Hobbies: Not only fun, insightful too

Lombardo and Eichinger identified, in their 70:20:10 model of learning and development, that development happens about 70% from on-the-job experiences - working on tasks and problems; about 20% from feedback and working through case studies/examples; and 10% from courses and reading.

I think there needs to be another dimension, and that is learning from hobbies and experiences outside of work. It can be incredibly insightful. These are some of the things I am learning so far:

• Partnered dancing (ballroom, latin, swing): There is so much I have learned about leading, the importance of valuing all roles (e.g. leader, follower, coach, judges - manager, specialist, support, technical...), and what it takes to be a high performing team member - i.e. guidance, humility, building relationships, discipline, practice and listening to feedback.
• Solo dancing (belly, pole, contemporary): Just as it takes courage to dance by yourself, it takes courage to put yourself out there at work. I have become more aware of the messages we tell ourselves, what actions to take to be more courageous, and the importance of perseverance.
• Moving from competitive dancing to performing also got me thinking about strategy, and what motivates people. Needless to say, I prefer entertaining over being assessed on how accurately I dance.
• Gardening: I started this at the same time as starting a new project, there were so many overlaps. Gardening gave me insights into planning, understanding your subject matter, experimentation, and skills required at different stages.
• Travelling has challenged the paradigms I hold as truth. Travelling also pushes you out of your comfort zone and can make you feel very vulnerable... not unlike promotions at work or changing teams. Certain actions can make an experience wonderful, and others lead to disaster. I have also learnt more about pacing and burnout.
• Painting has taught me more about mindfulness as you need to be present to what you are doing. Also you get to choose your style, which impacts the end product. If I want to paint a realistic representation of a person, then I cannot use an impressionist approach. Some styles come more naturally than others. This gave me greater insight into presentations and leadership.

The best part about hobbies, is that they are less risky than work. It's a safe place to experiment and discover new things without worrying about the impact on your job security.

So the next time you go do exercise, play a team sport, get creative, sing, dance, play board-games, or try something new, let us know what you discover!