Hard as Nails

In 2009 I started to write a blog called, 378 Days. It started as a public declaration that I would train for my 2nd Ironman 70.3 and an invitation for others to join me on this personal journey. After completing the race and writing my epilogue, I didn’t write again. But, I’ve missed it. I’ve missed the reflection my blog afforded and the opportunity it gave me to connect with people on a personal way. So, my blog is back!  In my new, reincarnated blog, I’m not going to document my training, but how I’m learning and changing – and what I’m learning about learning and change. Now this might sound a bit odd. Allow me to explain.

 

I always tell my MBA students, “you cannot sustain change without learning, and you cannot learn if you are unwilling to change.” The next era of my blog will be about this - my ongoing journey of learning and change. I may write about this in the context of my day job, teaching graduate students, being a mom or wife, leading a troop of 6 year old Girl Scouts or even training if/when I start that again. I’m really looking forward to this! I have a lot to learn and am keen to see how this changes me. I hope you will join me on this journey.

 

Yesterday I indulged myself in getting nails done. I was doing my part for a great date night with my husband – a weekly tradition we learned from my parents and that we’ve followed religiously for the past 8 years. I took advantage of this downtime to leaf through an Oprah magazine – as one does in such circumstances.

 

One article caught my eye. It was about discovering your calling. The author described a multi-step exercise to discover there calling. I love stuff like that and immediately jumped in. But, I only got through the 1st step because it so captured my imagination that I never made it to step 2. The 1st step was to remember wonderful times in your life. That’s it. They could be work or personal related memories.

 

I remembered a treasure hunt I’d once created for a party and how much people loved solving the puzzles and seeing something with new eyes. I remembered crying with joy after watching 100 people play a learning board game I’d developed as part of a large organisational change effort. I remembered celebrating my company’s 3rd birthday. I felt proud that we’d passed the 3 year hurdle over which so few companies pass. I remembered a change process with a client in which people became part of designing their future organisation – even when the future didn’t look like it would include their job! I felt proud that we could treat them as adults and with dignity - and I promised myself I’d try very hard to make sure this became a norm in industry. I remembered standing at the starting line of my first marathon feeling extremely proud to be there, scared about what lie ahead, and full of sadness because all my training had been a way to deal with the loss of my parents. Wow. It’s an amazing way to spend 30 minutes and I encourage you to do this too.

 

As my nails dried, I figured that I was pretty lucky that had discovered my calling over a decade ago when I started Organisation Solutions. It seems that my calling is to work for a cool company that gives me the chance to grow - as we empower businesses and their leaders grow. This path has allowed me to give away a bit of money to non-profits needing support, and it’s made it possible for me to be both an acceptable wife, mother and leader.

 

If you’ve never thought about whether or not you have a calling and what that might be, I encourage you to think about this. One of the 5 disciplines of a Learning Organisation is Personal Mastery. This includes defining your Personal Vision and then learning how to find the right balance between striving towards this vision and living in your current reality. This may sound mushy or soft – something for weaklings and people without a real job. I assure you, it’s hard to do and absolutely worth the effort!