2017 APTi Conference Notes
In Conclusion
I am very glad I attended the conference. As a card-carrying introvert, I was encouraged by getting to know so many great people. As a newly-acquired, prized possession, I have a stack of 27 business cards, representing all kinds of wonderful people, all contributing to our greater knowledge of type, psychology, and life.
Thursday, July 20
Thursday is even more of a blur but in the best way possible. Greg Huzsco on Trust, but Verify. Shorter-length sessions on American Presidents by Cash Keahey, career coaching by Anne Gottlieb Angerman, and (co-presented) Jane Austen characters' MBTI types. I'm in a rush here or I would share more--so perhaps later.
Wednesday, July 19
Dario Nardi puts a cap on my head and nods his head furiously as he watches me utterly fail at simple math problems. He offers some encouragement in the form of short phrases like, "I don't usually see this brain region used to solve math problems," but it's clear to me that my brain has not been entirely well served by my Netflix habit. I await the final report with trepidation.
Ray Moody's session is amazing. I get the idea to coach anxious people through all primary-attitude functions. Not sure if it's a good idea, but based on what I gleaned from discussions during the session, maybe it's a developmental path of less resistance.
Richard Owen's session blows my mind, too. GOSH this conference is fascinating. "GET THE SLIDES," my notes say. I also make a note to ask Richard about Morphic Resonance afterward, and of course he shares some really neat information on the topic post-session. Is this a type conference or a philosopher's guild? So cool.
Eve DeLunas shares deep insights from her counseling practice. I feel lucky to have purchased her book on a whim a couple of years ago. The additional information she provides helps me understand her philosophy of practice.
Tuesday, July 18
Pam Fox Rollin does a great job showing why Linda Berens considers ENTPs "Get-things-Going Theorists". Her energy and enthusiasm is captivating. Also I'm always looking for tips on becoming a more empathetic person, and this session is terrific for that. Who knew that developing "cognitive empathy" in the workplace is more highly recommended than developing "emotional empathy"? Not me.
Linda Berens' session on Ego Development is fascinating and very, very deep. Thomas McConkie does a great job answering questions and introducing his research to the type community. Linda shares the concept of "Developmental Rights," or (as I understand it), the right to be at any given developmental stage at any point. In other words, "I recognize your right to be at a different developmental stage than my own."
I ask Linda a few questions, one being: "We talk about individual human development, but does the development pattern also occur at a higher, socio-cultural level? Are we evolving or accelerating as a human race, preparing for a massive cultural transition?" I want to reference certain favorite Star Trek episodes but instead mention the ideas of Buckminster Fuller regarding the future of humanity. Linda points me to some very interesting resources, among them Holacracy.org, the works of Robert Kegan, an online course called Developmental Life Design, Evolution at Work, and Encode.org.
Finally, I can't decide if it's a mental typo or not, but somehow I end up at Barbara Marx Hubbard and Evolve.org, and whether it was Linda who mentioned these or just poor recall, I intend to follow up and see what it's about. The Star Trek episode linked above was simply too powerful, awakened too strong of a pattern-memory within me that I have to see what is being done and what can be done.
Fingers crossed that this doesn't end up with me starting my own religion, you know? It's kinda out there in a social-norms sense.
Monday, July 17
Interaction Styles are fascinating. Susan Nash points out that even one's method for self-selecting an Interaction Style says much about their Interaction Style! My method is very methodical, of course. I'm not sure whether to feel socially self-conscious or well-instructed. Going with the latter.
Sue Blair's introduction to Beebe Archetypes caps off our pre-conference session. I am SO GLAD I attended. New perspectives are always helpful, and Susan and Sue have done a terrific job in guiding me to a better understanding of type.
I also had more time to hang out with my new friends in the type community. Susan, Sue, Jan, Elaine, Jean Luc, Alberto: All are such special, gifted people. Poor Jean Luc has been jet-lagged and I sympathize. I couldn't do what he's doing, putting all this effort into certification while feeling so exhausted.
On our way to the Elevations restaurant to decompress, Jan and I run smack into Manchester United. Literally, the team is right there in front of us. Jan is deeply involved in European soccer/football as a coach, and IIRC has worked for Man United in the past. My mouth is gaping. Jan is pointing out players and where they're from. "That guy on the right there is Dutch," he tells me. We finally make it through the staff cordon and have a very nice chat in the restaurant. Jan tells me about Action Type, which is new to me. I hope Jan writes his sports coaching book. And Elaine, a newspaper industry veteran, very generously offers us her copy-editing skills as we discuss book plans.
Sunday, July 16
I'm very impressed with Susan Nash and the Pre-conference coaching certification course. While discussing temperaments I realize I know nothing! It's time once again to readjust. I ask questions and hope I'm not annoying the group. I had no idea of the depth I should have expected! "Temperament explores the why, and Interaction Style explores the how," is one of my key takeaways. That alone is a lot of information. Also the fact that Linda Berens has updated the Temperament terminology throws me for a loop a bit. I ask questions with terms like "ENTJ" and get answers with equivalent, yet foreign, terms like "In-charge Theorist".
On top of all that, I'm with a very pleasant, professional group of people. Impressive!
Saturday, July 15
On the drive to Utah from Ukiah (14 hours) I was reflecting on Bob McAlpine's recent webinar featuring his work with a Stephen T. Weed blending the work of John Giannini and John Beebe. Their research offers new perspectives on the ways in which various cognitive fuctions are used. For example, we may be familiar with NiTe, but what about TiNi? I am looking forward to reading the full article describing their research.
If the full conference is this interesting, I'm sure I'll walk away reeling...
Topics: APTi