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Everyday moments that leave us puzzled, challenged, or disappointed can be the most useful sources of development:
A conversation keeps replaying in your mind. Why did it go that way? Did you miss something crucial, or is there another way to make sense of what happened?
A decision that should be straightforward isn't. The more you think about it, the less obvious the answer gets. Could a new viewpoint or question help?
Something that used to work suddenly doesn't. What about the situation has changed? Have you reached the limits of an old way of seeing it?
When something is new or different, or the challenge is bigger, a proven technique or skill you had learned may not be enough to address it. Complex and dynamic problems do not respond well to simple interventions, however well those may have worked elsewhere. To stay on top of things, we need to upgrade our thinking.
Development often begins with noticing that a question has continued to keep you awake at night, a work conflict is not getting resolved, you begin to wonder whether a new role or responsibility might be too much, you are stuck at an impossible career crossroads or, conversely, a sudden insight into a familiar challenge hits you.
When something needs deciding, resolving, or adjusting, we all can be quick to turn to proven solutions to neutralize any discomfort. Yet such random moments can be fantastic for development: Just get curious about the challenge — and about your thinking.
As you consider causes, interests, and perspectives, your mind expands. Your choices and their impact become better informed. Your way of thinking through the situation shifts. When the next challenge arrives, you'll be ready to respond more consciously.
Learning adds to what we know and can do, but development changes the mind: When familiar approaches stop working (often because the problems we face have grown bigger), the way forward is through slowing down to examine the bigger picture, notice how our choices affect others, and help the world see we care.
Our mind develops in response to challenges. They show up in random, or we can seek them deliberately, and be intentional about the development that follows: We can try on perspectives, zoom out, reflect on relationships and impact, be mindful of where our attention goes. So if something challenging has been on your mind for a while, pause and explore. One of these perhaps?
Stay with the challenge for a bit, reflect, journal, sleep on it, explore it from new angles. Why is it a challenge? How is it different from the ones you faced before? What about it bothers you? ...
There are many ways to get curious about the challenges you encounter. As you think about that thing that has been on your mind for a while, try one of the below moves to experiment with, and notice what you discover. There is no right place to begin. A particular move may help you work through today's problem; another may become useful months from now. Sometimes, you may find that two or three work well together.
Random Development isn't something to work through from beginning to end. Dip in when something catches your attention, return when life gives you something worth exploring, and take an idea as far as it proves useful. Here are some options:
A short provocation, story or question might arrive at just the right moment — or it may help you notice something useful that you hadn't been looking for.
Follow the question through a developmental challenge, useful research, another perspective, or a small experiment in your own work and life.
Sometimes another person helps us see what isn't obvious to us from inside the situation. Bring something real, and we can get curious about it together.
I am flexible. Suggest a time for a chat.
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Are you wrestling with a decision, career question, organizational change or leadership challenge? And do you have the sense that your usual way of seeing something is no longer quite enough? Bring the situation, and I can be a discovery partner on the side. We can examine what is happening, looking for new perspectives, questions, and actions that may help you move forward. Along with exploring the immediate challenge from new angles, something about how you see, understand, or approach situations may shift — expanding your mindset for when the next random challenge arrives. Send me a quick note with what's on your mind, and let's connect. |
You are ready! You don't need a development plan, a clear idea of what to learn, or how to do any of this 'right.' With curiosity about whatever life and work have put in front of you, see what becomes possible from here. Start now.
