Jumping back in the deep end
I have been swimming in the deep for what seems like a lifetime.’
- In grade 6 I had to make the decision to leave all of my friends (and what felt like my whole world) behind to pursue a dream of being one of the best basketball players in Canada.
- In grade 8 I decided to be shipped off to live in the housing projects in Phillidelphia with a brand new team in pursuit of this goal.
- In grade 12 I chose to stand up in front of my conservative Christian high-school and community and tell them why I profoundly believed we need to accept and love people from different sexual orientations, religions, ethnicities, and beliefs, as we do each other (trust me, this was not preaching to the choir at the time).
Not long after that, my dad gave me some very timely and valuable advice sharing how he manages these big life decisions (I guess he had a hunch I may have a few more of them!).
My dad suggested that in my next big decision I think about the top 3 things that must be present in the new opportunity. If these things were not met, the option was not even considered – regardless of how shiny or flashy it may seem. He assured me if I dug deep and identified these 3 top priorities, they would act as my true north. My guiding star.
10 years later and I am still following that nugget of advice.
And so as I was approached for an exciting digital communications role at Build Direct, I took some time to re-evaluate what those priorities looked like.
1) To be in an engaged work environment, surrounded by intrinsically motivated people.
2) To be constantly challenged, pushed, and supported. To ultimately have the opportunity to learn and grow through a mentor or role model on a daily basis.
3) To have a real impact on the people in the organization and play a growing influential leadership role.
As I went through a quick but thorough interview process I continually checked in with my guiding star priorities. And with every conversation and every reflection, I was re-affirmed that this would be a role and an environment that would exceed my key criteria.
And so, after spending 2.5 fantastic years building my own consulting practice and developing my associate role at Tekara Organizational Effectiveness, I will be making the jump into the corporate world!
A new door opens, an old door closes… for now.
Leaving Tekara has not been an easy decision. It has been an environment of tremendous growth and the building of meaningful relationships in my first dip into the working world. I am however very excited to end on a very high note with the launch of a World Class Leadership Development program, Emerge, with our first course for inspired leaders starting October 5th.
PS- If your interested in leadership, I’d love for you to take a look at Emerge and let me know what you think, and pass it along to anyone who may be interested!
Looking into the Unknown
The most exciting and most dreadful part of any change is anticipating “the unknown”. As human beings we are constantly trying to justify our decisions by convincing ourselves we know what the future, and the unknown, will bring. I have consciously tried to push back against this defence mechanism, acknowledging that I have no idea what this new adventure will bring. Whether I will love it or hate it, what it will look like on day 1 or day 61, or if it will inevitably satisfy those 3 driving priorities.
And ‘not knowing’ is OKAY.
I will take every day, and every experience in stride. I’m confident that I have made the right decision and what comes is all a part of the process of growing as a holistic human being, and the next step of my business adventure.
After all, if I have learnt one thing about myself over the past few years, it is this…
As much as it scares the hell out of me,
I thrive is in the deep end.
And I couldn’t be more excited to go for my next swim.
photo credit: theunquietlibrarian (Flickr)
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