http://brenda.herchmer.net/index.php/site/index/ en brenda@herchmer.net Copyright 2012 2012-05-14T00:10:49+00:00 http://brenda.herchmer.net/index.php?/site/the_importance_of_a_cocoon_of_warmth http://brenda.herchmer.net/index.php?/site/the_importance_of_a_cocoon_of_warmth#When:00:10:49Z I think my husband must have wondered where I had spent my day because when I arrived home I was bubbling with energy. It didn’t help matters that when he asked me about my day I explained that I had spent most of it in a very long meeting that involved the challenge of selecting pilot communities for an innovative initiative focused on encouraging residents to invest locally. When my husband continued to look at me with a quizzical and somewhat skeptical look, I struggled to explain, ultimately realizing that it was the group itself that was so special. Very eclectic in its makeup, those at the table represented a variety of backgrounds in business and social entrepreneurship, as well as a nice balance of males and females, left and right brain thinkers, and young and more mature.  As a collective they were all very authentic, intelligent, knowledgeable, and respectful of one another’s opinions. Throughout the day, leadership was shared and collaborative, serious, and yet rather fun. The experience reinforced for me how critical relationships are to innovation and progress. Wherever we have warm, trusting, and open relationships, all kinds of surprising possibilities seem to open up to us, facilitating and unlocking positive thinking and actions in ourselves and in others. When we are in situations where we can speak more honestly and freely, we can be more of ourselves, more creative, productive, and willing to listen. We are also probably more likely to speak up even when we disagree, and perhaps even be more generous with one another. It also seems we are less afraid of making mistakes and, as a group, are perhaps more receptive to learning from them. Of course, the opposite is true as well. If relationships aren’t strong within an organization, if there is a lack of trust, a coldness, fear, a lack of clarity, or we hide things from one another, most of us simply close down and stop speaking up. As a result, we stop learning and growing. We are also likely to feel less valued or perhaps diminished in some way and are therefore less likely to be positive and creative. Why is it so critical that we understand the importance of relationships? If you think about it, organizations are really only a collection of people working together in a purposeful relationship. Our individual relationships will need to be strong and healthy if our organizations are going to be strong and healthy enough to achieve our collective organizational mission. It’s not likely any of our organizations, businesses, or even communities will be successful unless we acknowledge that building relationships is a key component of our daily work. If we can build a cocoon of warmth, we are ensuring a fertile ground for ideas and directions that can be gestated and nurtured. It is the warmth that will break down barriers, dissolve rigidity in our thinking and actions, and allow people to tap into their respective gifts. When all is said and done, relationships that reflect warmth, integrity, and trust have the potential to remind people of their essential humanity and open them to one another and to the potential of change and transformation. 2012-05-14T00:10:49+00:00 http://brenda.herchmer.net/index.php?/site/playing_by_the_old_rules_means_losing_at_a_new_game http://brenda.herchmer.net/index.php?/site/playing_by_the_old_rules_means_losing_at_a_new_game#When:19:44:16Z As I sat down to write this piece, I didn’t have a starting point. Heck, I didn’t even have a topic. Being good at procrastinating as well as being ready to be distracted, I checked my email. And, wouldn’t you know, I found a message from a colleague in North Carolina who had sent an intriguing news video based on an article published by the National Journal entitled “In Nothing We Trust”. The article presented evidence demonstrating that a trust deficit is building and eating away at the social fabric of American communities. Trusted icons like Walter Cronkite no longer exist in the media, movie stars fail to inspire, and integrity and trustworthiness seem to be increasingly rare among politicians. My guess is that Canadian research would likely reflect the same findings as more and more people seem to be losing faith and confidence in their institutions. There is a growing belief that government, corporations, the media, organized religion, schools, unions, and financial institutions are letting us down. Yet, should it really be a surprise? Traditionally, times of social and economic change have always required adaptation. Think about the stress and the change among our social institutions at the turn of the 20th century as we shifted from an agricultural-based economy to the industrial era. During that time period there was also a loss of faith in social institutions as they struggled to respond to powerful capitalists, urban growth, poverty, illiteracy, and the social cost of the modern era. But, somehow, institutions either adapted or gave way to new ones. Government helped address social ills and labour unions helped buttress corporations only focused on profit. When people lost the sense of community they had known in smaller communities as the result of barn-raisings and quilt-making, the growth of fraternal and societal organizations grew substantially. The challenge today is that we are disappointed as much by the leaders within those institutions as we are with the institutions themselves. Additionally, many are dismayed by both the perceived lack of accountability of those leaders and by the unfairness they fail to stem as the divide between the haves and have-nots continues to grow.  There clearly is a sense that our institutions and their leaders need to change. Even when they are making an effort, they simply aren’t changing fast enough. As a result, government, churches, schools, and other organizations are increasingly being seen as irrelevant. It’s not that people don’t see the value of institutions and structure. It is perhaps more a growing understanding that people who play by the old rules are losing at a new game.  Would it be a big deal to lose our social institutions? What if people did disconnect and turn away from engaging in their communities? After all, many are already losing trust and no longer readily see the value of following the rules of society. Of course, it would be a big deal. Strong, safe, and vibrant communities can’t happen if people don’t trust their institutions. When we trust our institutions we’re more likely to vote, volunteer, and take care of one another by working together to tackle the complex challenges that require multifaceted and creative solutions. Ultimately that means we all have to work at ensuring we have institutions we can trust.  Each of us can be part of the solution by speaking up and stepping up to ensure that public engagement in the design of those solutions is made a priority. 2012-05-06T19:44:16+00:00 http://brenda.herchmer.net/index.php?/site/are_skunkworks_a_solution http://brenda.herchmer.net/index.php?/site/are_skunkworks_a_solution#When:01:59:11Z Community building involves working with a variety of government departments, non-profit organizations, and businesses. Over the years I’ve learned all three typically have a lot in common. For example, by most standards they are successful and have leaders who are smart and pretty good at doing what they do. They also acknowledge we’re living in a world undergoing fundamental, rapid, and long term change driven by unprecedented growth in technology. The thing is that while they know they need to keep on top of digital technologies and utilize the power and potential of the Internet—they rarely do. This reality is even more prevalent within the government and voluntary sectors. What’s also getting clearer is that traditional organizational structures are ill-equipped to respond to the digital age. Even though their structures may be conducive to managing efficient operations, the silos within larger organizations and government bureaucracies are making it more and more of a challenge to be effective. It is especially crippling for working digitally because technology requires integration and unification. By its very nature, technology needs to surround and support the core work of a business or organization, as well as serve as a window to external stakeholders. This growing dilemma is more apparent if you think about it in terms of government. We have ministries or departments for health, social services, education, agriculture, housing, recreation, and so on. There are also separate departments and websites for agencies, boards, commissions, and other internal services. Each ministry or department has a specific mandate and priorities. Prior to the digital era, the system wasn’t perfect but it generally worked. Today is a different matter all together because government must interact with individual stakeholders via the Internet. The challenge is that each ministry or department is doing their own thing, in a way that best serves their particular needs. What’s best for the broader organization or the people they serve is not always the main consideration. That means when people like you and I go online to interact with government or large organizations we too often find a digital footprint that is fragmented and disjointed. So, what’s the answer? One solution is the establishment of a small and nimble division reporting directly to senior level executives that exists on the fringe or at arm’s length of the existing organizational structure. Typically this division’s mandate would focus on working in an unconventional way to create innovative solutions that address stakeholder needs. When a small group within a large organization is given a high degree of autonomy unhampered by bureaucracy, Wikipedia.org refers to it as a “skunkworks”. The term skunkworks was first introduced during World War II by engineers at Lockheed Corporation who were tasked with building a fighter jet for the United States Government, operating under an unconventional organizational approach. Although there was speculation that the name was inspired by the poor hygiene habits of overworked employees, the name Skunkworks was really taken from the illegal moonshine factory in “L’il Abner” cartoons. Of course, the idea of a skunkworks will be cringe-inducing for many traditional leaders within hierarchical settings. The idea of shifting and sharing control and power will be both new and threatening to many as those who have power typically aren’t keen to give it up. As a result, it’s important not to lose sight of the fact that both the challenges and the opportunities that technology brings are new and therefore can’t be solved with the old infrastructure. For sure it will be a risk but with risk comes the potential for innovative solutions and the digital leadership we need to ensure stronger, healthier, safer, and more vibrant communities.  2012-04-30T01:59:11+00:00 http://brenda.herchmer.net/index.php?/site/say_goodbye_to_the_heroic_leader http://brenda.herchmer.net/index.php?/site/say_goodbye_to_the_heroic_leader#When:06:13:08Z What exactly is leadership? A number of years ago while planning a leadership retreat at Niagara College, where I worked at the time, our organizing committee grappled with exactly that question. While on the surface it appeared to be a relatively straightforward question, the truth is that we initially struggled. Ultimately though, we did agree that while management is concerned with issues of control relating to efficiency and effectiveness, leadership is required for everything that can’t be predicted or controlled. While both management and leadership are essential for the effective functioning of organizations, businesses, and communities, leadership is more like the “drive belt” that you see when you open the hood of your car—the big, continuous belt that’s used to drive other devices. We also agreed that leadership in our complex and rapidly changing world was an ‘inside out’ job requiring that individuals recognize and integrate their unique leadership style and capabilities and pro-actively seek opportunities to learn and grow. In other words, lead yourself first and then others. There was also consensus in believing that leaders need to personally adopt and model a ‘lifelong learning perspective’, and ‘become the change they wish to see’ through collaborative, ethical, innovative, participatory and strategic responses to complex conditions, multiple accountabilities and stakeholder groups, and challenges in resourcing. Additionally, there was agreement that the success of leaders would hinge on their ability to identify an inspiring vision, and mobilize support and action for its realization. All well and good, but at the time we differed from others in our understanding of leadership because we also believed that everyone is called upon to play a leadership role, regardless of their official status within a business, organization, or community. What I’m not sure we totally understood at the time was that we were also rejecting the idea that one person had all the answers—despite their position or what they brought to it in terms of skills, knowledge, and experience. It appears we were ahead of our time as author Nick Petrie is only now bringing that concept to mainstream leadership thinking. Unknowingly we had been pushing back against what he now describes as the idea of the Heroic Leader. As he explains it in his paper Future Trends in Leadership Development, the ability of any single individual—regardless of how heroic or skilled he or she may be—is no longer enough to meet the complex challenges we face today. However, Petrie also believes that with the decline of the heroic leader, comes the power and potential of collective leadership. During a sabbatical year at Harvard, Petrie undertook a wide-ranging study to explore what the future of leadership development will look like. One of the key trends he identified was the shift to collective or interdependent leadership. As Petrie explains, “The complexity of our environment increasingly calls for collaboration between various stakeholders who each hold a different aspect of the reality—and many of whom must themselves adapt and grow if the problem is to be solved. These groups (which often cross geographies, reporting lines, and organizations) need to share information, create plans, influence each other, and make decisions.” While individual competencies still matter, what will become more important are networks of leaders. Making the shift to collective leadership will also mean we need to rethink how we define leadership. Many organizational theorists have begun to reframe leadership, getting away from leadership as a person or role, to leadership as a process. As we’ve learned to explain it within the training we’re delivering these days, a leader’s job is not about solving the problem. Instead, it is about ensuring a process that will bring a diverse set of stakeholders together to solve it themselves.  Everyone can and needs to think of themselves as a leader. It is not about a formal position of appointed or elected authority. In fact, who the leader is has become less important than the actual process and system. It follows then if we start to think about leadership as a shared process, rather than an individual set of skills, we must invest in and learn new ways to help develop more leadership. It also means we need to ensure open and authentic communication, flattened hierarchies, distributed resources and decision-making, and little, if any, “command and control”.  Ultimately this approach will lead us to a new definition of leadership because the distinction between who is a leader and who is a follower will become less clear and far less important. Instead, leadership will be better defined as a process of building the relationships that result in collaborative direction, innovation, and commitment. 2012-04-22T06:13:08+00:00 http://brenda.herchmer.net/index.php?/site/its_bad_when_being_a_walmart_greeter_looks_good http://brenda.herchmer.net/index.php?/site/its_bad_when_being_a_walmart_greeter_looks_good#When:03:37:33Z I love my life, I really do.  But last week, despite being blessed with a dear and loving family, fabulous friends, and work that truly makes me happy, I’ve joined the ranks of an estimated 77 percent of workers who, in a recent survey by careerbuilder.com, reported they are sometimes or always burned out in their jobs. In addition to the high level of employees who report being burned out, 43 percent say their stress levels have increased over the last six months. To be fair, in my case it may not be as much about the work as it is about the combined stress of a death in the family, travelling, and a tooth with a root that just happens to be sitting next to my sinuses and thinks it’s cool to share the infection. Regardless, once I had absorbed enough penicillin to get beyond my pity party I got to thinking about workplace stress and what I have done in the past to manage it, as well as what else I can do to keep it at bay.  While the survey suggested that the rising stress could be the result of increased workloads, it may be as much about the ongoing onslaught of data and the fact that we are pulled in so many directions. Too often it seems we’re trying to do too much at the same time, dividing our attention, and never getting anything done well.  I’m one who loves variety and change and yet even I’m beginning to covet routine and jobs that have a clear beginning and end. Heck I’m even starting to think a job as a Walmart greeter is attractive. I think I could handle smiling and saying, “Good afternoon ma’am, would you like a buggy today?” Anyway, just to make sure I keep my stress under control, here are some strategies I’m working on for staying more balanced. I’ve learned to do my most important tasks first thing in the morning. Before I even check my email, I’ll work for an hour or so with the only interruption being a quick trip to refill my coffee. Even though I’m definitely not a morning person, I’ve found the uninterrupted time allows me to be absorbed and productive so that regardless of how the day unfolds, I feel a sense of accomplishment. I’ve also learned to work with our team members, to establish regularly scheduled times to think more long term, creatively, and strategically. By putting meeting times in our calendars for thinking proactively, we are less likely to simply be reacting to what somebody else sees as being most urgent. We’ve also found that when we take these planning efforts to a new or different environment we’re more relaxed and creative in our thinking. We’re also getting better at maintaining meeting discipline and staying focused. However, an important stress buster for us is taking a few moments at the beginning of each meeting to have fun with an ice breaker. Last week, we asked everyone what they were going to do to take advantage of spring. Those few moments gave us a chance to leave the stress of work, connect as a team, and get ready to be in the moment and focused on the meeting.  We’re also learning and encouraging others not to expect instant responsiveness as it seems to force everyone into a reactive mode that makes it challenging to stay focused on priorities. It should be perfectly acceptable to only check email several times a day. It also needs to be okay to take energy breaks. For those like me who work from a home office it’s much simpler, however more employers need to think about group walks, workouts, or even just a room where people can relax. Lastly, it’s important for each of us to have regular vacations or getaways. A real vacation will mean that when you’re off, you’re really off, meaning you disconnect – not even checking email. Regular means several times a year if possible, even if some are only extended weekends. Research strongly suggests that we’ll all be much healthier if we take all of our vacation time, and be more productive overall. Ultimately, there’s one principle that underlies all of these suggestions. When you’re engaged at work, it’s fine to be fully engaged for defined periods of time. However, work needs to be offset with time for renewal. And, when you’re renewing, make sure you’re truly renewing. 2012-04-16T03:37:33+00:00 http://brenda.herchmer.net/index.php?/site/five_innovation_personalities_which_one_are_you http://brenda.herchmer.net/index.php?/site/five_innovation_personalities_which_one_are_you#When:20:31:20Z I’ve never really thought of myself as being an innovator. I do know that I work hard and am quite stubborn. Okay, so make that very stubborn. I’m also self-motivated and like to share what I’ve learned so others don’t repeat my mistakes. Yet, according to a recent study by Forbes Insights entitled Nurturing Europe’s Spirit of Enterprise: How Entrepreneurial Executives Mobilize Organizations to Innovate, those characteristics also help classify me as one of five major personalities crucial to fostering a healthy atmosphere of innovation within an organization. The five personalities were determined as a result of clustering the executives responding to the Forbes survey based on different personalities, motivations, and behaviours. Of the five personalities, some are more entrepreneurial, whereas others are more process-oriented. However, all play a critical role in innovation. Successful organizations will be those that recognize and support the mix needed for innovation and risk taking. Failure to do so results in enterprising staff and volunteers walking away in frustration - bogged down by red tape, lack of resources, or simply an organization’s reluctance to tackle new projects and challenges, especially those that are more daring. While the five personality types exist within every organization, no one type is necessarily better than the others as all bring different kinds of value. However, among companies determined to be more innovative and entrepreneurial, certain types are more prominent.  The five clusters extracted from the self-descriptive statements include (1) Movers and Shakers, (2) Controllers, (3) Star Pupils, (4) Experimenters, and (5) Hangers-on. Practitioners who are Movers and Shakers have a bias for action, strong leadership skills, and a great amount of personal drive. They are heavily motivated by goals and rewards, seek influence over others, and aspire to greatness and the creation of a legacy. Unfortunately, they sometimes have a tendency toward arrogance and little patience for teamwork. Controllers thrive on structure, are careful to talk the talk, and generally shy away from risk and nebulous tasks because of their need for order and control. They like taking credit and may try to manipulate others’ views in order to present themselves in a favourable light. Although they try to be seen as team players, they are often insular. They don’t make the most of existing professional relationships, or typically seek out new ones. They work best when direction and expectations are clear as they can tap their strengths for organizing and mobilizing staff and resources. Although I was never one, Star Pupils are like the kids from school who always had their hands up first when the teacher asked a question. They grew up to be good at a lot of things as the result of investing heavily in their own personal development, acquiring mentors, and making the most of other people’s expertise. In the study they were the ones most likely to rise through the hierarchies of organizations, even when the dominant business culture was stacked against them. Like me, Experimenters are fascinated by the possibilities the world has to offer, and are notable for their persistence. After all, where there is a will, there is a way. This belief that all things are possible often leads to risk taking and labels as perfectionists and workaholics. They take intense pride in their achievements, enjoy having the status of an expert, and are keen to pass on their expertise. Hangers-on are those who believe in process, are known for providing reality checks, and have strong views about how things ought to be run. Like Controllers, they understand the need to take risks, but are rooted in habit and intellectual inflexibility and are therefore uncomfortable in unstructured environments. They may lack motivation and, when asked how much they agreed or disagreed with any given statement, were the most likely to stick to the middle of the range. Some may be unaware of how they come across to others, but typically they are not eager to please and are unconcerned about others’ views. They are more apt to apply conventional wisdom and tried-and-true processes over anything new and untested, and will be the ones to remind everyone of budget and resource constraints. Not one of the five categories corresponds perfectly to the profile of the successful entrepreneur, although the study suggest Movers and Shakers and Experimenters come close as they have the strongest tendency to be internally driven and able to channel the most in others by providing direction. Younger, more innovative businesses and organizations generally need Movers and Shakers at the top, channeling the energy of Experimenters into a vision that can be implemented. As organizations grow larger and more established, however, they need Star Pupils who can translate that vision into a strategy and lead it forward, Controllers who can marshal the troops to execute it, and Hangers-On who can rein it in. An organization reaching maturity has greater need for strong processes, as well as those who value control. While unrestrained innovation can be a wonderful thing, it’s not enough as the next steps are just as important. Ultimately, innovation within organizations requires a mix of innovative personalities who can ensure the delicate dance between risk-taking and stability. 2012-04-08T20:31:20+00:00 http://brenda.herchmer.net/index.php?/site/goodness_grace_and_gratitude http://brenda.herchmer.net/index.php?/site/goodness_grace_and_gratitude#When:03:49:12Z He felt a little off and thought he might be coming down with a flu bug. Sturdy and healthy in his appearance, his lifestyle choices had improved greatly since he and my mother moved into together some twelve years ago.  He came to the relationship after losing his wife to cancer.  She, after leaving an unhappy marriage of 47 years.  He managed to resist her attempts to get him to eat vegetables – except for green onions, or give up his nightly drink of scotch or occasional cigar. But ultimately what was of most importance was that Joe and my mother Wilma were joined in a relationship that was the envy of many. Joe referred to my mother as his “bride” and brought her flowers almost every week.She could never get over how good he was to her. As Nana and Papa Joe, they embraced one another’s family as their own. They truly enjoyed each other’s company whether it was taking care of their grandchildren, attending cultural and learning events, volunteering, and keeping busy with a large circle of friends and an active social calendar. Yet ten days ago, Joe kissed his bride goodnight – on the forehead so she wouldn’t catch his bug – rolled over, went to sleep, had a massive heart attack, and, at the age of 74 never woke up. Given the sudden and traumatic nature of his death, our family joined forces with friends to form a loving circle of support for our dear sweet mother. To everyone’s surprise, including her own, she is doing remarkably well. For sure she has had ups and downs that will no doubt continue for some time, but she is sustained by the strength she is gathering from the loving prayers and thoughts being sent her way. Always very spiritual, she knows her beloved “honey” is still with her, albeit in another dimension. She continues to reiterate how blessed she is to be surrounded by so much love and to have had 12 blissful years with her Joe. So while her sadness is palpable, she believes things are unfolding as they were meant to be. She says it is how Joe would have wanted to leave this life, and she knows that although it will be hard, she will be okay. The odds are that she will indeed be okay because an “attitude of gratitude” is a powerful contributor to a happy life. Some believe that it may be the single most effective way to increase happiness. New research shows that practicing gratitude may be the fastest single pathway to happiness, health, long life, and prosperity. People, like my Mom, who count their blessings and take the time to notice and appreciate the good things that come their way are happier and more peaceful. Gratitude is one powerful emotion. Despite her loss my mother continues to be the stellar and inspirational role model for goodness, grace, and gratitude she has always been. In a world where there often seems to be a gratitude deficit, my mother remains able to view life as a loving gift and glass of water half full.  So Mom, know that the loving thoughts and prayers of your family and many friends continue to be with you, and that your Joe is raising his half full glass in a toast to you, his dream bride, for the love and happiness you had together. 2012-04-02T03:49:12+00:00 http://brenda.herchmer.net/index.php?/site/a_child_of_the_community http://brenda.herchmer.net/index.php?/site/a_child_of_the_community#When:00:05:16Z She referred to her son as a child of the community. Participating in one of our community building workshops, the woman was responding to our question, “Where have you experienced community and why was it important?” She went on to explain that the chronic, life threatening illness of her young son had meant that residents of her small, rural community had stepped up, and stepped in to their lives, by providing not only emotional support but also extensive, ongoing fundraising efforts to help with expenses. She said that she and her son were often stopped in the street by people they didn’t even know and asked how they were doing. Somewhat emotional, she continued by saying, “For me, that kind of caring and connecting is what community is all about.”  While her feelings and understanding about the importance of community were pretty clear as the result of her firsthand experience, for some it may be more difficult to articulate and convey what it means. In large part, it is likely because community is about feelings.  Perhaps the most important feeling is that of being connected to others and of not being alone, of knowing that others in our community will help us even if they don’t know us. The woman at the workshop still seemed surprised by the fact that there were so many who reached out to help her family without even knowing who they were. This shared emotional connection seems to be the definitive element for true community. That connection is the result of personal, quality interaction, shared activities and events, and an almost spiritual, difficult-to-describe bonding with other members of that community. Research suggests this shared emotional connection is one of four elements that result in a sense of community. The other three elements are: membership, influence, and integration and fulfillment of needs.  An important aspect of a sense of community is membership in that community. Attributes of this membership could be the availability of emotional safety that makes it okay to reveal how one really feels, together with a sense of belonging and identification. Influence is also critical to community in that members of a group must feel empowered to influence what a group does. If that is lacking, they might not be motivated to participate. Within communities, people who acknowledge the needs, values, and opinions of others are typically the most influential group members. Those who push to influence, dominate others, and ignore the needs and recommendations of others are often the least powerful members. True communities also play a key role in integrating and fulfilling the needs of its members – meaning that which is desired and valued. Much like the golden rule, it means there is an interdependency that results in each member giving or doing for others, what one might hope to receive. Ultimately for each of us this sense of community is essential in that it gives us a feeling that we belong, we matter to one another and to the group, and we know our needs will be met because we are committed to being together. And yes, while that may be about something warm and fuzzy and difficult to measure, isn’t it something we’d all like to have in our lives? 2012-03-26T00:05:16+00:00 http://brenda.herchmer.net/index.php?/site/are_we_prepared_to_manage_ourselves http://brenda.herchmer.net/index.php?/site/are_we_prepared_to_manage_ourselves#When:01:50:22Z The disinterested look on her face and constant yawning made it apparent she was not with us by choice. Unlike the others in the workshop who came across as being keen to learn more about our subject of community leadership, she was definitely not an engaged participant. I later heard she had been told to attend the training. Clearly not a good choice for either her or the organization that sent her, it reinforced for me that it’s never a good idea to send people to courses they don’t want to go to. Until an individual sees the need for growth, no true learning is ever going to occur. On the other hand, people do develop and change when they feel responsible for their own progress.  If you are like me and have experienced learning something new as the result of being passionate about the subject matter, that probably won’t be news to you. Unfortunately the reality is that for the most part our education systems and workplaces have encouraged us to believe that someone else is responsible for our learning and growth. Many still believe it is someone else’s job to tell them what they need to get better at, and how to do it. However, because the pace of change is faster and more complex than in the past, it’s necessary for every one of us to think about the implications of changes and challenges and how they will impact our organizations, businesses, and communities. Unlike previous shifts in history, changes are occurring faster than we ever could have imagined.  To survive in this world of continuous change, it isn’t going to be enough to sign up ourselves or others for training sessions. Instead we will need to embrace responsibility for our own learning and growth and ultimately manage ourselves. American business guru Peter F. Drucker put it this way, “In a few hundred years, when the history of our time will be written from a long-term perspective, it is likely that the most important event historians will see is not technology, not the Internet, not e-commerce. It is an unprecedented change in the human condition. For the first time - literally - substantial and rapidly growing numbers of people have choices. For the first time, they will have to manage themselves. And society is totally unprepared for it.”   To get prepared for it, chances are we’ll need to unlearn our old ways before new theories, concepts, and approaches can be successfully identified and learned. And, we’re going to have to do this in a much quicker fashion. Unlearning and new learning is going to be necessary if we are to deal with complicated issues in our communities especially because experts suggest that it takes an estimated 17 years for only 14% of new scientific discoveries to enter day to day practice and become commonplace. Adapting to change will need to be done much faster if we are to counteract the rising costs of physical inactivity, obesity and chronic disease; an aging population; declining civic engagement; ensure environmental protection; reduce crime, and improve economic activity. As the reluctant workshop participant was likely reflecting, unlearning and new learning can be scary and counter-intuitive. Even more challenging will be the need to teach ourselves and each other how to unlearn and absorb new learnings at the same time. Our ability to learn how to do so will be the difference between surviving and thriving. Years ago, Alvin Toffler, the noted futurist and author of “Future Shock,” wrote, “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who can’t read and write, but those who can’t learn, unlearn and relearn.” My guess is that the woman who attended our workshop considers herself to be pretty literate.  However, she might just find herself to be in a heap of trouble if she doesn’t see the value in taking responsibility for being future ready by managing her own personal growth and development. That also means she will need to be committed to unlearning and relearning. 2012-03-19T01:50:22+00:00 http://brenda.herchmer.net/index.php?/site/a_message_from_the_universe http://brenda.herchmer.net/index.php?/site/a_message_from_the_universe#When:02:32:19Z Last week as I was carefully stopped at a yield sign waiting for traffic to clear, I was rudely and forcefully rear-ended by a driver who clearly wasn’t paying attention. Ultimately it wasn’t a big deal as I wasn’t terribly hurt and the guy who hit me totally acknowledged that it was his fault. Additionally, the car just happened to be a van rented for a work-related road trip and since we had signed up for comprehensive insurance coverage there wasn’t even a deductible to pay. I simply drove back to the dealer and got a replacement van. The incident did, however, make me stop and wonder what message the universe was trying to send me.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I really think the universe is all that invested in my life. But, it does seems that whenever anything bad happens or things get really tough, I feel driven to stop and ask myself what’s going on. It started a number of years ago when I was teaching at Niagara College and left work wearing a heavy backpack of papers and exams to be marked over the weekend. Unbeknownst to me, newly fallen snow hid a patch of black ice in the parking lot. I skidded as I hit the ice, lost my balance, and as the result of the weight on my shoulders, fell hard. As I was soon to learn, I had not only dislocated my ankle, but broken it in three places. Shortly after the surgery to pin it back together, my mother came to visit me in the hospital. After expressing the appropriate sympathy she looked at me rather quizzically and said, “I wonder what message the universe was trying to send you?” I remember being somewhat annoyed with the question and replied to her rather testily saying that it was just an accident.  It did though get me thinking, ultimately making me realize the message was that a broken ankle might just signify a need to slow down and try to regain some life balance. I’ve since learned that if I’m in a place where the universe appears to be telling me to change direction or to give up, it’s more about a need to stop and ask myself a few questions. For instance, “Is this really important? Why am I doing this? Should I give up on this? Am I missing something? Is there a better way to do this?  Are there other pathways to the same goals? Is there a deeper purpose to this?”  When the going gets tough, I also try to do some personal reflection about why I’m invested in what I’m currently doing. It involves checking in to see if I really feel I’m on the right path and doing the right things for the right reasons.  It may be that signs from the universe are more about learning and recognizing new ideas and directions. While they might seem to come from the universe, perhaps they’re really coming from within us as we grow and see our goals differently. Or, it might just be that a sign is a sign that we can choose to ignore, interpret as being either good or bad, or explore a little deeper. I stopped and asked myself many of these questions after the car accident. I’m not sure if I have the answers yet but I am wondering if maybe the message is that I need a shove to head in a new direction? Or perhaps it was just a case of needing to stop and be grateful for all that I have? I do know that the driver who hit me was surprised at how calmly I reacted. But, as I explained to him, I really do have a great life and if this is the worst that can happen to me, then I just need to count my blessings. Regardless of its source, it definitely was a meaningful message. 2012-03-14T02:32:19+00:00