Background wanderings:
- Influenced early for public service through scouting and 4-H through my paternal grandmother who in summers would take me to the Audubon Society and into the northern woods of Wisconsin, which served one of my teachers.
- Told in 5th grade that I could not sing, ended up in high school with solos at district and state levels with top ratings – lead to considering a music education career (and the beginning of disproving others assertions as mis-informed).
- Finding college courses exhausting my passion for music – discovered university people who focused and practiced on the growth and development of college students – prompted career change to get a master’s degree (though told I would not succeed past first quarter…).
- After a couple of 3-year stints growing and learning at 3 universities, landed at a university where I was able to lead and envision a new way to help college students grow and develop, if they choose.
- Welcomed a wonderful son into the world and was able to see the importance of developed adults supporting the growth of young people.
- Began to do research and look at the intersection of leadership qualities and the new field of adult development – finding development does not necessarily occur for senior leaders…
- Took a deep dive into leader and leadership development both academically and as a leader in an organization. Did some serious public service work with the federal civil service supporting four administrations and the evolving complexity of democracy.
Currenty exploring:
Liminal space – That place where you are neither here nor there – in a transition or transformation. Working with others as well as my own space of wandering and finding what resonates. Did a TEDx on this.
Community – What do people mean when they say Community and how are we creating space in our neighborhoods, towns/cities, organizations, and workplaces where we all share a mutual interest in the welfare of one another. Being good company.
Pause – How do we slow down, take time, listen, find time to help one another be heard – seen - and respected. Time will keep moving and we need to take the time for making meaning, together so everyone thrives!
Reimagining – Upspiraling – Everyone is on their own exploring and being able to find the possibilities in the life is attractive, at least to me. How might I/we grow like the nautilus, that grows by making a chamber and squeezes its new body into the larger chamber and fills the previous chamber with fluid to create balance…. I LOVE thinking about that!
BACK TO ALL
Reimagining how each of us travels through our wild, wonderful lives is fascinating to me. How does each of us learn to find the things that resonate for us in support of our way of living and leading? How might we learn to thrive better by understanding wisdom and encourage one another to be good company for the exploration?
“Life has always been about living together, loving one another, believing in our dreams, and making a difference, but sometimes we forget.” Anonymous
Meet Marilyn Bugenhagen
Curiosity came early as I read 100 books before the end of first grade – wanting to know and loving words and language. Later I became fascinated by cursive writing and the flow and flair. My curiosity and “learning jags” as I call them (deep dives), often lead me to learn about all kinds of topics. Then I tend to mash them together and make connections between topics and people and at times have led me to be able to work on a current problem. From the rural upbringing to university life to public service, I’ve lead organizations and worked with emerging to senior leaders helping them grow their capacity to live and lead.
CODA:
