Vancouver Board Of Trade

I took part in a leadership skills bootcamp today. It was hosted by the Vancouver Board of Trade.

It was the advertisement in the Vancouver Sun that caught my attention. It was an all day event, with Daniel Goleman, Tod Maffin, and Patricia Lambert that made the trip into Vancouver worth it.

Daniel Golemen had a great talk on Social Intelligence. He put up a picture of the brain and from a scientific perspective talked about social connecting, relationships and the type of leadership that can impact the climate of an organization the most.

Tod Maffin was a hoot. He talked about what he refers to as the Facebook generation (18-30 year olds). I have 3 teenagers and he is really talking about teenagers as well. He said that in the 70's people in the work place were all about stability. Then in the 80's it was about money. We saw in the 90's it was about life balance. But now it's about meaning. We want to change the world. We want to make a difference. He referenced this Apple video that is our mantra.



He says to forget mission statements and use mantra's instead - little piffy statements that capture meaning.

Tod was followed by Patricia Lambert, who is a senior training consultant for Franklin Covey Canada. What a contrast. She was going over the elements of the 8th habit. She had pie charts, and fill in blanks etc. Whereas Tod had stories and stuff that rang true. Don't get me wrong, I have benefited hugely from Covey's stuff - particularly the 7 habits material. But there came a time when that all became fatiguing and linear for me personally. I still value the material, but it doesn't play my soul's guitar like it used to. Finding your "voice" is important, especially understanding one's weaknesses and propensity for ill. I find being in my 40's that it comes a bit easier than when I was in my 30's. In my 40's I've become more comfortable in my skin (not completely, but more so) and less obsessed with being like someone else.

I met a few interesting people. One conversation was providential. I met a person who was doing coaching and training in appreciative inquiry. She has been at it for a few years. I will definitely follow-up as I have a personal interest in appreciate inquiry as it relates to pastoral leadership.