I particularly love your point about being “joyfully incomplete.” One gift of learning is to know that we are “incomplete” (in that we cannot know everything … that’s where humility comes to play), yet to also know that we can lean into that “incompleteness” (that “unknown”) with a sense of joy and experimentation. Then, both “what” we learn and “how” we learn becomes gratifying.

This attitude toward learning is especially relevant now, as we — individually and collectively — lean into the unknowns of our world; as jobs, economies, business performance and, truthfully, our lives are in incredible flux, we have an opportunity to approach this flux with optimism, creativity and a determination to create something meaningful, positive and sustainable.

As a global society, we are at a critical juncture of life and work, and we can choose to use this juncture to evolve our ways of relating with one another, with ourselves and with the planet. We can choose to learn something new about what it means to be human.

The first is humility. So many people achieve a high level of aptitude at what ever it is they pursue and then become stagnant. The humility to overcome your own success is a crucial trait of those, like Mr. Woods, who would be truly great leaders. Not long ago, I read a memo called “Strengthening GM’s Organizational Capacity” written in the late 1980′s by a man named Elmer Johnson who was purportedly being groomed for the CEO position at the time. The memo was a plea to address the issues that had propagated in GM’s culture that he felt were hindering their prospects for future success. He describes a culture fraught with lassitude and an inability to execute created by more than 50 years of dominance in the auto industry. GM is a perfect example of what not to do. After so long on top of the game, the organization saw itself as “entitled” to success, regardless of how it actually conducted its business operations. We all know where that has gotten them as of late. Incidentally, Mr. Johnson left GM not long after his memo was written but his predictions are eerily accurate given the events of the past few months.

The second piece of the puzzle is the idea of being joyfully incomplete. Have you ever taken up a new hobby just because you were very good at something you enjoyed? After a lifetime of alpine skiing in places that most people would think are insane, I recently became a full-time telemark skier. Wow is it HARD! But I enjoy that I am actively learning and feeling the joy of progress with something I love so much. The milestones are memorable, and I just love that sense of accomplishment when I “get” some new little piece of the puzzle. Always remembering to be joyfully incomplete makes learning so much FUN, and is a crucial part of not only becoming, but remaining a leader of others.

Thank you Dr. Moorefield, I return to this blog often to read the articles you have posted here. It is one of the tools I intend to use for a long time to always be learning something new and expanding my own horizons.

Regards,
Nathan Singsen

Are there any particular topics you’d like to see me cover in this blog in the future? I’m interested in your input. Thanks so much.