Perspective-seeking agility: A stand-alone micro-VCoL from Lectica

I’ve written quite a bit about micro-VCoLing™ and its many benefits. I’ve also shared a number of micro-VCoLs, including a micro-VCoL starter set focused on fundamental attribution error. Starter sets are designed to help people learn the most basic micro-VCoLing skills. Once these skills have been practiced enough to become automated, we introduce a variety of stand-alone VCoLs focused either on an aspect of one of the +7 skills in the VCoL+7 model or an aspect of one of the skills targeted in a Lectical Assessment.

The +7 skills include

1. awareness of self, others, and the environment;
2. skills for making connections between ideas, information, emotions, perspectives, and evidence;
3. skills for seeking and evaluating information, evidence, and perspectives;
4. skills for applying what we know in real-world contexts;
5. reflectivity — a cultivated habit of reflecting on outcomes; information, emotions, or events;
6. skills for seeking and making use of feedback; and
7. awareness of cognitive and behavioral biases and skills for avoiding them.

The skills targeted in our assessments vary quite a bit, but most are skills required for navigating a complex world, including a large set of VUCA skills.

Micro-VCoL starter-sets

Starter sets are designed to habituate micro-VCoLing. They:

• closely mimic the brain’s natural micro-learning cycle, which (re)activates the brains’ motivational system for learning,
• focus on the most fundamental VCoLing skills — skills used in all VCoLing, and
• are stripped down to the essentials, so practitioners stay focused on targeted VCoLing skills.

Stand-alone micro-VCoLs

Stand-alone micro-VCoLs differ from starter-set micro-VCoLs in a number of ways. First, we design them with the assumption that the end-user has already learned the most basic VCoLing skills—those targeted in VCoL starter sets.

To learn micro-VCoLing skills, you can either take our ViP (VCoL in practice) course or teach yourself using the information published on our site, in videos, and in Medium posts.

Second, with the exception of our free crisis-management VCoLs, stand-alone VCoLs are usually offered in conjunction with a Lectical Assessment as customized learning practices. They are assigned based on (1) scores received on our assessments, and (2) client needs.

Third, again with the exception of our free crisis-management VCoLs, the selection of a stand-alone VCoL depends upon the complexity level score (Lectical Score) received on a Lectical Assessment. In other words, it’s selected because it’s calibrated to a test-taker’s Goldilocks Zone—the zone in which a learning challenge is “just right.”

Fourth, like starter-set micro-VCoLs, stand-alone micro-VCoLs target micro-skills. (Micro-skills are components of larger sets of skills.) However, whereas a starter-set micro-VCoL targets only one or two micro-skills at a time, a stand-alone micro-VCoL might target several. For example, in the perspective-seeking agility VCoL offered in this article, the micro-skills are those required to recognize, select, and employ perspectives in a variety of contexts.

Fifth, although all micro-VCoLs are designed to be practiced in-the-moment in relevant everyday contexts, the time-span of a context for stand-alone micro-VCoLing is likely to be longer than that of a starter-set micro-VCoL. For example, the “apply” step of a starter-set micro-VCoL might simply involve noticing opportunities for perspective-seeking, whereas the perspective-seeking agility micro-VCoL offered in this article involves the entire perspective gathering and coordination step in a decision-making process.

Finally, whereas starter-set micro-VCoLs are usually designed to be practiced for only a week or so as preparation for more complex future micro-VCoLing, stand-alone micro-VCoLs (including our crisis-management, stress-management, and self-regulation micro-VCoLs) are likely to produce learning benefits for months or years.

The perspective-seeking agility micro-VCoL

This micro-VCoL is designed for leaders and other adults who frequently make decisions involving other human beings, communities, or institutions. (In our system, it’s calibrated to phase 11a which runs from 1100 to 1124 on the Lectical Scale.)

In Lectica’s system, perspective-seeking agility skills are viewed as components of a larger set of skills we call perspective-coordination skills. We regard these as essential life skills and, consequently, have written many perspective-coordination micro-VCoLs for both children and adults. Most are available only in assessment reports. The perspective-seeking agility micro-VCoL offered here is freely available for educational use, as indicated in the copyright line.

If you would like to become a highly efficient and joyful lifelong learner, Lectica’s course, ViP is the best place to start.

Good-in-a-crisis micro-VCoLs

ViP info | ViP rationale