Week As A Learning Leap

SPEAKER_02 1:48

Brian and Linda, I am gonna be single parenting for almost eight, nine days coming up here. What's that? Because thank you. Because my beautiful, amazing, talented, smart wife is going to Milan, Italy for Fashion Week. Fashion Week. Can you believe that?

SPEAKER_01 2:07

What shoes is she wearing?

SPEAKER_02 2:08

So she works at a big fancy job, and she's in HR, but she's it's like a design company, basically. She supports the designers. She reports directly to the head designer, and they're like, We think you should come to Milan for Fashion Week. You can see the team in action. It's important to learn this side of it. And she's like, I don't know. Is it really gonna be that beneficial? And they're like, no, it's it's a great learning opportunity for you to do all this stuff. So she's going, kind of going out on a limb. And unfortunately, I couldn't weasel my way in. But I'm so proud of her. I'm proud of the organization because it's such a cool learning opportunity for her to do something that's totally out of her wheelhouse, but it like has such a huge impact on her job because she'll be able to understand the people she's supporting in a different way and hopefully come back with some really far out clothing.

Curiosity That Spreads Through Teams

SPEAKER_02 3:01

Do you in the organizations you work with, do you have examples of leaders who are modeling what it's like to step out of your comfort zone to learn something new? Because I think if you're not gonna be showing your people, hey, I don't really know what I'm doing 100%, but I'm gonna learn it, I'm gonna figure it out. Like, how can you ask them to be doing it, right? Correct. So many questions there. Where do you want to go with this?

SPEAKER_01 3:26

I think leaders are modeling behavior all the time. I think that leaders are modeling positive behaviors all the time. I think that there are challenges to some of the behaviors. But my my point is, I believe modeling is happening all around us, and I believe that there are great examples of people that are learning from the people in the environments around them. I think that there are organizations that model what it means to invest in one another and to invest in yourself and provide opportunities for. And I believe that there is so much that we aspire to and that we dream towards that's actually being modeled around us. I think part of this modeling the right behavior question is knowing what to look for. So I I think it's all around us. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:19

I'm thinking of the opportunity that you're describing with your wife, and I think it's fabulous. I'm so excited for her. And the part that makes me most excited is the kind of creativity that she will be exposed to. And then when I think of the leaders that are trying new things, learning new things, exposed to new environments, there is something that happens that that really grows people's and in particular leaders' capacity for creativity and innovation because they are truly stepping out of their comfort zone and allowing the moment to teach them something.

SPEAKER_01 4:58

Yeah. And modeling the right behavior is naming what the right behavior is or setting the example so that people can interpret it for yourselves. Because I believe that there is such an importance of modeling curiosity, modeling innovation, modeling creativity in a culture where where so many people are trying to be like other people or to be a part of groups that they're not really a part of for whatever reason. I believe that for the modeling the right behavior, if you're modeling what it means to stay curious, to stay open, to stay creative, you're also creating a behavior of inclusion and acceptance of other people that I really believe people are searching for. I think that kind of behavior isn't modeled as much as we need it to be.

SPEAKER_00 5:49

Because I think it's contagious. Yes. I think when someone is learning something new, stepping out of their comfort zone, and then other people realize that person's not going to fall apart or they survived. Well, why not I, you know, why don't I try it? Why don't I try something new? And you start to realize what are things that I'm really interested in? What would I like to learn if I just had an extra 15 minutes a day? How do I get more familiar with AI? How do I get more familiar with world events or what's happening in order to step into a conversation with people and not say you need to learn some things, but leading through inspiration and you know, leading truly by example.

Learn In Public Learn In Private

SPEAKER_02 6:37

Well, and in our notes here, kind of the longer version of this question is what does it look like for a leader to model learning? And I think part of it is talking about it, part of it is just sharing your experience. And I really commend high five the two of you in my own personal growth. I think it's a lot of the way that I see you growing and learning and talking about your disciplines and the things that you're struggling with. I mean, I don't know if I would have ever run Boston if I hadn't met you, Brian. I mean, that the fact that that value, you know, health, pushing yourself, like whatever you call it, like that, I think it's been modeled in such a great way that's like, oh, I want to do that too. And so I think when leaders are trying to get their teams to grow, be that in like a specific function or skill, or just like you need to be more self-aware. Generally, if they are also doing that and then talking it, talking about it and sharing it, I think sometimes leaders want to hide that for fear of looking weak. Is that something that you've seen? Like, I don't want to pretend I don't have all the answers or that I'm not growing. I am grown. I am perfectly realized in this in this instance. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

I think there's a two-part, three-part, or four-part answer to that question. Probably. Yes, I believe that there is an appropriate place for people to learn in private, where there are things about their life, their emotional life, their relational life, where the learning isn't to be shared with others, that it's something that is private. There's a space for that. I think that there are two other spaces where leaders can model learning in a way that can benefit more people. And the first one is who are you learning with? I think it's really important to have someone that you're talking to or someone that you're sharing your learning with, or that you're learning together with someone, because that with is so important. Because you're when you're learning with someone, there's a motivation to the learning, there's an accountability to the learning. There is a place for intentional reflection and modification of what you're learning for what works best for you. So that first step of recognizing your learning, the second is to learn with. I think the third one is really important, is if you have someone to learn with, who are you learning among? Because I think that learning among is really important. When you start to learn among other people, you're modeling a behavior that other people can watch and can observe and test for themselves if they want to follow along. And that's where I really believe that modeling becomes a multiplier, is when you begin to model among others, and that motivates them to set and to reach goals of learning that they may not have even imagined if they weren't watching you and a friend learn.

SPEAKER_00 9:30

I would add learning for.

SPEAKER_01 9:32

For what?

SPEAKER_00 9:33

Yeah, for others. Like who are you who are you learning for? I think sometimes we learn for ourselves. I think sometimes we learn for others, we learn for the organizations that we serve, we learn to benefit our families, we learn to benefit our communities. And when you can get clear about what you are learning for, I have seen the learner then become the teacher. I have seen the the learner really take not just pride in what they do, but take a different level of ownership, and they start to realize that if I'm learning for this person, then I need to know the information at this, you know, level so that I can help other other people. And usually at the process of teaching allows the learner to learn it even better.

SPEAKER_02 10:27

When I think about the people that I like to hang out with, they're the people who are just curious. Like they're they are they're wanting to learn more, they're reading good books, they're they're tinkering in their garage, they're like, hey, I made this woodworking thing that doesn't look very good, but I'm learning how to use power tools. I just think that's they're more interesting people, they're sharing that knowledge, they're really inspirational. Me and a buddy started learning how to do Smash Burgers and we're constantly texting each other different techniques. And it's it's there's a part, so going back to this, what does it look like? There's a part to this as well that's very vulnerable and very willing to share those mistakes and then be like, hey, don't do it this way because it might set your arm on fire. I feel like the leaders that I want to follow, and it seems like the most successful ones are constantly learning and then sharing that knowledge. I totally agree, Brian, that there's like maybe some deep personal work that we shouldn't be sharing in front of our team. But the other little mistakes and foibles and things along the way, I think that's really how a team can grow and come a long way, is when the leader is like, hey, I'm I'm the number one, maybe not the number one guinea pig, but just like I'm learning, I'm figuring this out, let's do this together, encourage people along the way.

Be Discerning About Who You Learn From

SPEAKER_02 11:45

I mean, do you guys remember back in COVID when we did the quote unquote team marathon? It was all virtual.

SPEAKER_01 11:50

Yeah, I remember that.

SPEAKER_02 11:51

There were some people who didn't, they were like, What? But we all kind of figured out together. That was memorable. So any final thoughts?

SPEAKER_01 11:58

Anything else that you want to add or encourage people or well, something you said, Nathan, got my attention, and that is the the learning that you're not sharing with other people. Sure. And I tied that back to something we said earlier about the importance of learning with. I think when you said that, Nathan, my mind went to it's important to learn with someone that can help you find the right answers. If you choose, and I'm thinking like like, and I'm thinking of you're learning with a professional, you're learning with an expert, you're learning with someone who's already been there. So they're advising. Because the first time I mentioned learning with, I was imagining learning with a peer, like someone that you're actually, you know, making Smash Burgers together. And now I'm thinking it is so important who you ask for help from. Like who are you learning from that that that relationship is one that's beneficial for what you're ultimately trying to learn? And clearly we've talked about this before in other podcasts. Sometimes the most important step in learning something new is unlearning something old, and to learn with someone who can point out um ways that you're showing up, ways that that you're expressing your emotions that may not be appropriate anymore. It's important to learn with someone who's not afraid to call out the truth that is within you, and also to encourage you that you have the potential and and the gifts to learn what you're actually seeking to learn. So learning with is also who you're asking help from.

SPEAKER_00 13:28

And be discerning, absolutely be discerning. I and and realize that sometimes the people that are teaching you or learning alongside of you or helping you learn that that they're just for a season, they are just for a moment. And sometimes what are you writing down?

SPEAKER_01 13:48

For a season.

SPEAKER_00 13:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:52

That's good. Brianless is recorded, you can just get the show notes. But anyway, go on, Linda. Go on. Time for show notes. Go on, Linda. Finish your thought, Alan.

SPEAKER_00 14:02

Um, my message is be discerning. Be discerning. The person that's helping you today is maybe not the person that's gonna help you a year from now. Maybe the person helping you today or learning alongside you, you might veer in a different direction. So I think it's reminding yourself that you are the main character in your own story. You are the main character that is invited to do this learning to be a part of uh a community where people are growing and evolving and transforming their lives, hopefully for the better, but be very discerning about who you will listen to and um how it fits into your own narrative.

SPEAKER_02 14:49

So, what does it look like for a leader to model learning? If I could summarize, it means to learn from somebody, to learn with someone, to teach someone, and then also learn for someone, and then just be discerning in who all of those people are. So Brian and Linda, thank you. This was fun.

SPEAKER_00 15:06

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 15:06

Thank you. And thank you, listeners, for listening to the Leadership Vision Podcast, our show helping you build positive team culture. If you found value in this, we would love it if you could subscribe at Leadership Vision Consulting.com slash subscribe. There's a link in the show notes. You can also subscribe wherever you get your podcast. Subscribe and follow us on YouTube and all the socials. My name is Nathan Freeberg.

SPEAKER_00 15:28

I'm Linda Schubring. And I'm Brian Schubring.

SPEAKER_02 15:30

And on behalf of our entire team, thanks for listening.

SPEAKER_00 15:33

Thanks for listening. Beep pop.

SPEAKER_02 15:36

I'm just learning. I'm just modeling how to do this.