Your Professional Edge - Take Charge of Your Learning

Editor's Notes: For the next few weeks The 1% Edge Portable Coach App will have a special guest - leadership development expert from "down under" Louise Thomson. As I've been working out the use of the app to achieve my overall goal of employee training & development world-wide (under the premise of mobile - global - social), I will be inviting guest SMEs - subject matter experts to have their own Tab on the app that will house their information during their guest appearance. Louise's Tab - is labeled Global People (2 swipes to the left)

Louise Thomson
Australia

Louise, like me, is a believer in the employee training revolution. One of the components of the revolution is that people no longer be fully dependent on their company for their professional development - but take charge of that themselves.  If you've not read my piece on the revolution - click here.

Additionally, part of that is learning to learn different. Louise points out there are many opportunities to learn that we are just not seeing. I invite you to read her post below and go to her tab and try out the self-directed learning outline that she has designed. Let her know your thoughts. This truly is an example of learning to learn differently.

A Leadership Development Handbook

As a regular facilitator of a five day leadership program I am constantly reflecting on activities, events and issues which have groomed my strength of leadership. As I share snippets of my past to flavour the leadership topic of discussion, it’s evident that most days have and still do present opportunities to hone and practise leadership.

Given people’s busy lives, the simple leadership development opportunities are passed unnoticed and we only become conscious for the need of leadership development when we’re confronted with the absence of leadership, a new role/job which requires leadership experience or when it’s blatantly obvious – being offered to attend a ‘leadership’ program.

With a belief that we are in charge of our own learning and that the journey has no end point I found myself typing these ‘snippets of my past’ to form the creation of the Leadership Development Handbook.  As you flick through the pages (there are only a few), you’ll discover a collection of tips, activities, experiments and research across a breadth of leadership subjects. However, the answers are not glaringly obvious or as a matter of fact, many are not there!

Your challenge is to experiment, to reflect and to let your fingers do the searching. You’ll discover a plethora of information at your finger-tips and a network of people who are prepared to share their ‘wisdom’ and ideas to keep you interested, challenged and to keep you on the leadership development track.

The audience and approach to the use of this handbook is open and varied: whether it’s for you, with a desire to develop your own leadership capacity or that of the people whom you’re responsible for in a business – check out ‘Swapping Chairs’ for a few ideas!

Contact Our Guest: Louise Thomson GLOBAL PEOPLE Learning Design, Facilitation and Leadership Development Practice Mobile: 0458 130100 Skype: globalpeoplelou Twitter: GlobalPeopleLou Email: globalpeople@sandhurst.net.au

The 1% Edge Portable Coach - The App - access the app through your app store or use the QR codes to the right (available on all smartphone platforms).

This blog is based on this book. In it are actionable ideas on being a better manager: The 1% Edge - The Workbook - Power Strategies to Increase Your Management Effectiveness