Developing your Critical Thinking and the Leader inside

I am passionate about self-development and ways to improve yourself. Up until now, I can say that I have mastered one critical aspect: continuous learning. Let me explain.

Business today requires us to always deliver great results, by providing decreasing resources to increase profit margin. Or, shortly put: MORE with LESS.

I don't think this is actually possible if we continue to do the things the same way we did it in the past - what worked then, might continue to work today as well, or not... So you have to be prepared to adjust to the new requirements, to change based on how the world around us change, always dapt and discover new ways of doing things.

My key learning was that I have to never stop learning, never stop reading about how others are doing things, how others achieve great results, and see how this might give me ideas on how to change. I might not apply it today, or not even tomorrow, but it does build a different way of thinking, it does open up your mind to new approaches.

I've found today one really interesting article from HBR called "How Companies Can Develop Critical Thinkers and Creative Leaders" - making a comparison of the experiential learning that happens in the army and the one that should take place inside companies, but does not. I suggest you reading it, and let me know how much of your time do you spend it in working at your job, and how much you devote to your learning (formal, informal, coaching, mentoring, reading, experiential)...

Comments

[Goal driven] A technique that has (almost) nothing to do with tomatoes

I know a lot of theory about time management, techniques, ways of organizing yourself and so. And I am sharing my knowledge with others as well. But the most rewarding part comes from actually applying these techniques myself. For example – using the Pomodoro technique has given me the joy of achieving significant progress in just a small amount of time. Imagine a bright red, glossy tomato-shaped kitchen timer sitting on a clean wooden desk. Its rounded surface gleams under soft daylight, with a small green stem on top, mimicking the look of a real pomodoro. Around its circumference, bold white numbers mark the minutes, with a simple arrow indicator showing the current countdown. The timer’s dial is currently set to 25 minutes, signifying the start of a focused work interval. Nearby, a notebook and pen suggest readiness for productivity, while the timer’s classic wind-up mechanism adds a tactile, satisfying element to the scene – a perfect embodiment of the Pomodoro technique in ...

[Management lessons] When the Best Plans Fail: Lessons from a troubled launch

A few months ago, my team was gearing up to launch a new automation tool for case assignment - a project that is key for the future, and also were we spent so much energy into. We spent weeks identifying scenarios, testing in a dev environment, and reflecting on potential issues. We wrote crystal-clear documentation and worked with a rockstar team of developers, testers, and communicators. We thought we had every base covered. But when launch day arrived, chaos ensued. The tool hit snags that never showed up in testing - edge cases we hadn’t anticipated. Worse, some team members seemed blindsided by the changes, despite our efforts to keep everyone in the loop. It was a classic “complex failure,” as Amy C. Edmondson describes in her book Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well . Complex failures, Edmondson explains, aren’t the result of one person’s mistake or a single oversight. They happen in intricate systems where multiple factors - technology, human behavior, and unexpe...

Getting PMP certified

I've got a lot of friends asking me about how to get certified. Each time, I had to remember how many hours of experience one had to have, and how many hours of learning, and then which where the links that were most useful for me, as well as all the books and software I have ever used. In terms of specific requirements for getting certified, the best resource will always be pmi.org, with a direct link to the requirements: PMI site - Obtaining the Credential . The site lists a credential overview, and then there (currently) 5 handbooks for the 5 available certifications. There is also a page with how to prepare for the exam, from an administrative point of view. If you are new to project management, then you will have to go with the CAPM certification. Then, the rest of certifications are for more and more experienced PMs. I only know well about the PMP certification, as it's the one I've got. First step is to ensure that you meet the elgibility requirements. At the t...

Management, Coaching, Consulting, Project services

Search This Blog