Deeper Learning in Leadership - It's out!

Deeper Learning in Leadership is finally out! I got my copy yesterday (9-20-07) which will go down in history for me as a day of relief, accomplishment, and fulfillment. It was a bit strange not knowing what to do with the knowledge that this journey was finally over. This book has been a dream for at least a decade and having it out allows me to turn my attention to other things - most importantly to my work in Qatar, an opportunity that will allow me to use the ideas I espouse in the book in practice.

I am still utterly amazed by how the upcoming opportunity in Qatar provides a potential alternative organizational model for student development work. Who would have thought that encountering Esther Lloyd-Jones in 1985, digging into her different view of student personnel work, and then writing a book to remind contemporary student affairs workers of her contribution would have led to this moment? I could not see that this 20+ year path could bring me to this point and place and I'm not sure it matters. As an example of the "conviction in action" that I advocate in Deeper Learning in Leadership, the growing and deeper understanding of our purpose in work and in life may not always be understood. However, trusting our intuition and being patient as the purpose emerges makes all the difference. I know that I have pushed at earlier points of life to do things that, in retrospect, may not have been a good fit for the grand plan of my life. The consolation is that even the detours taught me important lessons that I've ultimately incorporated into who I am. I don't always remember the lessons and I don't always actualize the things I know are right, but I'm getting closer. "Progress not perfection" is a mantra for people who struggle with various addictions in life. Maybe progress, not perfection, is a pretty good philosophy for us all and it may just capture a core truth of life's experience...