Too frequently we look at our successes and accomplishments, however seemingly small, as isolated incidents. We will practice and prepare, work towards something for weeks, months, maybe even years. But when success comes, we tend to look at it as a unique event in our timeline. The narrative we construct begins with our first steps towards our goal and ends with the accomplishment. We do not view it as part of our learning continuum but as something different.
We limit ourselves greatly when we construct our narratives this way, isolating each incident from one another. An alternate approach is to expand our narratives to a greater timeline, such as one's professional life, or even greater, to help us view successes as connected points on a continuum. Situations may be unique, but it is more helpful to view the learning we obtain from them as connected and evolving.
Frequently when we are engaged in mentoring, community development, people management, even parenting, we have opportunity to discuss with others about successes they've just experienced. Below are very useful questions, cribbed from Luckner & Nadler (1997) to help us do that. Keep in mind that these can be easily adapted to speak about change or problem analysis, to work with kids or adults. For Peace Corps Volunteers, all of these questions would be considered appreciative.
Responsibility for Owning the Success-the goal of these questions is to encourage ownership of the success, to allow one to inventory what resources they used, what actions they took, and what mindset they had.
-How do you account for this success?
-How did you get this to happen?
-What support or resources did you use to have this success?
-When were you first aware of your decision to take this risk/make this happen?
Expand the Temporal Plan-the goal of these questions is to situate this success in a timeline of events; to show how past events have led to it and how it will lead to future events.
-What sort of training did you do to prepare yourself for this kind of endeavor?
-How do you see this success fitting in with your hopes and aspirations?
-What in your past would let us predict that you are the sort of person who could do such a thing/success?
-What will be the first road sign that you will see that will tell you that you are still on track?
-What other possibilities are closer to you now with this success?
Increasing Descriptions from the Audience-here we use questions to open up the learners perspective to alternative narrative by incorporating others' viewpoints (these may be solicited or hypothesized).
-How did others see '____' prepare for this success?
-What do you think this tells me about you?
-What do you think '_____' sees as the highlight of your accomplishment?
Meaning and Difference-the goal here is to help the learner become critically aware of the learning and understand how they can keep it for and apply it to future areas.
-What does this say about you now that you have accomplished this?
-How do you see yourself now after completing this task?
-What difference will it make to you knowing that you have written a new chapter about yourself?
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