What I'm Reading - February 2025
Each month I share a few of the books that I'm actively reading, reflections on what I've learned so far, and a few ideas I believe are worth sharing. I often have several books I'm reading at the same time. I switch frequently, and I'm bad about abandoning books after a few chapters. I hope that by sharing what I learn, that I'll actually push myself to finish.
1) The Art of Coaching Teams
I have always enjoyed Elena Aguilar's books, and The Art of Coaching Team is not an exception. Steeped in practical advice built on experience, she provides clear frameworks for professional practice. All of Augilar's books are well structured and follow a logical sequence that builds up her thesis slowly while building capacity with the reader. I often find myself pulling her books back out to refresh myself on a chapter or share with colleagues during a professional development.
I picked this book up because in my new role I'm faced with leading several teams. My experiences in the class room did not really prepare me for the daunting task of leading and organizing teams of adults. There are so many glaring differences, but often I find myself reverting back to my classroom experience which is not the right tool. Too little time is spent preparing leaders to lead communities of adults.
While I am aware of the tenants of andragogy, teaching an adult learner is very different than leading a team of adult learners. There are so many subtle complexities that I often find myself metaphorically "stepping in it" without the slightest clue of what I've done. I love that Aguilar shares many personal stories about times when she has gotten it wrong. This is encouraging, because it helps me see that learning to lead teams is a process and you can recover from mistakes.
So far I've read the introduction and the first chapter. The content is dense, and I find that I need time to process things after reading them. I was already challenge by her definition of what constitutes a team. Honestly, the way she talks about collaboration within a team is the thing I miss so much from working outside education.
One of the clearest ideas is that teams need a vision for what they are formed to produce. Too often, I find myself leading logistical meetings and wondering why collaboration is so sparse and engagement is so low. I think the mistake that I was pigeonholed into was to "lead" through dissemination of information and expecting others to merely complete tasks. There's not a dialogue with the members of the team. It's not really even a team at that point.
She shares three aspects that make for a great team: product, process, and learning. This resonates so well with what I want out of being a team member or facilitator. When we meet we need to meet with purpose, refine the process, and build a learning community. My inclination towards learning makes this a great model. As Aguilar puts it, "A team is great when its members learn things that they wouldn't have learned had they been alone."
2) Hidden Potential
Adam Grant produces one of my favorite podcasts, ReThinking. He has a phenomenal memory for studies and facts, and he is able to weave those into conversation in a way that is both relevant and expansive. While the podcast is where I mostly engage with his work, his writing is where he's at his best.
So far I've read Part I of the book, and it has not disappointed. Part I is all about character and developing the skills that improve it. These often get dismissed as "soft skills" or confused with personality.
Personality is not your destiny – it's your tendency. Character skills enable you to transcend that tendency to be true to your principles. It's not about the traits you have – it's what you decide to do with them. Wherever you are today, there's no reason why you can't grow your character skills starting now.
I have a mentor that is always telling me that you can't change personality. While I see his point, it never really sat well with me, but I couldn't really articulate why. Grant's model that character skills allow you to transcend personality rings true. A person may not be able to change their personality, but they can certainly develop the skills necessary to transcend those tendencies. I realize now that it didn't sit well with me because it discounted the ability to learn and grow, and that is one of my core principles.
The first chapter is all about the need to embrace discomfort and mistakes in order to learn. This made so much sense when I read it, but it was counterintuitive in many ways.
Becoming a creature of discomfort can unlock hidden potential in many different types of learning. Summoning the nerve to face discomfort is a character skill-an especially important form of determination. It takes three kinds of courage: to abandon your tried-and-true methods, to put yourself in the ring before you feel ready, and to make more mistakes than others make attempts. The best way to accelerate growth is to embrace, seek, and amplify discomfort.
One of his best examples was about writing. He points out that many people don't write because they assume it's about communicating, but that dismisses the major value that writing holds in the learning process. That's why I'm writing this post. I don't expect that many will read this, but it's an important part of my learning process.
Chapter two is about absorbing information and the attitude that creates the best situation for absorbing the most. He recommends being "growth minded" and "proactive" in your learning. One of my biggest takeaways from this chapter was his suggestion to seek advise rather than feedback. Feedback looks backward, while advise looks forward. I liked the idea, and I'm going to try to put it into practice.
Chapter three is all about imperfection, and he spends a lot of time dismantling perfectionism. He identified three flaws with perfectionism: myopic focus on details that don't matter in the real world, avoidance of failure that limits opportunities to learn, and negative outlook on mistakes that prevent progress.
I've always been a proponent of progress over perfection. Grant postulates that we should focus on making our efforts pleasing to the smallest audience possible: ourselves. Trying to keep everyone satisfied with our performance will only derail and paralyze us. Instead we have to live by our own principles that we use to evaluate and guide our efforts.
3) The Fellowship of the Ring
This is the second time I'm reading through the J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece. I read it during college, and it's been years since that first reading. I'm about two-thirds of the way through the book at this point, and my biggest takeaway is how much I can identify with Frodo. I think as a young man, Frodo seemed youthful and I viewed his struggles through youthful eyes. Now at middle age, I see the burdens he bears differently. The desire for home and hearth is strong, but we are often thrust into an adventure not of our own making.
‘I wish it need not have happened in my time,’ said Frodo. ‘So do I,’ said Gandalf, ‘and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.
So much of life is deciding what to do with the time we are allotted. I'm not a great wizard or descendant of a line of kings. I'm a small person that is often faced with a big world that is out of my control. We can't avoid interacting with the world, but we have to recognize that our power lies in the small acts.
The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot for ever fence it out.’
One of my favorite sections of the story is the hobbits encounter with Tom Bombadil. His ability to not be affected by good nor evil is impressive. He simply is. In the story he isn't out striving against the great powers of the world. Instead he's tending to the small things in his domain. In this he creates a realm of peace. This contrasts with the journey of the hobbits who are thrust into chaos and danger. However, you can see Bombadil's influence over Frodo's approach to his journey.
