“We are not what we know, but what we are willing to learn.”
Mary Catherine Bateson
It is easy to get caught up in what you know (or think you know). It is easy to get caught up in what you have done. It is easy to get caught up in your own press clippings and simply bask in the glow of the good evaluations at the end of a course. It is easy to get caught up in your past accomplishments. Be cautious of the easy way.
The challenge to always focus on:
- What you can learn next.
- How you can grow more.
- How you can make your training even better.
- How you can improve the learning environment for your officers.
This focus takes more effort, more time, more commitment, more focus, and more of your own funds. This focus requires you to read more,attend more classes and conferences, watch more training videos, and listen to more audio books and presentations.
This focus requires you to ask more questions, rather than assume you have all the answers. This focus requires you to hang out with people that are smarter than you so you can learn, rather than always seeking to be the smartest person in the room. This focus requires you to surround yourself with people that will ask questions of you, challenge you and offer you constructive feedback, rather than surrounding yourself with people that will just tell you how great you are.
This focus requires you to be humble. To accept the compliments and accolades with a simple, “Thank you. I appreciate that.” before moving on to the next phase of learning.
This focus however, will make you a better trainer, a better leader and a better person. To borrow a phrase from Jim Collins, this focus will take your training from good to great. More importantly this focus will take your officers from good to great.
Take care.
Brian Willis,
Thought Leader, Speaker, Trainer, Author and president of Winning Mind Training Inc.
Training law enforcement professionals to W.I.N. through Life’s Most Powerful Question.
Make sure to sign up for the W.I.N. Newsletter. To book Brian to speak at your event contact him at winningmind@mac.com.