According to Annie McKee, co-author of Becoming a Resonant Leader, people tend to plan in one of 3 distinct ways. If you’ve spent time to craft a personal vision yet haven’t made any progress, it’s likely you need to create a learning agenda . As you craft your own learning agenda think about your preference for one of 3 Planning Styles. This can ensure you are taking the right actions that are motivating for you, focused on the positive fuel of improvement and growth rather than the negative drain of compliance.
What’s a Learning Agenda?
Boyatzis’ Intentional Change Theory details a set of discoveries that lead to sustainable and meaningful change. One discovery, a learning agenda, is an intentional plan to pursue growth toward our personal vision. I introduced this sequence of discoveries previously in this post. You want to achieve that dream that you hold in your heart and mind. Perhaps you’ve even written it down and shared it with family and friends. But what’s holding you back is a lack of a plan.
If you have 7 minutes to dive in you might want to watch this free video of McKee describing how to craft a learning agenda. Here’s my shortcut for crafting a learning agenda:
- Pick one aspect of your personal vision.
- Emphasize what is the dream or positive pull of this vision rather than the negative “have to” or “ought.”
- What strengths do you possess that you could utilize to craft a learning objective?
- Write it down and start experimenting (which is the next discovery in Intentional Change).
Let’s use my own personal example. My personal vision articulates a level of fitness and weight that would lead to more energy, fitting my clothes comfortably, and having good measures of my blood test. I get excited thinking that I will no longer wake up tired (due to lack of sleep or blood sugar issues). One strength I possess is managing data and using technology. So, I determine that I will start tracking my nutrients and exercise and make it a fun game. Experimenting with various apps on my watch and phone I start noticing how it changes my eating and exercise behaviors.
That’s the basics, but how do YOU like to do this work of crafting your agenda and experimenting? That’s where Planning Styles come in.
Which of the 3 Planning Styles Best Fits You?
According to research that McKee conducted and shared in Becoming a Resonant Leader, there are 3 Planning Styles.
- Goal-oriented people pursue goals and like to achieve them. They are not necessarily tied to a dream, but for them there is satisfaction in the accomplishment. According to McKee about 50% of her participants fit this style.
- Direction-oriented people have a good vision of where they want to go, but are less tied to specific measurable goals to be achieved. They know the path to pursue but not the specifics and are more likely to adapt according to purpose. Less than 33% fit this style.
- Action-oriented people are very present oriented, in the moment with completing each task and moving to the next task. This is more linear from action to action and less goal-oriented or vision-oriented.
Which style are you? McKee says that people can find value in understanding all three of these styles and learning from others who are different. In fact, crafting learning agendas that incorporate a little of all styles is a good idea, while admittedly we will lean more on our own preference.
What’s Your Next Action with Your Learning Agenda and Planning Style?
Now that you know about learning agendas and planning styles, it’s your turn! Time to take that personal vision in words and images (your vision board) and translate some actions. I encourage you to keep it focused on the learning you want to do, focused on the positive emotion and the pull you feel, rather than the thing you have to do. You got this!
Question: When in the next 10 days can you make an appointment with yourself to craft your learning agenda for your personal vision?
Leave a comment or drop me an email and let me know how it goes! Enjoy the path, my friend, and as always let me know how I can serve you on the path to becoming your best self.
With joy in the journey,
Jeff