In this episode of Getting to Aha!, Darshan Mehta is joined by Katie Anderson, Author of "Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn.” They discuss Katie’s aha! moment from her meeting with Isao Yoshino, a leader from Toyota. 

They talk about the cycle of learning to be a leader to leading with a learning mindset. They also talk about the Kaizen mindset, the Toyota Way, the importance of reflection, asking the right questions for easy problem solving, and many more.  

Katie Anderson is the founder and principal consultant at Katie Anderson Consulting. She is also an internationally recognized leadership and learning coach, professional speaker, and the author of the international best-selling book "Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn: Lessons from Toyota Leader Isao Yoshino on a Lifetime of Continuous Learning." 

Katie has over 20 years of experience creating and supporting change and improvement in many industries. Her passions go beyond just learning and spill over to her love for travel. She has lived in 5 different countries outside the United States, including Australia, the UK, Japan, Spain, and the Dominican Republic. Katie is a B.A. holder with honors from Stanford University, and was a Fulbright Scholar in Australia, where she was awarded a Master’s degree in public health from Sydney University.

👉 Develop a passion and attitude for learning.

👉 “We need to learn how to be a leader. And then we need to lead with a mindset and intention of learning, not just learning for ourselves and our own sake, but helping others learn.”

👉 Leadership is not just about how to achieve results; it’s about how you are helping people get more effective in the process of learning to achieve those results.

👉 Develop a mindset of curiosity and how to lead to inspire learning in people.  

👉 “When you move into a leadership or in a consulting or coaching role, your responsibility, your purpose is no longer about necessarily you being the expert with all the answers, but it's about you helping other people move towards the answer.”

👉 A leader’s role includes not just command and control, but also directing and providing  support to others and simultaneously looking for opportunities for improvement. 

👉 The simplicity of leadership is explained by answering the questions ‘Where do we need to go?’ ‘How can I help you figure out how to get there?’, and ‘What do I need to do to improve myself as well?’

👉 Creating a culture and attitude towards learning is not as complicated or complex as people say it is, but it requires putting intentional effort into showing up in a different way. 

👉 “‘Pay attention to the quality of your questions.”

👉 “Develop a habit of daily reflection because reflection is where the learning happens.”

👉 Know what your role or your purpose is.  

👉 Be intentional and purposeful about how you're having conversations. Learn to have open, blameless, and engaging conversations. 

👉 Asking questions helps us avoid making assumptions, helps us understand and fix the root problems, and makes us better teammates.

👉 Stop telling people what to do as it takes away their opportunity to go through problem-solving and puts the burden on your own back.

👉 “When we connect with purpose and can align our actions, then we have a real positive and meaningful impact in the world.”

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