TheTimes of Talent

For people who develop others

TheTimes of Talent For people who develop others
The Leonardo Principle: Leading Through Lifelong Learning
The Art of Learning

The Leonardo Principle: Leading Through Lifelong Learning

Leonardo da Vinci left thousands of notebook pages behind. Four habits recorded there still sharpen how we learn, and how we help others learn.

By Matthias Ehrhardt · 10 min read
Aim Higher How Can I...? Aim Higher The tough bosses often hurt people. The nice ones often develop no one. A pilot's lesson from Viktor Frankl, what the research says about expecting more, and how to start. By Matthias Ehrhardt · 5 min read Look. Doubt. Look Again. The Art of Learning Look. Doubt. Look Again. What Cézanne can teach leaders about learning, developing talent, and seeing what everyone else has learned to overlook. By Matthias Ehrhardt · 9 min read A yellow Post-it note reading WAIT – Why Am I Talking? How Can I...? Why Am I Talking? Five Habits of Real Listening Silence, catching the last sentence, and ten minutes a day: five habits that help people say what they came to say. By Verena Lauffs · 4 min read The Man Who Could Teach Stones to Draw The Art of Learning The Man Who Could Teach Stones to Draw Cézanne called himself his pupil. Gauguin counted him among his masters. Camille Pissarro, a founder of Impressionism and mentor to a generation of painters, knew how to develop people. Here is what we can learn from him. By Matthias Ehrhardt · 9 min read Leonardo da Vinci Lessons: Learning and Living Like a Master The Art of Learning Leonardo da Vinci Lessons: Learning and Living Like a Master Teach yourself, give learning time, work with others and finish what you start: the final four lessons from Leonardo da Vinci's life and notebooks. By Matthias Ehrhardt · 5 min read Raphael, The School of Athens, fresco, Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican Palace The Art of Learning Back to School (of Athens): What Raphael Teaches Us About Learning Pythagoras, Euclid, Heraclitus, Diogenes and a student with a notepad: what the rest of Raphael’s fresco shows about how people learn. By Matthias Ehrhardt · 7 min read
The Listener in the Painting The Art of Learning The Listener in the Painting A small portrait in Munich shows a man doing something most of us find surprisingly hard: listening. More than a century on, it holds a lesson for leaders who feel certain they are being heard. By Verena Lauffs · 5 min read Zitatkarte: "If you'd like, I can also create a version for your board. Want me to?" AI The AI Never-Enough Trap The machine can always offer one more idea. For many of us that turns into a quiet sense of falling short and a workday without an end. Here is how we can set a finish line. By The Times of Talent · 9 min read Quote: "Don't just deal with numbers. Deal more with people." Making Others Great Who Made YOU Better? Thoughts on one of the most important leadership skills By Matthias Ehrhardt · 8 min read

The Big Five

Free self-assessment

Curious or practical? Planner or improviser? Outgoing or reflective?

Where do you stand? Give it ten minutes and see your profile on five traits, with ideas for growing yourself and helping others grow.

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Making Others Great

The skill that matters most: helping the people around you grow.

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How to say "This is very good" in the US, UK, France and Germany When “Awesome” Means “Okay” “Great start!” “Passt.” “Pas mal.” Three ways to praise, three ways to be misunderstood. A tongue-in-cheek dictionary of American, German and French office talk, the research behind it, and seven habits that get your feedback through. By The Times of Talent · 9 min read Quote: "Don't just deal with numbers. Deal more with people." Who Made YOU Better? Thoughts on one of the most important leadership skills By Matthias Ehrhardt · 8 min read

The Art of Learning

What great artists teach us about leading and learning.

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The Man Who Could Teach Stones to Draw The Man Who Could Teach Stones to Draw Cézanne called himself his pupil. Gauguin counted him among his masters. Camille Pissarro, a founder of Impressionism and mentor to a generation of painters, knew how to develop people. Here is what we can learn from him. 9 min read Rembrandt's Other Masterpieces Rembrandt's Other Masterpieces The Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn created masterpiece after masterpiece. Much less known is the fact that he was also a great developer of talent, and his methods still work today. 10 min read Leonardo da Vinci Lessons: Learning and Living Like a Master Leonardo da Vinci Lessons: Learning and Living Like a Master Teach yourself, give learning time, work with others and finish what you start: the final four lessons from Leonardo da Vinci's life and notebooks. 5 min read Raphael, The School of Athens, fresco, Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican Palace Back to School (of Athens): What Raphael Teaches Us About Learning Pythagoras, Euclid, Heraclitus, Diogenes and a student with a notepad: what the rest of Raphael’s fresco shows about how people learn. 7 min read Raphael, The School of Athens, fresco, Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican Palace The Art of Learning: A Renaissance Guide for Coaches and Leaders Raphael’s School of Athens shows how Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates still shape how we learn, think, and grow. 6 min read

Myths About Learning

Thought you knew? Think again.

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It Takes 21 Days to Build a Habit New habits take their time. A study from London shows how long, and why missing a day is fine. Younger People Multitask Better Young colleagues look like natural multitaskers. The brain charges everyone a fee for each switch, at any age. Ten Thousand Hours Makes an Expert Practice matters a lot. How we practice, and who gives us feedback, matters just as much. Digital Natives Learn Differently Growing up with smartphones makes people at ease with devices. Judging information is a skill we can all learn, at any age.

How Can I...?

Practical answers, fast.

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Aim HigherAim HigherThe tough bosses often hurt people. The nice ones often develop no one. A pilot's lesson from Viktor Frankl, what the research says about expecting more, and how to start. Quote: "Don't just deal with numbers. Deal more with people."Who Made YOU Better?Thoughts on one of the most important leadership skills A yellow Post-it note reading WAIT – Why Am I Talking?Why Am I Talking? Five Habits of Real ListeningSilence, catching the last sentence, and ten minutes a day: five habits that help people say what they came to say. "You Matter": The Power and Beauty of Follow-Ups"You Matter": The Power and Beauty of Follow-UpsRemembering a colleague’s trip or exam, and asking about it later, builds trust and engagement. How to make follow-ups a daily habit. Curiosity: The Leadership Edge No One Taught YouCuriosity: The Leadership Edge No One Taught YouA child’s question about the sky points to an overlooked leadership skill. Curious leaders ask the second question, and build trust by doing it. Receiving Feedback: The Real Leadership SkillReceiving Feedback: The Real Leadership SkillGiving feedback gets the training. Receiving it well decides whether people keep telling you the truth.

Talent10

Our lists of ten: people and resources worth knowing.

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The Bookshelf

Books worth your time.

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Leadership BS – Jeffrey Pfeffer · 2015 Leadership BS – Jeffrey Pfeffer · 2015A Stanford professor invites the leadership field to measure itself by results, an invitation worth accepting. The Coaching Habit – Michael Bungay Stanier · 2016 The Coaching Habit – Michael Bungay Stanier · 2016Seven simple questions that help any manager listen a little longer. Man's Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl · 1946 Man's Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl · 1946Viktor Frankl on what carries people through hard times: knowing what they live for.

What Others Say

Worth reading elsewhere.

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Blame the Empty Office, Not the Robots Many blame AI for the young-graduate job squeeze. New York Fed economists point to a quieter factor: fewer people in the room to learn from. Read it Let the Junior Go First McKinsey has a simple answer to the question of how juniors learn when AI does the grunt work: attempt first, compare second, talk third. Read it 37 Countries, One Fear Pew surveyed 37 countries. In 34, people expect AI to cost more jobs than it creates. Those expectations walk into every training room. Read it

Timeless

The pieces readers keep coming back to.

The Man Who Could Teach Stones to Draw The Art of Learning The Man Who Could Teach Stones to Draw Leonardo da Vinci Lessons: Learning and Living Like a Master The Art of Learning Leonardo da Vinci Lessons: Learning and Living Like a Master Rembrandt's Other Masterpieces The Art of Learning Rembrandt's Other Masterpieces Raphael, The School of Athens, fresco, Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican Palace The Art of Learning Back to School (of Athens): What Raphael Teaches Us About Learning Raphael, The School of Athens, fresco, Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican Palace The Art of Learning The Art of Learning: A Renaissance Guide for Coaches and Leaders
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