Sorry for the lack of postings lately–I’m attending a two-week conference on organizational development and trying to keep up with my usual work, so it’s a busy time!

I thought I’d share a couple of things I’ve learned at the conference. Much of the learning is experiential: instead of a series of lectures, we’re learning how to work with groups and larger organizations by doing role-plays and then giving each other feedback about our skills and behavior.

I’ve been experimenting with being more assertive in these activities. Even though we’re not acting in the sense that we’re supposed to use our real selves in the role-plays, it’s an opportunity to experiment with new or growing-edge behaviors, and get feedback in a learning setting.

I’m glad to say that even though I’m taking risks and being more assertive in these work groups, I’m not driving people too crazy! (Though the conference ain’t over yet!) I’m learning that there’s a whole range of behaviors and interventions that I’ve used over the years but would do well to explore further. As a therapist, it’s easy to soak up the culture’s assumptions about what therapists are “supposed” to act like (you know–warm, kind, supportive) and neglect other skills that most people really need therapists to use, such as a willingness to carefully–but firmly–challenge or confront people with the stuff they really need to work on.

I’m hoping to integrate what I’ve learned not just into my professional life, but also in areas of my personal life where my “full self” or “best self” is a more assertive self. I suppose the danger is that I’ll start driving everyone crazy! But a key part of this learning is to hear and respond to the feedback of others, so as long as I stay tuned in to others, I should be okay. And when you think about it, what do you think really drives people crazy–hiding your true self, or being your true self?!

In a fun sidenote for all you MBTI fans out there, I retook the test, and I’m an extravert! I’ve always been a “fence” introvert, but in the last couple of years I’ve jumped the fence and am a (slight) E. My full type is ENTJ, which is the best type of course. (Kidding!) It’s been weird but also liberating to look at my preferences as an extravert. I still have a lot of introvert preferences, but I’m aware of how energized I am by connecting with other people, too. An extravert friend of mine is an intern trainer at this conference, so she’s having a lot of fun welcoming me to her team and introducing me to the E culture!

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This entry was posted on Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 6:40 am and is filed under About my practice, Being Your Best Self. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.