Coming Full Circle …
Holding Space for Professional Development Series #1
After several years of deep diving into team science as a leadership practitioner, my approach to leadership development has come full circle.
Initially, I was against workshops, believing that removing participants from their contexts to learn abstract knowledge was often ineffective. Research supports this view. For example, Bersin’s The Training Measurement Book suggests that as much as 70% of job-relevant learning occurs on the job, 20% prior to formal training programs, and only 10% during training. Workshops may generate excitement, but without support to bridge the knowing-doing gap, conceptual knowledge often fades quickly. Additionally, many workshop instructors lack practical experience, relying solely on theoretical knowledge that fails to take root in real-world applications.
I much preferred meeting people in their local contexts for a more grounded experience. Through facilitating and consulting, I gained valuable in-the-trenches experience. However, I’ve since realized that without valuing leadership itself, there is no space for in-depth leadership work to thrive. This insight hit home when I found myself relegated to “glorified project management,” unable to engage in meaningful leadership work. I also observed that my facilitation efforts often only affected interaction patterns at the behavioral level. Without deeper mindset shifts, these changes were short-lived and limited.
I’ve come to appreciate that just as art emerges from life but elevates it, workshops, when done properly, can be powerful instruments for learning. Workshops can become “adaptive spaces,” as I have explored in my previous posts: “Adaptive Space and Yin/Yang”, and “Adaptive Space and Yin/Yang: A Line Dance.” Thus, I’ve returned my attention to workshop-based leadership development, now with a solid grounding in real contexts.
T. S. Eliot’s poem Little Gidding captures this journey perfectly:
“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.”
Philosophical Insights
What grounds me in this returning and “knowing the place for the first time” was three philosophical insights.
First, real problems, real change: I have deep compassion for the suffering I see in the work place, a firm commitment to alleviate that suffering, and a steadfast belief that people can learn and change. This belief drives me to start and end where action happens, helping people address and resolve their real problems.
Second, Yin/Yang of abstract and practical: I believe that the most abstract concepts can be understood through the most concrete examples, and the best theories find their highest utility in practice, very much like the dynamic in a Yin/Yang relationship. As Lewin famously said, “There is nothing more practical than a good theory.” For instance, Jennifer Garvey Berger’s analogy comparing a mechanical system to throwing a stone and a complex adaptive system to throwing a bird, or David Snowden’s use of a child’s birthday party to explain his Cynefin framework, are simple yet powerful ways to illustrate complex ideas. My mission is to bring abstract knowledge down to practical application.
Third, collective learning space: I firmly believe that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. When holding a workshop, it’s not about me being the smartest person in the room and pouring out knowledge to “empty vessels.” Instead, I see myself as a catalyst, sharing provocative thoughts and holding a learning space where collective learning can emerge. This approach blurs the boundary between “in the workshop” and “outside the workshop,” inviting wisdom from the “trenches” into the room and setting aside individual egos.
Inspired by this shift in perspective, I have become deeply curious about the professional development opportunities I have engaged in over the past two years. How do they hold space for professional growth? What aspects of their approaches are effective or ineffective? What remains with me after the details have faded? I will explore these questions and share my insights in the next post of this “Holding Space for Professional Development” series. Join me as we delve deeper into what truly makes professional development impactful.
