“I do a lot, I get it done fast, I get it done well. I stop
at nothing. And yet there is a gap between what I accomplish and what I need. I
have gotten very good at doing. But I am now in a place where need a chance to
pause and develop more—I need language to connect the dots between what I can
see, hear, feel and what I want to have dialogue about. When it comes to
leadership development, I can instinctually describe what good or bad
leadership may look like, or what products might develop under it, but the
theory geek in me needs words and tools to be able to better inspire others to
reach a similar place and give them voice.”
Those were my words, just a few
months ago, as submitted in one of my Emerging Leaders application essays. As I sat on the long train ride home to
south Jersey Monday night, I reflected on just how much language I have acquired
over the past two sessions, and what an impact it has had on this “theory geek”
already. (Notice new terms bolded throughout this post.)
Let’s take Myers-Briggs, for instance. Before June 19th,
I had really struggled with what I thought were inherent and unchangeable
personality traits that put me at odds with colleagues in certain situations. I
could sense it…but I didn’t know how to discuss it. Was I the only one who
spoke this way, or approached a problem that way? How do you have a
conversation about personality?
These differences never got in the way of relationships at
work, but nevertheless I always felt like I was an odd (wo)man out in certain
regards, or that my thinking was at times "wrong". Through Yael’s careful
facilitation of Myers-Briggs, differences in type were brought to life, illustrated through real-world examples,
and then teamed with a reveal of our individual MBTI. I, an ENTP, came to realize that I just have
a different preference for how I focus
attention, take in and process information, make decisions, and deal with the
external world. I am not, in fact, an outsider, but just have different ways of
being…and now I have language to both recognize and discuss what is happening.
This has dramatically improved my working relationships and project-related
work in two important ways. First, I came to find that many colleagues had also
taken Myers-Briggs at some point, and were eager to share their results—and now
we had a common language to celebrate those traits that make us unique and talk
though differences in a new way. Second, I sharpened my lens, which I can now
use to own my fortes and be more aware of potential blind spots to further
improve the ways I approach problems or projects at work.
Likewise, the second session provided more language for my vocabulary.
While the words may have always been there, the 360 degree feedback gave me a
new way to look at words on a page and be able to start meaningful conversations
at work. Case in point—I considered my ability to probe and dig when testing a
solution to a problem to be a strength of mine. A few colleagues, in addition
to my supervisor, identified this area as a place where I could further
develop. Did we have the same words? Yes. But have we been speaking the same language?
Clearly not! I am grateful for the opportunity to see gaps in thinking, and look
forward to having conversations with peers and supervisors at my organization to that will help inform a self-composed plan to track progress in the areas where I need development—those I knew I needed
to improve upon, and those I am hearing that I do. Thus, the 360 enabled me to
feel affirmation when it came to some strengths I recognize in myself, feel
humbled by seeing strengths I may not have otherwise known I have, and paved a
pathway to professional growth in other areas that need a bit more nurturing or
attention.
Let me conclude here. The brilliant Daniel Oscar, President & CEO for the
Center for Supportive Schools and our guest speaker this month, provided many gems Monday
afternoon, one of which I will close this post out with—that of a commitment device. I have been wanting
to blog, both personally and for Emerging Leaders, and volunteered to write
this month to test out this commitment device—a mechanism (in this case the act
of volunteering) put into place to ensure you carry out something (blogging) you
want to do and otherwise may not—new language yet again. I added this candid
piece of information because I want to continue to blog, and by declaring it
for the world to see, I am thus putting yet another piece of learning into
practice that will inevitably help shape me into the professional I want
to become. I look forward very much to the next session in September, all the new language and skills I will acquire,
and blogging about it thereafter.