holiday reflections

Picture by Paula May from Unsplash

You only know yourself when you go beyond your limits. Paulo Coelho

(originally published on LinkedIn)
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​Through December our son completed his 21-day OutwardBound journey, which led me to reflect on my own 8-day OutwardBound journey - Discovery Masters, 2006. This was a journey I entered into at a critical point in my professional and life journey. Here is a pictorial of my rock climb - I was petrified and exhilarated simultaneously (the photos are not great quality, but I am so thankful someone picked up my disposable camera and captured this journey for me

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In the first picture I am about a third of the way up the rock face. Clearly things are going well and probably better than I had expected. I'm obviously a "bit" excited!

But close to the end, I froze - see me below straddled and unable to move. I was tired and from my vantage point I couldn't see the summit's closeness! It's so clear in the picture that I am really close to the top, but at the time I couldn't see it. I remember this well – how I felt & what I yelled. I said, "It’s been fun up ‘til now, I’d like to come down now!” Afterwards, my instructor said he would put it down as one of his favourite quotes and I recorded it in my journal :-) Thankfully, with some encouragement & time to recoup I made it to the summit. This was my pivotal point, where I discovered there was far more in me than I imagined.

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Then,  I am at the summit (picture below) - but the conquered rock face is more visible than me. You can barely see me, though to this day I can feel the sense of excitement & accomplishment.
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​As I reflected I saw many analogies to strategy and my professional journey, so I thought I'd share some of my take homes:

• agree why/where you're going on your "strategic" journey & have a plan - I didn't sign up for a Masters OB course lightly. I knew why I was going and what I hoped to get out of it (of course, it ended up being much more). I invested significantly in preparing and communicated clearly with my family and colleagues, who supported me throughout.
• get started and enjoy catching the “wave” - timing is important
• take one step at a time - keep your eyes forward and reflect on the past for learning (we all have ups and downs)
• don't journey alone - surround yourself with trusted advisors, mentors and support systems
• enjoy the journey - have fun along the way, life is way too short not to
• capture and reflect on your pivotal points and your leadership summits
• take time to rest and recoup - manage your daily, weekly, monthly and yearly calendar: book in time for family, friends and exercise (I've stopped seeing "I'm busy" as a badge of honour! Personally, I'm only as "busy" as I choose to be.)
• when you reach the summit you are going for, it's likely the focus will not be on your personal input - be okay about that and let your successful work/mahi be the story
• and, be confident the summit is closer than you may imagine. The view is magnificent!

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My son climbed the same rock face -  twice.
Once blindfolded and then one-handed. WOW!
​I could not be more proud of him.

Final reflections: enjoy your successes, but don't seek the glory and be ready to share what you learn. Rejoice when those you have mentored conquer the “rock face” quicker and better. That's the best legacy we can leave :-)

Here’s to a successful 2019!


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