From Knowing to Leading: How Practice Turns Insight into Impact
The Insight Trap
Why do so many leadership programs fail to produce actual leaders?
It’s not for lack of content. In fact, many organizations provide abundant access to leadership frameworks, principles, and toolkits. Yet when real challenges arise (tough conversations, team misalignment, pressure to perform) those same “trained” leaders freeze, default, or disappear.
The reason is simple: insight is not the same as action.
Knowing what to do is not the same as being able to do it.
Insight Is the Starting Point, Not the Finish Line
Phil Geldart puts it plainly: “Knowing what to do is not the same as doing it.”
Leadership development requires more than information. It demands transformation, and that only happens when insight is converted into behavior.
It’s tempting to assume that a good workshop or eLearning module is enough to spark change. But without immersive practice, those insights stay stuck in theory. Leaders may understand a concept intellectually, but when pressure hits, they fall back on old habits.
Behavior doesn’t shift through exposure. It shifts through experience.
Practice is what makes a concept usable, reflexive, and real.
Practice Is the Kiln of Leadership
- Focuses on concepts
- Prioritizes knowledge retention
- Passive consumption
- Static scenarios
- Short-term memory boost
- Focuses on behavior
- Prioritizes application and reflection
- Active participation
- Dynamic, real-world simulations
- Long-term capability build
- Build confidence under pressure
- Develop judgment and decision-making instincts
- Strengthen emotional regulation and communication
- Create mental models they can access in the real world
Making Leadership Real: The Learn-Do-Reflect Cycle
Even the best training can fall flat without the right system behind it. That’s why Phil Geldart advocates for a structured approach to leadership development: the Learn-Do-Reflect cycle.
This simple, powerful framework ensures that leadership is not just taught. It’s absorbed, tested, and reinforced over time.
- Learn – Introduce a clear, actionable principle. This could be a feedback model, a coaching framework, or a way of making decisions.
- Do – Immediately apply that principle in a meaningful, time-sensitive scenario. Whether in a simulation, role play, or real team environment, the learning becomes muscle memory through use.
- Reflect – Reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and what could be done differently. This step deepens understanding and prepares the leader for the next real-world challenge.
“By consistently practicing and reflecting on their actions,” Phil explains, “leaders develop the muscle memory needed for authentic leadership.”
“Implementing this cycle helps organizations shift from mere training to real transformation.”
This approach turns development from a one-time event into an ongoing journey (embedded in the daily rhythm of leadership, not separate from it).
What This Looks Like in Practice
- A video course
- A handout with talking points
- A motivational quote
- A leadership principle is introduced (for example, the SBI feedback model)
- Managers enter a timed simulation with a tense direct report
- They receive coaching on tone, timing, and message clarity
- Afterward, they reflect, receive peer input, and try again
- Finally, they’re given a 30-day challenge to apply the skill on the job
From Training to Transformation
Leadership is not a theoretical exercise. It’s emotional. It’s situational. It’s learned through tension, reflection, and repetition.
That’s why the future of leadership development must center on practice, not just insight.
If your organization is still relying on knowledge transfer alone, you’re not preparing leaders. You’re informing them. And informed doesn’t equal equipped.
Next Steps
- Are our leadership programs focused on knowledge or capability?
- Are we giving people reps, or just rules?
- Are we measuring participation, or change?
