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Knowing and Growing

Knowing and Growing:
Insights for developing ourselves and others
Alan McLean

Insights for developing ourselves and others

Alan McLean


This extraordinary book provides insights and practical tools  to help you navigate everyday human interactions, balance your own and  others’ needs and utilise your emotions to create a more fulfilling  life. Drawing on decades of experience, Alan McLean argues persuasively  that it is identity, not personality, which is the key to personal  growth. The powerful insights readers glean from ‘McLean’s Ring’ are not  only helpful for parents, teachers and leaders they are also essential  for anyone aiming to encourage others to grow and develop as  individuals.

‘Alan McLean shows a profound regard for  people and writes with an essential quality of hope. The book integrates  learning from different disciplines of psychology into a coherent  framework for understanding how people grow to know themselves. This is  then unpacked in a number of powerful tools that can help individuals,  teams and organisations to grow in awareness and efficacy. It is a major  contribution to the subject of mental well-being.’

Derek Brown, Head of Education, Fife Council

‘McLean’s Ring of Preferences gives us a deep understanding of  ourselves and our relationships. How to balance these preferences is  an essential theme to be pursued by all not only in Eastern culture but  in Western countries. The preferences are powerful concepts for  increasing happiness, peace and productivity.’

Ayako Ito, Associate Professor, Ochanomizu University, Tokyo

Alan McLean is the author of The Motivated School and  Motivating Every Learner and his work on motivation is of interest to  educationalists worldwide. Until 2011 Alan was a Principal Psychologist  in Glasgow City Council and the creator of various staff development  programmes including Promoting Positive Behaviour and the award winning  Bullyproofing our School. In recent years his research focus has widened  beyond motivation to human development.


Please go to Alan McLean's site What motivates learning to access the profiles mentioned in Knowing and Growing. 


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