Macro-Design · A programme lens rather than a session format; typically applied over weeks or months around one or more workshops.

70:20:10 Model

The 70:20:10 model states that people learn roughly 70% from challenging experiences, 20% from relationships with others and 10% from formal training. It is used as a reminder that most development happens outside the classroom, so formal learning should connect to work and to other people.

When to use 70:20:10 Model

Use it when designing a development programme or blended journey, especially for leadership and professional development, where a single training event would not be enough.

How 70:20:10 Model works

Your session emphasizes experiential activities with social learning built in.

Phases of 70:20:10 Model

  1. Experiential (70%): Most development comes from challenging assignments and real work. In design terms, give participants real tasks, stretch projects or live cases to work on during and after the session.
  2. Social (20%): Learning through others: peers, managers, mentors and feedback. Build in peer coaching, buddy pairs, feedback rounds and follow-up conversations.
  3. Formal (10%): Structured courses, workshops and reading. Keep this part focused on the frameworks and language people need to make sense of their experience.

Key principles

  • Most learning happens on the job
  • Learning is social
  • Formal learning amplifies experience
  • Design the whole journey, not just the event

Best for

  • Leadership development
  • Blended learning programmes
  • Workplace learning strategy
  • Onboarding journeys

Considerations

  • The ratios come from self-reported surveys of executives and are not an empirical law; use them as a direction, not a formula.
  • Experience alone does not guarantee learning; people need reflection and support to learn from it.
  • Easy to misuse as a reason to cut formal training.

Attribution & sources

Developed by Morgan McCall, Michael Lombardo and Robert Eichinger (Center for Creative Leadership research), 1996

Primary source

Design a session with 70:20:10 Model

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