July 3, 2007 by Kara.

1. Listen - Photoshop 2 minute tricks (in audio and video formats)
2. Learn - Hewlett Packard Online Free Classes for IT Professionals and the general public
3. Learn - MIT Open Courseware - hundreds of MIT courses there for your perusal anytime
4. Link - Lifehacker
5. Live - Take an Earthwatch vacation - learn while you see some of the most amazing scenery in the world and help advance scientific research.
6. Learn - Personal Development for Smart People by Steve Pavlina
7. Learn - Annenberg Media

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February 12, 2007 by karamonroe.

Blog lifehack posted the original series of questions which inspired me to start this blog and this question/answer set was one that really caught my attention. However, I’ve not been ready to post my response to it until now.  Recently, I’ve been doing a great deal of reflection on my strengths and weaknesses, particularly as they relate to my work.  I’ve come up with the following strengths:

1. The ability to make order out of chaos
2. The ability to apply technology to a situation to streamline a process
3. The ability to teach people a new skill (and the desire to do this teaching)
4. The ability to pick up new skills myself and apply them to existing problems

I’ve shared these strengths with my boss and a few trusted friends. They agree these seem pretty accurate for me so I fell confident that these are some of the reasons why I work. It’s number 3 - the ability to teach people a new skill and a desire to do that teaching that I plan to talk about here.

Teaching is a part of who I am.  Since I was three if you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, part of the answer was always teacher.  I might have wanted to teach ballet or I might have wanted to teach people to be lawyers, but I never wanted to “do” - I always wanted to “teach”.  Sure, I’ve heard the saying that those who can’t do, teach which I think is the farthest thing from the truth.  I can do all that I teach - however I have chosen to share my ability widely with others.  My undergraduate degree was in teaching and my doctorate is in higher education so teaching and learning are just a part of my blood.  But, what is the role of teaching for the normal person at work and how does that lead us to ho-ohana (intentional and worthwhile work)?

Every person possesses skills and knowledge that another person does not have.  Take the example of Sam, one of our cleaning staff.  Sam can buff scratches out of anything.  It’s truly an amazing skill.  I’ve seen near gouges in furniture that Sam does some magical thing to with a cloth and some cleaning fluid and the scratch disappears.  Sam isn’t super strong - Sam just knows how to do this.  Yet, when asked to show others this skill Sam is resistant.  Why would that be?

There are several possible reasons.  Perhaps Sam is afraid that her value as an employee will go down if other people have her amazing skill as well.  Sam may be unable to put a voice to her skill.  She understands the concepts, the skills, and the tools - but perhaps she is unable to explain it to another person.  Or, perhaps Sam simply doesn’t wish to help another person learn.  Regardless of the reason why, Sam won’t share her information with others.  For Sam, teaching, coaching, and mentoring - at least regarding this one particular skill is not why she works.

However, for me, this is a thing that feeds my soul (a phrase I’ve taken to using lately in my quest for intentional and worthwhile work).  Last week, a staff member walked in my office while I was mid project - a project that had to be done by the end of the day. That staff member was having difficulty interpreting a report and knew I would be able to help.  We sat down together, worked through it, and the staff member was on their way.  The staff member doesn’t report to me and the report had little or nothing to do with my position - however that staff member knew I would be able and willing to explain the information to them in a way they could understand.  Teaching, coaching, and mentoring have just become a way of life for me.  Helping others to understand the world and function in it a little more easily is part of what feeds my soul and helps me on the quest to ho-ohana.

What about you?

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