Boundary Crossers Wanted – The 21st Century

ProfessionalMACRAO 2009

Dr. Anne Monroe

A whole new mind… http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmqDZ_RGkxk

Aptitude Description

Design Not just function - to create something that is beautiful, whimsical or emotionally engaging

Story Not just argument –the ability to create a compelling narrative

Symphony Not just focus – the greatest need today isn’t analysis, but synthesis

Empathy Not just logic – the ability to understand and forge relationships

Play Not just seriousness – we all need to play

Meaning Not just accumulation – a world of abundance has freed us to pursue more significant desires

The Six Essential Aptitudes

Symphony is about relationships Those who will thrive in the conceptual age

can make the connections between diverse disciplines.

They will possess the ability to link unconnected elements to create something new – to be able to ‘see’ one thing in terms of another. They can cross the boundaries…

Creating Symphony……

Are you a boundary crosser? In his book, A WHOLE NEW MIND, Daniel Pink

describes boundary crossers as individuals who “develop expertise in multiple spheres…and find joy in the rich variety of human experience. They live multi lives—because that’s more interesting, and ….more effective….

Boundary crossers reject either/or choices and seek multiple options and blended solutions.  They lead a hyphenated life filled with hyphenated jobs and enlivened by hyphenated identities.”

• Literate in multiple cultures• Move between different groups, effortlessly

and with the finesse of a diplomat• See relationships between disparate things

that most people never notice• Is both analytical and intuitive• Delight in working in a multi-disciplinary

environment• Defy traditional gender role stereotyping.

Characteristics of the B.C.

Individuals who have had a successful career in one area and a passionate hobby in another world (e.g., software developer during the week and musician on the weekends)

Individuals who are starting a career in one area (less than 5 years into it) and find that while they can continue on the current path, they need a "tweak" to make it fit. An example is a civil engineer who wants to focus more on work oriented to sustainable building.

Individuals who have had multiple jobs in different areas and feel like it's been a patchwork of things that haven't led to a clear career path. An example is someone who has changed jobs every couple of years, with not a lot of connection to the past job or upward mobility in the new job with each change.

Types of Boundary Crossers

Create a "slash" life that includes more than one area. Look to one area for steady income (e.g., software developer) and add on a freelance or volunteer role in a second area (e.g., professional musician.) ◦ The different outlets can help you create a

customized career. The book, One Person/Multiple Careers: A New Model for Work/Life Success has some great examples of people who have done this.

How to be a boundary crosser

Look for roles where translating between two worlds is critical to being successful.

◦ Example: Technical writers are the bridge between software developers and end users.  They must be able to write in layman's terms, sitting in the shoes of the end user, yet understand enough of the technical intricacies to communicate clearly with the developers.

Explore the intersection of your specific interests. This is where innovation occurs, where what you decide to do for your work is something that is not well-defined or even known, but fills a gap.

It means creating your own role in the marketplace. This often requires a level of expertise in one area that gives you enough credibility to “push the envelope.”  ◦ Examples: A banker and poet who heads a poetry

journal that received a gift of $100 million dollars, an engineer and organization development consultant who creates a role of retention leader inside an R+D organization.

CREATE YOU

Sometimes, individuals know that they have interests in disparate areas but aren't sure what to do about it. Is it an asset or a liability? 

How do you start?

Assets vs. Liabilities

Interests and hobbies

Education or Training

Connections and relationships

Skills or Abilities

Running and health

Health – Red Cross and ACE

Junior Achievement

Think Big - planning

Real estate and construction

Educational Administration

Sigma Sigma Sigma - National

Multi Task

Teaching and service

Real Estate Sales Zonta/AAUW Dealing with the uncomfortable

Food Enrollment Management

Rotary Execution – ‘get it done’

Time for an Exercise – My Assets

Put yourself in the center and around you, write down your assets

Your ‘ASSET’ Map

Interests and hobbies

Education or Training

Connections Skills or Abilities

Time for an Exercise – Assets

With just a glance, what do you learn about her?

What kinds of things does this map NOT tell us about this person?

What kinds of things would need to be included so that we could know this person really well just by reading her map?

Trade with your neighbor

Boundary crossers are uniquely positioned to change the game, to help whole industries and disciplines break out of the status quo. 

The remarkable will win out over the mediocre in a down economy.

For Boundary Crossers, the bad news is there is no standard path to follow.

The good news is, you guessed it, there is no standard path to follow.

Recession Proof Your Work

• You travel among many worlds and belong to none. 

• While others may see you as graceful in dealing with a variety of people and situations, internally, it doesn’t feel that way to you.

• Being open to a wide variety of experiences and having a number of angles with which to approach an issue, you can get distracted. 

• You feel awkward when the markers of success for other people don’t do anything for you.

Where Boundary Crossers get ‘stuck’

Self Awareness:◦ Being connected to yourself, has to do with being

comfortable in your own skin and not being self-conscious. You know who you are and you can draw strength from that.

Communication:◦ Learn to use language to describe your assets to

others. Development:

◦ Take action on your assets – use them in many areas of your life - even if it means NOT getting ‘paid’ for it – keep developing!

Bringing ALL of you to the workplace

Read the following excerpt from A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink and answer the question below.

I heard this exercise from Jim Collins, author of the blockbuster book Good to Great. He encourages people to look at their lives—in particular, their work—and ask themselves whether they would still do what they're doing now if they had $20 million in the bank or knew they had no more than 10 years to live. For instance, if you inherited $20 million, no strings attached, would you spend your days the way you spend them now? If you knew you had at the most 10 years to live, would you stick with your current job?

Exercise: the 20 – 10 Test

If the answer is no, that ought you tell you something.

This test alone obviously can't determine your life course. But the approach is smart—and the answers will be clarifying.

What would you do?

Pink, D. (2005). Whole new mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Lead the Future. New York, Riverhead.

Pink, D. (2005). A whole new mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age. New York: Riverhead Hardcover.

Carol Ross www.boundarycrosser.com

References