My new LinkedIn Learning course is coming out soon.
We filmed virtually from my house the first week of January. I enjoy the script writing and filming. It’s right up my alley for fun!
The next assignment I had was a struggle. I was asked to provide something new that LinkedIn had implemented since I last instructed a course in 2018. They asked me to create quiz questions for each chapter.
At first glance, this seemed easy enough. Then I started. Writing a question was easy. So was writing the correct answer.
That’s when it got difficult for me.
I found that when you know the correct answer, being creative to find the best wrong answers is really hard. It’s not as simple as making something up that is clearly false. The correct answer would be as obvious as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the middle of a plate of tuna sandwiches.
In total, I needed to create about 120 incorrect answers that must make the student at least pause to consider. What I thought might take a couple hours to complete took about two weeks.
I now have an even greater admiration for teachers!
Mentoring and coaching other humans might seem somewhat straightforward at first glance. People who want to learn and know new things get told how to do them, right?
It’s not quite that simple.
To really help someone get better in whatever they want to achieve – be it career, skill, behavior, or something else – a good mentor or coach must be able to create opportunities to fail and grow.
When our daughter Kelli was very young, she had a speech impediment. The only one who could understand her all the time was her older sister. Mindy basically became her translator. While that was very sweet, we learned from the speech therapist that it was impeding Kelli’s development. If Mindy was joust going to be her mouthpiece, Kelli had very little reason to make any further changes.
We gently had to ask Mindy as a 5-year old to let her little sister fail, struggle, and grow.
If you’re in the business of mentoring or coaching another human – be it a co-worker, employee, or family member – then part of being a really good one is coming up with innovative ways to challenge them. Allow them to fail; to struggle. It’s out of that failure, struggle, and ultimate achievement that growth and development is accomplished.
Quote of the Week:
“No one can figure out your worth but you.”
~ Pearl Bailey, 20th century American actress
© 2022 Toro Consulting, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Unleashed is the registered trademark of Toro Consulting, Inc.
