As a professional, you probably keep yourself current with your profession's body of knowledge, tools, and methods. If you do not, you will lose some of your effectiveness, not to mention your marketability. Project management professionals can attend certification programs that teach them about managing projects. The focus of such learning tends to be about things outside of you. For example, you can learn about planning and estimating tools and techniques. You can learn about life cycle models. Let's not forget configuration management, and subcontractor management. Those are all very useful things to know how to do.

Powerful project leadership requires a different kind of learning. Powerful project leadership begins with you. You will need to learn all you can about yourself, so that you can develop your ability to lead yourself. The better you are at leading yourself, the more effective you will be at leading your projects out of messy--and inevitable--human system problems.

Readiness for learning about oneself
Some of my most powerful learning has come during teachable moments. A teachable moment is a moment when some part of me is ready to receive the lesson. That part may be my brain, my intuition, my skin, my heart, or a combination of parts. Sometimes I get ready by design. My readiness is built up gradually with a great deal of safety and support. An example might be personal growth counseling or an experiential workshop where I am working on deep personal issues. I do not always know what the lesson will be, and it may not be enjoyable, but at least it is invited.

Sometimes I am not aware of my readiness at all, like when I get caught being myself. The lesson arrives uninvited with a sudden and unexpected jolt. This can happen anywhere, at any time. The lesson can come from my wife, my son, a colleague, a business partner, a student, a fellow workshop participant, or a complete stranger. I have had powerful invited lessons and powerful uninvited lessons. What makes them powerful is how I accept and make sense of them--not whether they are invited.

The best teachers of adults I know have the ability to create learning environments where teachable moments are plentiful. They recognize teachable moments when they occur and offer the lesson to the student with great care. I consider it a gift when these teachers help me catch myself being myself.

Levels of learning
I think I learn in levels. Perhaps you do also. You have probably heard the expression, we keep getting the same lessons until we learn them. I would modify the expression slightly: We keep getting the same lessons so we can learn them in deeper ways. Most of us probably do not spend a lot time thinking about how we learn. We just do it. While writing this article I spent some time thinking about how I learn in levels. One example is how I develop my ability to observe what is happening.

I believe there are at least five levels for this. I sometimes iterate each level several times before moving to the next level. I may also regress a level after unsuccessfully attempting a move to a higher level. For example, having iterated level two several times, I may attempt level three. If this attempt is unsuccessful, I may go back to level two for a few iterations to reset my sense of competence, before attempting level three again.

To illustrate, I'll use the same context for each level. The context is a five-person team attempting to solve a physical puzzle for ten minutes.

Level one: Not observing
I do not intentionally observe anything while it is happening. I just happen to be there. After the fact, if I am asked, I may be able to recall what I saw, heard, smelled, tasted, or touched. I can compare that with sensory data of others who were there to validate the accuracy of my memory. A lot happens that I do not notice.

Level two: Observing in the moment, but not being involved in solving the puzzle
I intentionally observe what is happening while it is happening. I am in the role of observer. I am not solving the puzzle. My only job is to observe one or two specific things. For example, my job might be to: (1) count how many times each person speaks, and (2) count how many times each person is addressed by his or her name.

With practice, I may become pretty good at observing just two things. That information could be useful to the puzzle-solving team. For example, conflicts might surface around someone monopolizing the team's air time or because people cannot tell to whom questions or comments are addressed. Still, a lot happens that I do not notice.

Level three: Observing in the moment, but still not being involved in puzzle solving
I intentionally observe what is happening while it is happening. I am in the role of observer. I am not solving the puzzle. My only job is to observe, although my list of what to observe is growing. For example, my job might be to:

• Count how many times each person speaks
• Count how many times each person is addressed by his or her name
• Count how many times each person touches the puzzle
• Track what happens to an idea after it is spoken
• Notice where people look when they speak
• Notice who (if anyone) keeps track of time.