Mike Collins our own DPG Head of Customer Experience, prompted me to do a selfie of "What inspires you about L&D?" as part of promoting the CIPD L&D show next week and coincidentally David Allen shared an update on LinkedIn asking "Who inspires you?". Both these prompts have got me thinking....
Life in the last year has taken an unusual turn for me... I am very busy working and also need to be busy because of my circumstances. I love what I do but what happens when I come back from a training event shattered and in need of an early night? What makes me get up early the next day to prepare for the next event? What makes be give my all for the next client, even though my energy reserves are low?
The "selfie" says it all(nearly). Any trainer who has been around the block will know exactly what a light bulb moment is. For me sometimes it is almost imperceptible.... a faint glimmer that something has shifted, changed or landed. It is not always comfortable for the learner, when this happens, but it signals the start of something. I can detect it sometimes because the individual goes quiet and may appear deep in thought. The opposite might happen too - I have had the odd individual be quiet vocal when they "get it".
So who inspires me? That is much more personal. I wanted to think of someone eminent, gargantuan in reputation and add some witty line to show how I was using that individual's actions to model my own career. In reality my inspiration comes from a good friend, who lived life to the full and made all around her feel they were special. She made me laugh, still makes me smile when I think of her and reminds me that there are bigger things to be worried about than the colours on my flipcharts or the number of LinkedIn connections. People are important. Relationships are important. Being real with people is important. If you can make a difference to one persons life, whoever that person is ..... then that makes it all worth while. That is what gets me out of bed in the morning......
My friends name? Pat McHale..... sadly no longer with us in person, but here we are having peach bellinis last February at lunchtime, in north London.
Comments
Hello Krystyna,
Talking about what/who inspires us is always an interesting topic. There are so many things nowadays that can inspire us, but for me the inspiration comes from those people who show passion for what they are doing and a constant desire to make things better not only for them but also for people around them. People who share and pass on their passion and knowledge to the others are inspirational to me and make me want improve myself and help others too. And our society needs inspirational people or role models more than ever. An educational system based much more on role models would be maybe more successful and with greater outcomes.
Sorina