Staying Sharp, Together

Treasured readers,

I spent last Friday presenting an ethics seminar to a room full of fire inspectors at the Institute for Building Officials at the University of Minnesota.  We had a lively discussion (banishing my greatest fear: eight hours of silent staring), which included some interesting themes about ongoing improvement and the need to stay sharp.   These folks get paid to “be the expert,” and they diffuse conflicts based on their expertise.  Successful inspectors back that up with lots of homework, and balance confidence with an awareness of their limitations.  The great ones maintain a network of peers and mentors, and rely on people and written resources to come up with the best ways to promote safety and code compliance in their communities.  It takes a lot of ongoing work, some of it teamwork, to “make it look easy.”

(We interrupt this blog post for a shameless commercial message:)

One great opportunity for you to hone your skills and develop both personally and professionally is a program led by Tom Laughlin of Caravela, Inc..  Fundamentals of Effective Leadership is a three-month, cohort-based program suitable for emerging and experienced leaders.  I contribute to this course, as well.   It is a great program (if we do say so ourselves – but so do many alumni), at a very reasonable price. The next course is enrolling now, for a March kickoff.  Check out the Website, or contact Tom for more information.  This is a great way to do something special for yourself – or a team member – in 2012.

 (We now return to our irregularly-scheduled program:)

I’m incredibly fortunate: I spend most of my professional life with people who are committed to ongoing improvement.  Workshops are great, but even better are the cohort-based programs we lead, which bring together people to learn from one another over a period of time.  This is low-tech stuff: a group of people who want to get better, some powerful ideas (old and new), and the time to discuss and apply those ideas in the real world.  It is as ancient as a campfire, and as valuable today as it has been throughout the ages.  I look forward to these sessions every month, with groups ranging from fire departments, to health care leaders, to trade and professional association executives.  The particulars differ, but the practical wisdom of these leaders is remarkably consistent across widely varied leadership contexts.  So is the obvious benefit that participants get from sharing their challenges and solutions with one another.

How do you stay sharp?  Whom do you count on to help you?