Written by our partners at the Canadian Management Centre (CMC), here are three common ideas about professional learning that we believe miss the mark.

Hopefully, you will never have to make life-and-death decisions like those in charge of Apollo 13, but stop for a second and reflect on your own life and leadership style. How do you react under the pressure of an unexpected problem that needs a successful ending? When such a problem hits your desk, do you never, sometimes, or often respond by being surprised, panicking and immediately looking for someone to blame? Or do you calmly choose a wiser course of action?

The true nature of leadership is to help other people find their inner potential and then to help set them free of limitations that are holding them back.

What’s the benefit of engaging people to do more than just their jobs? It’s huge. Unless you’re living in a cave, you know change is happening at speeds never seen before. Old rules have to be replaced by new rules, new answers, and new solutions. All people are unique with talents that are often overlooked and undervalued. There is no greater waste than that of human potential.