about building competence - the passion within

Update to the book, as from the Online Educa special edition (nov 2010): new tip in the chapter 'about building competence':

Tip number 2: You are self-steering, so keep a pulse on your internal drive.

This book should have given you a strong feeling of self-reliance by now. One of the key words for a HoCo is “self”. Much more than before we are supposed to be these self-reliant, self-steering, self-motivating, self-succeeding or self-failing responsible caretakers of our competences. Some people I talk to find this a frightening thought that unbalances their lives for the worst. These people hang onto “the system” or “them” in the form of schools or employers to take responsibility for their learning and development. Other people I talk to find the move to self-reliance liberating, and they see themselves as free agents. These people seek out new horizons and actively seek work that matches their own values.

But regardless of whether you like it or not, regardless of emotion or preference, the move to self-reliance is just a logical consequence of the network age we live in. It made sense to build factory-like school systems to mass educate the workers of the industrial age, and it made sense corporations in the 50ies and later offered life long employment taking full care of your development and your career. It makes as much sense now that you are the prime owner and driver, and that you become self-everything.

That’s why it is so critically important that you find out and listen to what drives you. You need to find intrinsic motivators to keep you going. Did you read Dan Pink’s book “Drive”? I did. Surprisingly, creative workers’ performance deteriorates with typical external motivators like a bag of money. According to the book, we really get motivated intrinsically by autonomy, mastery and purpose. And creative people work happiest when they are in “flow”. So as it turns out, any competence you will develop results in better performance if you feel intrinsic motivation for it. What energizes you? What do you feel passionate about? What brings you purpose? If you are in the mood for a cynical experiment; think about what the tag line on your tomb stone should read like. If you are not in a cynical mood, just think about what the tag line on your Linked In profile should read.

Key point: Like it or not, HoCos are self-reliant. Steer your competence development based on self-motivation and passion. That is tip number two.