Article about Personal and Professional Development
Christy Putnam
I came across this article and as I read it, I was thinking this is what
unschooling is like. I am going to send it to my dh. Then I thought, well
if this will help my dh understand a bit better, maybe it will help other
people. I have added my comments in [brackets] to show how I relate this to
unschooling ... pretty much I just kept relating what our kids do is the
same as what adults do. So I share it with you. let me know your comments.
----------------------------------------------------
*** Article: Personal and Professional Development -- What's the Difference?
- By Kevin Eikenberry ***
----------------------------------------------------
When people ask me about my business, I tell them I'm in the learning
business -- that we help organizations, teams and individuals reach their
potential through learning. This is a fine statement and it does describe
the breadth of what we do, but it often leads to the follow-up question
like... "Do you do personal development stuff or just business skills
training?"
My answer is yes. Because I don't believe there is a significant difference
between personal development and professional development. Why do I say
that?
The Reasons Why:
Since my opinion might differ from yours, or perhaps you've never thought
about this, it makes sense to explain myself. There are at least five major
reasons why I think personal [or parenting] and professional development are
the same thing. Learning is Learning. We were granted an amazing potential
for learning at birth. Most of us haven't used very much of that potential.
It's like we are mowing our lawn with a jet engine. Sure the jet engine has
enough horsepower to turn the blade, but it has virtually unlimited
potential that isn't being used. When we are learning we are increasing our
capacity to learn more because we are flexing and exercising our "learning
muscles." In other words, whenever we are learning we are increasing our
capacity to learn even more.
All Experience Counts.
One of the powerful ways that we learn is by connecting new learning to what
we already know. As we continue to build our knowledge and experiences, it
allows us to make new connections faster. In other words, the more we learn,
the more successful we will be at learning new things, and in most
situations more quickly with deeper understanding.
We're a Whole Package.
It isn't like we go to work and don't use anything we know from our personal
life to be more effective professionally. And while we may not need to know
how to repair rotating drum equipment at home--those skills might help you
diagnose the problem with your washing machine. And even though you don't
have to back up the system database at home, you might be able to deal with
your home PC better because of what you learned at work. And while you hope
you'll never need to follow the new Customer Service procedure at home, that
procedure might teach you something when following a process, or be more
understanding when you are the customer [or child].
The bottom line is that we are complete humans [children are human too], and
as such we take our entire work knowledge home and bring all of our personal
knowledge and experience to work. So any form of growth or development will
benefit you both personally and professionally.
The Most Important Skills are Always the Most Important.
Where does being a better listener help you--at home or at work? Both, of
course. When you learn how to coach more effectively at work, does it make
you a better parent? It sure can! We could make a long list of these
valuable skills, from communication to dealing with conflict, to learning
how to learn, to giving better feedback to being more creative... you get
the idea (and have probably thought of five other examples yourself by now).
There are many skills that we might learn as "self improvement" that will
help us at work, and vice versa. So why label it one or the other?
Serendipity Rules.
Because our learning grows based on connections, you never know when
something you learned on the Discovery Channel might give you an 'a-ha' at
work, or that the insight shared by the seminar leader at work helps you
solve a vexing problem at home. Again, all development, all learning, all
growth helps us in all parts of our lives. But wait. Does all of this mean
that as I become a better knitter or bowler, I'll be more productive and
successful at work? Yes, for the reasons I described above (and some others
too).
That doesn't mean that your organization should send everyone to knitting
class or bowling lessons, but it does mean that there is substantial merit
in supporting any form of learning regardless of the content. In the end, my
goal is to help you view all skills more broadly in their
application--instead of classifying some things as "personal development"
[important/relevant] and therefore they don't matter at work [or at all].
Learning is learning. Personal development is professional development. When
you stop worrying about the distinctions, but rather think about the
applications, you serve yourself and others [your children] much better.
About the Author:
Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential Officer of
The Kevin Eikenberry Group - <http://kevineikenberry.com/>
http://KevinEikenberry.com - a learning consulting company. To receive a
free Special Report on leadership that includes resources, ideas, and advice
go to <http://www.kevineikenberry.com/leadership.asp>
http://www.kevineikenberry.com/leadership.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424
or 888.LEARNER.
In Gratitude,
Christy Putnam
Unschooling Mom to Aden (1) and Seth (11)
Loving wife of Chet (ann. 7/4/04)
<http://blog.myspace.com/personal_balance>
http://blog.myspace.com/personal_balance
"Go confidently in the direction of your
dreams. Live the life you have always
imagined." - Henry David Thoreau
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
unschooling is like. I am going to send it to my dh. Then I thought, well
if this will help my dh understand a bit better, maybe it will help other
people. I have added my comments in [brackets] to show how I relate this to
unschooling ... pretty much I just kept relating what our kids do is the
same as what adults do. So I share it with you. let me know your comments.
----------------------------------------------------
*** Article: Personal and Professional Development -- What's the Difference?
- By Kevin Eikenberry ***
----------------------------------------------------
When people ask me about my business, I tell them I'm in the learning
business -- that we help organizations, teams and individuals reach their
potential through learning. This is a fine statement and it does describe
the breadth of what we do, but it often leads to the follow-up question
like... "Do you do personal development stuff or just business skills
training?"
My answer is yes. Because I don't believe there is a significant difference
between personal development and professional development. Why do I say
that?
The Reasons Why:
Since my opinion might differ from yours, or perhaps you've never thought
about this, it makes sense to explain myself. There are at least five major
reasons why I think personal [or parenting] and professional development are
the same thing. Learning is Learning. We were granted an amazing potential
for learning at birth. Most of us haven't used very much of that potential.
It's like we are mowing our lawn with a jet engine. Sure the jet engine has
enough horsepower to turn the blade, but it has virtually unlimited
potential that isn't being used. When we are learning we are increasing our
capacity to learn more because we are flexing and exercising our "learning
muscles." In other words, whenever we are learning we are increasing our
capacity to learn even more.
All Experience Counts.
One of the powerful ways that we learn is by connecting new learning to what
we already know. As we continue to build our knowledge and experiences, it
allows us to make new connections faster. In other words, the more we learn,
the more successful we will be at learning new things, and in most
situations more quickly with deeper understanding.
We're a Whole Package.
It isn't like we go to work and don't use anything we know from our personal
life to be more effective professionally. And while we may not need to know
how to repair rotating drum equipment at home--those skills might help you
diagnose the problem with your washing machine. And even though you don't
have to back up the system database at home, you might be able to deal with
your home PC better because of what you learned at work. And while you hope
you'll never need to follow the new Customer Service procedure at home, that
procedure might teach you something when following a process, or be more
understanding when you are the customer [or child].
The bottom line is that we are complete humans [children are human too], and
as such we take our entire work knowledge home and bring all of our personal
knowledge and experience to work. So any form of growth or development will
benefit you both personally and professionally.
The Most Important Skills are Always the Most Important.
Where does being a better listener help you--at home or at work? Both, of
course. When you learn how to coach more effectively at work, does it make
you a better parent? It sure can! We could make a long list of these
valuable skills, from communication to dealing with conflict, to learning
how to learn, to giving better feedback to being more creative... you get
the idea (and have probably thought of five other examples yourself by now).
There are many skills that we might learn as "self improvement" that will
help us at work, and vice versa. So why label it one or the other?
Serendipity Rules.
Because our learning grows based on connections, you never know when
something you learned on the Discovery Channel might give you an 'a-ha' at
work, or that the insight shared by the seminar leader at work helps you
solve a vexing problem at home. Again, all development, all learning, all
growth helps us in all parts of our lives. But wait. Does all of this mean
that as I become a better knitter or bowler, I'll be more productive and
successful at work? Yes, for the reasons I described above (and some others
too).
That doesn't mean that your organization should send everyone to knitting
class or bowling lessons, but it does mean that there is substantial merit
in supporting any form of learning regardless of the content. In the end, my
goal is to help you view all skills more broadly in their
application--instead of classifying some things as "personal development"
[important/relevant] and therefore they don't matter at work [or at all].
Learning is learning. Personal development is professional development. When
you stop worrying about the distinctions, but rather think about the
applications, you serve yourself and others [your children] much better.
About the Author:
Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential Officer of
The Kevin Eikenberry Group - <http://kevineikenberry.com/>
http://KevinEikenberry.com - a learning consulting company. To receive a
free Special Report on leadership that includes resources, ideas, and advice
go to <http://www.kevineikenberry.com/leadership.asp>
http://www.kevineikenberry.com/leadership.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424
or 888.LEARNER.
In Gratitude,
Christy Putnam
Unschooling Mom to Aden (1) and Seth (11)
Loving wife of Chet (ann. 7/4/04)
<http://blog.myspace.com/personal_balance>
http://blog.myspace.com/personal_balance
"Go confidently in the direction of your
dreams. Live the life you have always
imagined." - Henry David Thoreau
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]