The first quadrant is the “I”. Here we look at interior and subjective areas such as emotional, cognitive and intellectual development. This quadrant also relates to core values, ethics and morals. Development here can lead to a sense of being on purpose with greater emotional resiliency and intellectual mastery.
The second quadrant is the “we”. Here we engage with the subjective aspects of relationships and shared meaning. The development of interpersonal skills, listening, communication and other such skills can lead to a greater sense of closeness, meaning and connection. These are important in personal life as well is business life.
The next quadrant is the “it” quadrant. This is often characterised as the external objective. One way of understanding this is that it relates to the things that we can see, hear and touch. Within the learning plan this relates to the ability to demonstrate mastery through such things as keeping our word, managing information, agreements and schedules and our general ‘activities’. This is often the most easy to focus on because it is one of the more concrete. While the first two seemed to most of us to be somewhat nebulous or ambiguous, this quadrant has an abundance of information and how-to guides available and therefore seems the easiest to get on with. While there is many of opportunity in this quadrant is also important that any of these activities are aligned to interior and relational goals.
One of the things that makes a tremendous difference to individuals and professionals is a learning plan. Ongoing education can provide relevance and mastery in a changing world. It is also a significant contributor to a sense of personal satisfaction and growth.There are several useful perspectives in the development of a learning plan. One of these is the four quadrants model developed by Ken Wilber.
The fourth quadrant is the “its”. In this quadrant there is an opportunity to learn about many of the systems that we are a part of. Understanding the trends, functioning and rules of economic, political, social and ecological systems allows us to position ourselves in a way to change or take advantage of opportunities and challenges.
When a learning plan contains information and insights from each of these four quadrants anyone goal benefits from a greater understanding of the context of system in which it exists. For instance if one wishes to develop one’s mastery in regards to money and wealth. Then looking at the intellectual and emotional (I), the ways in which people talk about wealth (We), the specific activities and practices required over time to be wealthy (It), and the greater economic and political ecosystem (Its), would allow for a robust and grounded approach (integral) to master money and wealth.
A second useful perspective is developing a learning plan is to look at the opportunities for getting new information and feedback – through books, audio, and other resources along with coaching, education and training. A useful question here is how much new information or stimulus am I’m bringing in. One of the maxims to avoid is “doing the same old thing but expecting different results”. The introduction of new perspectives is critical to develop mastery and insight.