Neuroscience, professional development, and soft-boiled eggs
A conference in Eastern Europe served up break-through understandings about the brain and leadership and an enlightening journey along the way.
I recently attended the International Coach Federation’s global conference in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in order to earn the continuing education credits needed to keep my Master Certified Coaching credential current.
Ordinarily I earn those credits from online courses sitting at my own desk. Instead I took the time to immerse myself in a diverse cohort of a thousand coaches from around the globe learning from cutting-edge executive and leadership development practitioners, neuroscientists and culture transformation experts, forming new friendships along the way.
We learned about revolutionary new scientific understanding that emotions are constructed, not automatic reactions to events, and are also based on what we predict might happen.
The importance of drawing inspiration from fields other than your own to unlock vibrant new possibilities within and beyond. How "confidence" may be misplaced when our memory betrays us about things that never happened. Also, the critical human need for psychological safety and how stress creates more negative impulses and biases. All of which contributes to our understanding of self-leadership, leading others and the environment we consciously or subcon- sciously create for our teams.
But this development journey went far beyond the conference. Along with my husband and brothers, I traveled by plane, train and foot through Berlin, Vienna and Prague...learning about history, occupations, culture, language, customs, and innovation…experiencing dance, music, art…savoring delicious cuisines and local wines.
It was a beautiful way to open my mind and heart and stimulate new thinking. I learned plenty:
It is humbling to be in a place where you don’t speak the language. Depending on other people to help you is a wonderful way to experience what Dr. Edgar Schein calls the third type of humility: Truly realizing that you need other people from time to time.
Treating people like adults can work. In Vienna, subways are clean, efficient and on the honor system. You buy a ticket and punch it. There are no turnstiles. You enter without encumbrance. If an inspector comes around and you don’t have a ticket, you pay a fine. (Can we find a better way for hourly workers than punching timeclocks?)
The lobby level in buildings are marked level 0. Underground parking levels are -1 and -2. Literal and easy to understand.
People walk more, a lot more. They also bike, take trams or trains, and occasionally drive. Parking is limited and beautiful urban centers are built around historical buildings and monuments, all within walking distance. A healthier lifestyle to counterbalance all the sitting we do at work.
Night life and business meetings take place late into the evening in cafes teeming with convivial conversations, great coffee and delicious apple strudel mit schlag. Could our business meetings be more like that?
Paintings by Gustav Klimt and the intensity of Egon Schiele’s self-portraits stopped me in my tracks and made my heart sing. Their breathtaking beauty spoke of the powerful innovation their work represented as they led the Secessionist Art Movement in the late 1800s.
The magnificence of the Vienna Opera House was more than equaled by the beautiful voices in the “Barber of Seville”. In the audience were women in lovely gowns, men in tuxedos. Others dressed more casually (like us). No microphones used or needed by singers, just the power of their vocal projection. Made me think about the agendas, power points and other things we “need” in business. Maybe we do without them?
A personal achievement: skipping the checked bags and taking only a 22-pound carry-on bag and one personal item. With the help of a backpack suitcase and packing cubes (a wonderful invention) I was able to travel for 14 days—that is until I bought a couple of souvenirs. What I really needed turned out to be so much less than I thought!
What would be a great learning adventure for you?
Oh, and about those soft-boiled eggs…when I was a child, my European-born father and U.S.-born mother cooked them for breakfast almost every morning. Soft-boiled eggs need a close watch and just the right amount of tending so those beautiful orange yolks remain runny and perfect for toast dipping. They aren’t for overly busy people: we make hard-boiled eggs. I was delighted to slow down enough to savor them often on this trip, improving my skill in opening the egg so little shards of shell didn’t wind up on my spoon. What a lovely memory to rekindle.
I look forward to bringing new learnings in neuroscience to our work together and to support your journey of Leading for Good.
With gratitude and wishing you and yours a healthy, happy, wonder-filled holiday season.
Sherri McArdle is a wife and mother to adult children and has been a business leader/owner for over 25 years. She is also a Master Certified Coach (MCC) to leaders and executives across the country and a trained mediator.
