Inspiration

Eudaimonia

/ Susan Hendrich / 3 Comments

happy1.jpg A key to happiness and design success

Oprah’s been hanging out with best-selling author and spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle, and their focus is happiness.  Tolle’s latest work, A New Earth, provides practical teachings for waking up to a new, enlightened mind-set.  So, what does this new-agey stuff have to do with learning, design, and leadership?  Enter eudaimonia. Research shows that genuinely happy people have something called “eudaimonia” in common:

Finding your (design’s) “most golden self.”

A combination of the Greek eu (“good”) and daimon (“spirit”), eudaimonia means striving toward excellence based on one’s unique talents and potential—Aristotle considered it to be the noblest goal in life.

In Aristotle’s time, the Greeks believed that each child was blessed at birth with a personal daimon embodying the highest possible expression of his or her nature. One way they envisioned the daimon was as a golden figurine that would be revealed by cracking away an outer layer of cheap pottery (the person’s base exterior). The effort to know and realize one’s most golden self—”personal growth,” in today’s lingo—is now the central concept of eudaimonia, which has also come to include continually taking on new challenges and fulfilling one’s sense of purpose in life.

I submit that, like life design, training design should pursue eudamonia. Let’s crack away the outer layer of extra words and elements that mask the true message we are trying to deliver. Whether that means using more white space in our layout or trimming content to only the most salient points, the search for eudaimonia is a mantra I’m willing to repeat. 

Tell us how you have experienced eudaimonia…

Mindsets

/ Susan Hendrich / Leave a comment

A Summary of Comparative Mindsets

Are you a boss or a coach?

Boss Coach
Pushes / Drives Lifts / Supports
Tells / Directs / Lectures Asks / Requests / Listens
Talks at people Engages in dialogue with people
Controls through decisions Facilitates by empowering
Knows the answer Seeks the answer
Triggers insecurity using fear  to achieve compliance Stimulates creativity using purpose to inspire commitment
Points to errors Celebrates learning
Problem solver / Decision maker Collaborator / Facilitator
Delegates responsibility Models accountability
Creates structure and procedures Creates vision and flexibility
Does things right Does the right things
Knowledge is power Vulnerability creates power
Focused on the bottom line Focused on process that creates the bottom-line results

About

/ Susan Hendrich / 1 Comment

Susan Hendrich – Leadership and Training Specialist

Download Susan’s Résumé

  

Susan’s Professional Profile

 

Leadership
Fifteen years’ experience in leading highly successful learning development and change management in business, technology and human service teams. Proven record of facilitating accomplishment of team goals through trusting relationships. Able to foster environments of exceptional employee morale, productivity, and impeccable customer service. Possess a big-picture understanding of business operations within multiple industry settings.

Solutions
Proven ability to bridge technology and business goals to provide productive learning solutions and facilitate a positive orientation toward problem solving. Utilize strategic methods to find best-practice solutions to complex problems. Offer a solid balance of business operations knowledge, interpersonal relations, and industry best practices. Able to infuse hopeful perspective in difficult situations.

Expertise
• E-Learning Solutions Development
• Strategic and Operational Planning
• Information Technology Management
• Diplomatic Intervention and Negotiation
• Team-Building, Problem Solving and Training
• Graphic / Creative Design
• Crisis / Critical Incident Stress Management
• Nationally-Recognized Presentations

Recent Highlights
Led development of comprehensive CRM, SRM, LMS, LCMS software suites • Leadership Wichita Mayoral Cabinet Nominee • Facilitated hundreds of workshops for corporate, university, non-profit & military teams • Taught Leadership, Management, Learning Strategies Courses at several major universities • Produced 5 national award-winning wall calendars • Penn State University: President’s Award – Finalist • President’s Commission on Racial / Ethnic Diversity – Appointee • American Red Cross Commendations • Kansas Psychological Association Board of Governors – Board Member

Education and Training
Florida Tech University, Melbourne, Florida
Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology Degree Conferred: 9/95

Florida Tech University, Melbourne, Florida
Master of Science in Clinical Psychology Degree Conferred: 8/93

Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Clinical Option Degree Conferred: 6/91

Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas
Executive Development Institute Certificate Earned: 11/99
Coursework in Computer Science 9/00 – 12/01

Career Progression
Randstad In-house Services, placed at THE VANGUARD GROUP, INC. – Malvern, Pennsylvania
Instructional Design Contractor – www.vanguard.com
6/07 – PRESENT
Design and develop training courses for the world’s largest pure no-load mutual fund company. Conduct needs-analysis, identify target audience, & develop learning objectives, functionality, & interface appearance. Partner with subject matter experts to develop high-level designs, detail-level designs, storyboards, testing, & flow charts. Supervise production and assist in managing project budget. Ensure compliance with current brand consistency and corporate requirements.

NIGHT KITCHEN INTERACTIVE – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructional Designer / Project Manager – www.whatscookin.com
3/06 – 6/07
Supported development of training courses for the pharmaceutical, arts/culture, and multimedia communications industries. Conducted needs analysis, identified target audience, & developed learning objectives, functionality, & interface appearance. Partnered with subject matter experts to develop storyboards, testing, & flow charts. Supervised production & assisted in managing budget. Ensured compliance with worldwide regulatory requirements & SOPs.

Clients: The Smithsonian Institution – National Museum of Natural History, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Delaware Art Museum, Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, Academy of Natural Sciences, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Sequent Learning Networks

WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY – Wichita, Kansas
Director, Kansas Children’s Mental Health Training 2/00 – 2/06
Led a training and technology program responsible for serving more than 3000 community-based service professionals. Planned/directed technology integration into a $3.6 million government contract housed at the University. Managed development, implementation and maintenance of integrated software systems designed for total customer care.

HSP, INC. – Wichita, Kansas
Advisory Board Member   9/01 – PRESENT
Business Consultant   1/96 – 8/99
Provide consultation on customer & employee relations, shop flow processes, product development, and management of an aircraft parts manufacturing firm. Assist C-level, LOB and technical professionals in change management and strategic planning. Provide crisis management and resolution. Contribute leadership vision at management and planning sessions. Assist in establishing intermediate and long-term company goals, marketing strategies, and product development lines.

COMCARE of Sedgwick County, Wichita, Kansas
Director of Family & Children Community Services, Licensed Clinical Psychologist 
8/97 – 1/00
Provided leadership and oversight of Kansas’ largest community mental health center children’s program. Focused on quality service delivery, continuous improvement and optimization efforts, including developing and streamlining processes, as well as designing innovative programs to assist target populations. Utilized strong interpersonal relationship skills to facilitate increased productivity through problem solving and morale building.

Technical Expertise
Original Software Co-Developed

  • YOTO™  (Your Online Training Organizer)
  • KidSoft ™ System (Kids Information Database Software)
  • FeedbackLOOP ™ (Learning Optimization Online Program)
  • CMO™ (Case Management Online) Learning Management System
  • KT Course Builder™ Learning Content Management System
  • Content Builder™ Authoring Tool
  • Kids Training Team: www.kidstraining.org
  • Training Teams: http://www.trainingteams.com

Information Technologies Managed
Microsoft SQL Server 2000/7.0 • Exchange Server 2000 • Adobe Creative Suite (CS2) – Photoshop, Illustrator • Visual Basic.NET/ 6.0 • C# • Crystal Reports 8.5 • MS FrontPage 2000 • HTML • Active Server Pages.NET/3.0 • Javascript 1.3 • VBscript 5.0 • Macromedia/Adobe Flash MX, Freehand 10

Operating Systems Used
Windows 95, 98, 2000, XP • Palm O/S

Software Application Expertise
MS Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Visio, Access, FrontPage 2000 • Adobe: Photoshop CS2, Illustrator 10.0 • XML Articulate Presenter, Quizmaker 2.0 • Lotus Notes • Xara 3D Macromedia: Freehand 10 • Dreamweaver MX 2004 • Moodle LMS Captivate / RoboDemo • Camtasia

Other Administrative / Supervisory Experience

  • Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research: Editorial Board Member / Reviewer 11/00 – PRESENT
  • Sedgwick County Stress/Trauma Assistance Team
  • Critical Incident Stress Management Team Lead 11/99 – 2/06
  • Wichita Collaborative Psychology Internship Program, Wichita, Kansas: Curriculum Committee Coordinator; Doctoral Internship Supervisor 8/97 – 3/06
  • Kansas Psychological Association, Board of Governors: Member 12/98 – 1/01
  • Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas: Graduate Research Project Committee Chairperson 8/98 – 2/02
  • Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania: Counselor Education: Senior Teaching Assistant 1/90 – 5/91