Timing is Everything: Readiness to Learn

We all know the cliche:

You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink.

Last night George Couros posed the question to the Innovator’s Mindset Facebook Group:

I am curious to your thoughts on why this group has exploded compared to the last one. We had great participation in the first experience, but this has been so much more…I would love your feedback on what has been good, what you would do different, and if you were in the first group, comparisons to the first one.

Quite a few members responded by saying that the time of year was better, timing was better, word of mouth meant more people knew about it, and some folks who had participated in the first IMMOOC shared that they felt more ready, knowing what to expect.

If you are not aware of the learning happening right now, it is not too late to join #IMMOOC2, a connected professional learning experience based on The Innovator’s Mindset by George Couros.

How did I find out about it? I follow @gcouros on Twitter and one tweet led to a link, which led me to George’s IMMOOC website. What led me to click the link to purchase the book and join the learning group?

These Three things:

1. I was frustrated beyond belief by my annual review rating at work.
2. I needed to feed my professional passion by connecting with like minded professionals.
3. I was looking for examples of exemplary online learning communities.

I have a confession-I am not in the classroom, I am not in a school, I am not teaching, per se. But I am an educator and until recently, I considered myself to be a leader. Until recently I held all 8 of  characteristics of being an innovative leader in my field, and then big changes happened in my life and suddenly I no longer felt resilient and I lost my confidence and no longer wanted to take risks. I was at a point where I wanted to give up and give in and just go along to get along, which is against my nature. In my professional role I do not have a close network of colleagues or peers who I can rely on to help me figure out problems, trouble shoot viable solutions, and share ideas. There is no shortage of creativity, but I get stuck when trying to innovate inside my box. 

Thankfully, innovation is not about the stuff; it is a way of thinking. (p.35)

Eight years ago I was in a similar professional mindset and that is when I joined Twitter. The ability to connect with like minded professionals and others who are passionate and thoughtful, or funny and light hearted, help me to think creatively. We cannot learn and grow in isolation.

Networks are crucial to innovation…Isolation is often the enemy of innovation (p.53)

Although I am no longer working in schools, I am and will always be an educator and an innovator. I did not expect The Innovator’s Mindset to be so relevant and applicable to life, in general, and right now, it is quite relevant to my professional life. George’s mantra of an innovative educator is my mantra right now-just substitute the word “education” and it is a mantra for life.