A recent book by a former professor of mine had me thinking – there really are only a handful of core learning experiences that make an indelible mark on one’s personal and professional development – particularly as an adult learner. A coaching client once asked this very question: What learning experiences generated the biggest leaps in your professional development? I responded with a relatively short list. I believe in lifelong learning, but it sure seems that the breakthroughs come fewer and further between.
One of the core breakthrough learning opportunities I have benefited from in my personal and professional development has been Stew Friedman’s Total Leadership course, which is now a book of the same name, Total Leadership: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life. Stew’s approach of building your life and work into an integrated woven pattern, and live as a whole person with everything you do, changed my whole perspective on “life versus work.” And with his Total Leadership methodology, I have learned to make small changes in how I live and work, as he calls them “experiments,” to see what works for me and the important people in my life.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could live as a ‘whole person’ in all the parts of your life, rather than the ‘1/2 work person’ at work, ‘1/3 parent or spouse’ at home, ‘1/8 community member’ in your neighborhood, leaving whatever is left for your ‘self’? I encourage you to crack the binding on Total Leadership. If it’s not your time for a breakthrough, you’ll still benefit from its pages.
So now, I’m curious to ask this question … What’s on your list?
