I believe that we as humans are always growing. We not only experience growth within ourselves and our relationships but also in our careers with our clients and their clients. This leads me to a concept that I find very useful in not only my growth but helping guide others through theirs as well. It's called The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and the "Edge of Growth".
The Edge of Growth
The notion of The Zone of Proximal Development is that people are at a certain level of understanding every single day. This could be of the world as a whole, an idea, or even a concept. Right above this level of understanding is The Zone of Proximal Development. This is the level that we do not understand yet (edge of your growth) but have the ability too.
Entering The Zone of Proximal Development
According to the revered psychologist, Vygotsky, who is known as one of the founders of modern psychology, states that we can enter ZPD if we have a more knowledgeable other. This could be a book, podcast, coach, mentor, materials, courses, etc. One of the crucial elements for being in ZPD is that there must be some type of social exchange according to Vygotsky.
Vygotsky introduced the idea of "scaffolding", in which activities and concepts are able to build upon each other. He believed that this allows us to continuously reach higher levels of understanding and experience constant growth.
ZPD Offers Excitement
In my experience, our current level of understanding is the things that we can easily do. For me, this is kind of boring. However, the things in my ZPD are exciting! I can feel my brain stretching and can't wait to learn more. This is why it's called "Edge of your Growth".
Use ZPD to Better Connect with Clients
I have found that ZPD not only helps me in my personal growth but allows me to better communicate and connect with my clients. We've all been in a situation where we are on the phone with a potential client and realize that they do not understand what we are talking about. On the flip side, we've also been on the phone with a client who knows exactly what we are talking about. Each of these clients has a different level of understanding. And in my experience, when we are able to assist people to like themselves more, then we are tagged subconsciously as somebody great in their mind.
I would like to take a moment and point out that I do not believe there is a good or bad ZPD. Everyone is different and will have a unique ZPD and that is okay! In my experience, understanding where someone is at in their ZPD allows us to guide that person through their growth. We are able to serve as an educator and/or mentor.
Identifying a Person's ZPD
I believe that the ability to identify where somebody is at in their level of understanding and consequently presenting the information in that zone does a couple of different things:
They are able to understand it, relate to it, and instantly apply it to their current situation.
It releases emotions and enables the flow state - The mindset in which a person is excited and fully immersed in the activity, idea, or concept and ready to learn more.
It seems to me that ZPD and the "Edge of Growth" has a lot to do with dreaming and the possibilities that are there. We when are able to identify the level of understanding of both ourselves and our clients, then we have the ability to grow as a person and better connect with our clients!