Midweek Connect: 8/11/21 ~ Standing on Thresholds
Greetings and Happy Midweek!
This time of year, I often find myself in transition, or transformation, mode - wrapping up what the year has brought me to date, and preparing for what the rest of the year might look like. So, I thought this week we would pause and look at this situation - and its cross-cultural potential.
I decided to present this as “standing on thresholds” because thresholds are something we all are familiar with, and their global presence (be it physical or figurative or metaphorical) is something we can all relate to. Working with Global SKILLs, we have as one of our core PROACTive learning strategies the transferal of skills with the end result of transformation *. Thresholds fit in here perfectly because isn’t it true that in order to change, to transform, we need to make a commitment to step from one space or activity or domain or way of thinking into another...over a threshold! For example, one of the key moments of beginning to understand a host culture is when we are invited, and accept the invitation, to enter a community member’s home - across the threshold.
I did some research this morning on cross-cultural thresholds - and came up with several really interesting and enlightening (for me) applications of the transformative functions that thresholds offer (see more about those in LINKs below). And I’ll share here that I personally see myself standing on a significant threshold with my work, and am excited both as I look back to see how I came to this threshold, and to look forward at next steps which will indeed carry me over the threshold, into a transformed work context!
How about you ~ what is one recent cross-cultural threshold you find yourself standing on?
Share about that with a friend or note it here.
And check out those Global SKILLs LINKs below!
Until next week,
Betsy
* PROACTive Learning Strategies: PROfile, PROcess, PROgram and ACT - Applications, Collaboration and Transformations
~ contact me for more information on the 3D Model and these learning strategies and how you might use them in your current programming
Global SKILLs LINKs
~ A general treatise on “Threshold Concepts”:
https://unistudentwellbeing.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Theshold-Concepts-Prf04.pdf ~ A business view which is easily applied more broadly: Organizational culture as a threshold to knowledge management https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/organizational-culture-threshold-knowledge-mangamenet-aly-a-fattah/
~ A dynamic enterprise featuring several African women who have done awesome work in crossing cultural thresholds including Wangari Maathai, Kenyan 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner (The Green Belt Movement) and Agnes Musau, Kenyan grassroots leader
https://vimeo.com/427589452 ; more information on the Crossing Thresholds organization (their work aligns neatly with Global SKILLs vision and training) https://www.crossingthresholds.org/
2021 ~ Celebrating 40 years of working in
intercultural communications and global community building
Connecting, Collaborating, Cultivating Community