“If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day; if you teach him to fish, you feed him for a lifetime” – Chinese proverb.

“…and, besides, you can charge him a protection fee for every fish he catches…” – Comment by a well-known Italian mafia boss.

The Cliché of “Teaching to Fish”

Like all the clichés about success, life, love, happiness, and so on that we find endlessly repeated in self-help books or so-called motivational seminars, this proverb contains an obvious truth: it is far more effective to teach a person how to handle certain situations on their own, rather than always solving their problems for them, not least because it is the only way to help them grow and develop.

On the other hand, this cannot be the whole story: while, of course, it’s a positive idea to provide fishing training and encourage someone to fish on their own, I rather doubt that anyone with an empty stomach would have the disposition or patience to listen to a trainer accustomed to lecturing them on the wonderful theories of the significance of fishing or to engage in motivational exercises to “unleash the fisher within.”

And if, by chance, the fishing training has to be funded by grants and structural funds—where, as a rule, every party involved—officials, politicians, foundations, companies, trainers, and so on— —thinks, first and foremost, about how to fill their own stomachs and pockets, it is clear that this potential independent fisherman will have every chance of starving to death several times before he is able to catch his first fish.

Assuming, however, that the situation isn’t quite so urgent and dramatic—so that he can wait for food until he’s able to fish on his own—I believe that teaching fishing to solve food problems remains a rather limited idea. What, in fact, is the standard approach to training? A problem is identified, a solution is chosen, training needs are analyzed, and the training is delivered.

Why Standard Corporate Training Fails

In other words, learning to fish might somewhat solve the immediate problem, but it almost certainly won’t solve the problem “for life.” First of all—why fishing and not something else? Maybe that person has a talent for activities other than fishing and could be more useful in other areas. Second, even if the person learns to fish like a pro, if the fish run out, or they have to move to the forest, or they lose their fishing rod, they’ll still be left without the resources to fend for themselves, and we’ll have to take care of them again.

So, as an idea, alongside providing “recipes” and fishing methods, it would seem much more effective to teach some principles that can be applied regardless of whether we’re talking about fishing, hunting, or agriculture.

And, in any case, instead of forcing him to become a fisherman, I’d teach him to discover the field where he’s truly good and how to use his talent to create a product or service that can be traded for fish, meat, or whatever he wants.

Or, better yet, the approach that most closely aligns with my idea of training or the Socratic method I always refer to: I would help him discover for himself some principles that would enable him to understand whether, in a given situation, it is more effective to fish, to dig, or to trade; principles that would also allow him to successfully tackle fishing, hunting, fighting, or whatever challenge the situation might present.

The 4 Levels of Training

So, we have different ways of dealing with a situation where someone is struggling:

• we solve the problem for them on the spot, with the result that they’ll call us every time that specific problem arises
• we teach them how to solve that specific problem; they won’t bother us with it anymore, but they’ll turn to us every time something comes up that deviates from what we’ve taught them
• we teach them some principles they can use to solve similar problems. That way, they’ll only turn to us if what comes up is completely new
• we clarify together what the goals are and teach them how to apply their thinking to any problem, and if something completely new comes up, how to find the information they need without having to turn to us

It is clear that the more we move toward fostering independence, the more difficult and risky the response becomes, and the greater the commitment required from both parties.

Apart from the “pure begging” situation at level one, standard training usually falls at level two, where clear and simple solutions are provided to resolve a specific situation.

Moving on to level 3 or 4 naturally requires a commitment to preparation and self-confidence, which very few are willing to undertake; this effort is the true key to development, the only one that can yield real results in the long run. All of this, of course, is possible if we were living in the best of all possible worlds, where people truly have the desire to grow and learn.

The Brutal Reality of the Corporate World

In reality, people often just sit around waiting for the fish to be brought to them; and if you try to teach them to fish, they’ll simply start whining left and right and look for someone else willing to give them their daily fish.

If, however, they are forced to start fishing, they will claim that the rod isn’t good, that the sun is too bright, that it smells bad, that it’s damp, that there are no fish there, and so on; so, often, the easier solution for everyone is to somehow resolve the issue and postpone the development challenges.

Of course, there’s no question of finding someone truly willing to learn how to fend for themselves, to put their mind to work, to take the initiative, to take a personal risk—especially in a corporate context where every effort is made to discourage intelligence, initiative, and independent thinking.

The True Task of a Leader

So, I propose that we, too, take Chinese wisdom into account and—when possible—teach people how to solve a problem.
But let’s not forget what I said: if we teach them to fish, they’ll eat as long as there are fish; if we teach them the principles of fishing, they’ll apply them in other areas as well, when needed.

And if we teach them to use their minds and to have courage and initiative, we have, in fact, created a potential leader.

And, perhaps, in the end, we will realize that the true task of a leader is not to create trained robots, but rather to create other leaders.

by Bruno