Explorers Mindset
Mike House
?? I help leaders create clarity in uncertain environments & mentor others for impact ?? Leadership ?? Team Development ?? Change ?? Resilience ?? Speaker ?? Facilitator ??Author of 'Thrive and Adapt' & '(Un)shakeable'
Did you ever have an experience at school that stoked your desire to learn or try something new?? I had many. Unfortunately, I also experienced the opposite.?
I struggled with Physics. We shared the class with a genius. Not a ‘my child is a genius’ type genius either.? A ‘fair dinkum’ offered university places at 15 and went on to run a proton accelerator type genius.?
We’ll call him Bill.
One day, I and several other ‘lower third’ class mates were struggling with a new concept. The teacher had repeated himself a number of times. It just wasn’t making sense and we were all getting frustrated. Eventually the teacher snapped,
“If Bill can do it, you should be able to get this into your thick skulls.”
It was the moment my physics effort and desire tanked. If Bill was the benchmark, I had no hope.?
Learning something new can be a risky business. It takes a combination of confidence to ‘have a crack’,? a supportive environment, and a willing teacher. Those elements are part of psychological safety. That moment removed all three.
领英推荐
Over summer, I've been reading Peter Fitzsimons fantastic account of little known Australian explorer Hubert Wilkins (1888 - 1958).
Wilkins sets out to learn how to build an Iglu from the Eskimos he is travelling with. Expedition leader Stephansson is delighted.
“It delighted Steph, who for decades has rolled his eyes at the notion, long expounded by previous explorers, that building an Iglu is ‘a mysterious racial quality belonging exclusively to the Eskimo’. No, it is a skill that can be learnt by men who, firstly are humble and smart enough to ask the Eskimos how to do it, and secondly diligent enough to knuckle down and try.”
All the Psychologically Safe elements needed for effective learning are here:
How does your workplace stack up as a psychologically safe place to learn? Which elements could be strengthened?
If you’d like some assistance with that, let me know.
?? I help leaders create clarity in uncertain environments & mentor others for impact ?? Leadership ?? Team Development ?? Change ?? Resilience ?? Speaker ?? Facilitator ??Author of 'Thrive and Adapt' & '(Un)shakeable'
3 年If you'd like a checklist for creating #PsychologicalSafety in the workplace, post "Checklist" in a comment below.
Public Speaking & Storytelling Specialist | Global Public Speaker | Former TEDx Head Speaker Coach
3 年Mike House - I’ve studied alongside a few Bills! One is now a tech investor in Sillicon Valley, one runs a family foundation and the other has now become a highly successful businessman. I can also relate to the incident where your teacher. Sadly it happened too many times to recall, in Kenya and Perth, and it killed my desire to try new things. Fast forward to Chatterbox - everything I do is based on providing a “fail-safe” and supportive environment. I never look at things as failure and instead, treat them as experiences. I show my clients that things often don’t go as planned for me (and I post this on LinkedIn too!) I think showing empathy and understanding goes a long way to how people respond, and gives them the courage to try again. Your thoughts, Amy? And Suzanne - I’m sure you would have something to say here too :)
?? I help leaders create clarity in uncertain environments & mentor others for impact ?? Leadership ?? Team Development ?? Change ?? Resilience ?? Speaker ?? Facilitator ??Author of 'Thrive and Adapt' & '(Un)shakeable'
3 年Shil and Professor Gary Martin, you both create environments for people to learn new and challenging skills. What's your take on the elements for a great learning environment?
?? I help leaders create clarity in uncertain environments & mentor others for impact ?? Leadership ?? Team Development ?? Change ?? Resilience ?? Speaker ?? Facilitator ??Author of 'Thrive and Adapt' & '(Un)shakeable'
3 年How does your working environment encourage or discourage learning?
?? I help leaders create clarity in uncertain environments & mentor others for impact ?? Leadership ?? Team Development ?? Change ?? Resilience ?? Speaker ?? Facilitator ??Author of 'Thrive and Adapt' & '(Un)shakeable'
3 年The support of Wilkins expedition leader, and his indigenous teachers, contrasts greatly to my high school physics teacher.