Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Sam Spurlin of The Simpler Life.
In the book Judgement: How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls by Noel Tichy and Warren Gennis, there is a concept known as the “teachable point of view.” In the context of this book, the TPOV is what “enable(s) leaders to take the valuable knowledge and experiences that they have stored up inside their heads and teach them to others.”
In other words, a TPOV is the vision that a leader has for his or her organization.
The leader’s job is to make this TPOV become so real to his followers that they are energized and motivated by the storyline it creates.
As a tool for the leader, it helps the leader make the judgment calls that will make the story become a reality.
With a little bit of tweaking, I think this is a powerful idea for anybody who is interested in personal development as more than a spectator.
I don’t believe anybody spends the time, effort, attention, (and sometimes money) to continually develop themselves without some endgame in mind. There has to be some sort of ideal or goal that they are striving for. If we were all satisfied with where we were in life you wouldn’t be reading this blog and I wouldn’t be writing this article.
Personal development consists of the steps that we take as we try to follow the storyline of our ideal lives in our heads. In other words, we have a personal teachable point of view that describes where we are going.
Your personal TPOV is how you view you– the ideal you. It’s what energizes you to learn new things, develop your skills, and generally push yourself out of your comfort zone every day. Every leader has to have a TPOV that they can invoke to get everybody they lead to buy into the same goal. With a personal TPOV you only need to have that effect on yourself– which isn’t always an easy task.
To develop your personal TPOV, try this exercise: Write an article for whatever magazine dominates your niche that is being published 10 years in the future. This article is a multi-page biography looking back at the last ten years and describes the steps you took to arrive where you are today.
For example, 10 years from now I hope to be coaching professional hockey, so my article would be about everything I did that resulted in me reaching that goal.
Once you have articulated your future-biography, take a few moments to really, truly, visualize what you’ve written. What would it feel like to actually accomplish what you just described? What would you have to do along the way to make this a reality?
This is your new personal TPOV. If somebody asks you why you get up at 6 every morning or why you spend your weekends writing articles about gardening for your blog, you can use your personal TPOV to explain why you do everything it is that you do.
Your personal TPOV is what keeps you on track as you embark on your journey to a better you. It’s what you think about to get excited to do the things that aren’t particularly fun but are important to reaching your goal. The stronger your personal TPOV, the stronger your motivation will be.
Your personal TPOV is your story.
You just haven’t finished writing it yet.
To read of Sam’s insightful writing, check out his blog, The Simpler Life, or subscribe to his RSS feed.
12 Comments on “Your Personal Teachable Point of View”
says:
Excellent article indeed! I do the same exercise only I call it my “movie script for life.”
says:
That's interesting, Sue – how Sam thinks in “biography” terms, while you
think in “movie” terms. I wonder if there's significance in the metaphors we
use to model our lives. Personally, I think I'm somewhere in between the
biography and the movie … perhaps I go for the “fiction” model.
I have a follow-up question: how do you go about translating your movie
script for life into actions, Sue? I'm interested because going from
thinking to acting is one of the battles I fight with myself daily.
says:
Thanks so much for allowing me to guest post. I really appreciate the opportunity and I hope your readers find this article helpful.
says:
My movie script is just another way to state my intentions for my ultimate goal into words. Writing makes my thoughts take form.
I never focus on the steps to reaching my goal… I only focus on the goal. I am open to the Universe bringing me what I need to achieve my goal; because that's what I want and the Universe wants to give us everything that we want! The secret is to never take your eye off the desired outcome. Let the journey take you to the final scene in your movie script; it makes life fun… a sort of adventure everyday.
I do use other techniques to help me overcome hurdles and challenges. I use self hypnosis using positive suggestion mantras like, “Today is a GREAT Day!” or “Every day in every way gets better and better!” or “I can if I think I can.” Our minds are very suggestible. I focus on mantras like the ones that I just stated. These keep me away from trying to craft the HOW of life, which often leads to missed opportunities.
Does that make sense?
says:
Makes perfect sense, Sue. Thanks for your input!
says:
Good techniques. I like how different people using different words like “personal biography” or “movie script” etc. It really personalizes it to what that individual relates to.
It's funny because I am reading “The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People” and it teaches pretty much this exact technique. It's simple, good advice. Start with the end in mind…visualize it…live it.
says:
I find the different methods of visualization interesting as well. Perhaps
it relates to the type of media we consume? As in, if you're a film buff,
you visualize things in movie form; if you're a bookworm, you narrate things
in prose. I wonder if that also implies that the changes in our media
formats (not even the changes in content) affect the way we think.
says:
My life as a “status update” haha!
says:
Hahaha – I hadn't even thought of that! I wonder what that says about your
brain there, Jarred ;-)
says:
Fascinating concept. I'll have to write my 2020 story to see how I plan on getting there. At the rate I'm going, I'll be right where I am today. Thanks for the food for thought and assigning the functional exercise.