The Power of Being an Opportunity Generator with Al Dea
Sunday Night Study Hall Edition 03
Welcome back to Sunday Night Study Hall, my weekly professional development experiment where I summarize learnings, resources and actions for a thought-provoking start to the week. I also post these summaries on my LinkedIn around 7:30pm ET on Sundays.
Al Dea is a Talent, Leadership & Workplace Executive Coach, Speaker & Facilitator. He writes Work In Progress which publishes on Sundays and hosts The Edge of Work podcast. The overall message of his Dec 1st newsletter resonated.
🪄 3 Learnings
👏 Generate Opportunities for Others: “When you go out of your way to create opportunities for others, people see you as someone they know, like, and trust. This strengthens your relationships and builds a positive reputation.”
✋ Be a Self-Starter: “One of the first lessons I learned in the workforce was that no one hands you opportunities—you must create them…Offering to lead a training session or onboarding a new hire is a simple yet effective way to share your expertise and gain visibility.”
🤝 Help Colleagues Create Opportunities: “Making Connections: Sometimes, the best opportunity you can provide is introducing two people who can help each other.”
📚 Follow-Up Resources
The Flywheel Effect by Jim Collins, Author of “Good to Great”
"Give and Take" by Adam Grant
The Edge of Work podcast by Al Dea
📅 3 Actions To Take This Week
Brainstorm “Back Pocket Ideas”: What Al suggests as “ideas for projects or initiatives that could significantly impact my organization each quarter. Sharing these ideas with managers and leaders has led to promotions and recognition.”
Celebrate a Colleague: Al writes on the importance of amplifying others impact to help them get visibility. Write an internal company post or external post.
Make an Intro: Connect two people (seek their permission first separately) to help support the other.
Al ends with this quote that is a core reminder of his message:
“Opportunity generation is a skill anyone can develop. It doesn’t require extraordinary resources or influence—just a mindset of generosity, collective spirit and action.”
Have a great start to the week! For Study Hall inspiration, here’s a photo of the University of Michigan Law School.
