Learning and development remind me of the transformation of the butterfly and the pollination of the bumblebee. A famously humble and brilliant mentor of mine, Harrison Owen, the creator of Open Space Technology, tells us that when it comes to learning preference, people can act like either Bumblebees or Butterflies. The bumblebees follow whatever interests them, moving freely among ideas and “cross-pollinating” them with each other. The butterflies are more quietly focused, but their quiet elegance is lovely and casts reflective moments of inspiration. I sometimes wonder: When you hear about a learning, are you most attracted to learning how to enrich your current interests? Or are you more attracted to the prospect of deepening your knowledge of how you can use your strengths in service of more development?
New possibilities await in our Intervention Mastery Skills: Presence and Strategic Use of Self workshop, which is coming to Toronto, Ontario in November 2017, and most relevant if you are in the fields of coaching, consulting, leadership, and management, all of which are heavily invested in this issue of how to use your awareness and presence for making the difference through intervention.
This workshop focuses on the power of using our awareness—self-awareness, situational awareness, awareness of others–as the key to influencing and effecting learning and change. After many years of reflection and teaching, I explain the multi-layered brilliance of Gestalt theory and practice regarding awareness in my 2017 book, A Gestalt Coaching Primer: The Path Toward Awareness IQ. In the “telling” process, what emerged was a further evolutionary concept of a holistic, multi-dimensional understanding of “presence” (the way we present ourselves to the world) and “use of self” (the ways that we leverage our presence to effect change). The concept of Awareness IQ was born from this work but assimilates cutting-edge research from other disciplines, including mindfulness, neuroscience, and “heart intelligence.” And, most relevant to all professionals who have knowledge to master, the key factor in delivering knowledge is how available one is to being aware in the moment that allows for better choices and decision-making.
If you are interested, please join us November 28-30, 2017 in Toronto for a memorable experience. Find your presence, learn how to strategically use it, and make a difference for yourself and for those you work with.
