Do you remember those key moments in your life that initiated or preceded significant change?

 

In 2002, I was living and working in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, when I had the remarkable opportunity to spend a week with Peter Senge and William Isaacs from the Society for Organisational Learning (SoL). In 1997, the Harvard Business Review identified Peter’s book, The Fifth Discipline, as one of the seminal management books of the previous 75 years.

Having just moved to the US, I had no money, but I visited SoL HQ, pleaded my case, and they graciously allowed me to join the program with approximately 30 other participants. It was a full five-day event held near Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

As I flick through the pages of my notebook, in which I diligently recorded the learnings, I recognise the profound and ongoing impact this program had on me. I was one of the few people in the room without a PhD, and participants had arrived from all over the world, such was the influence of Peter’s work at the time.

I was privileged to be there, without a doubt. This was a pivotal moment in time for me, one that changed the way I viewed my life, my vocation, and my future. The insights and epiphanies I gained then have positively impacted me ever since.

When I look back, this was not the only transformative moment. There were numerous catalysts for change throughout my life, some positive growth experiences like my time with Peter, others were hard-learned and painful lessons etched into my memory. These experiences drove necessary change.

 

What are the common elements?

  1. Being ready for change.
  2. Creating the focus, time, and energy to make the change.
  3. Being brave and sticking with it, even when the going gets tough.
  4. Taking the time to acknowledge the change and the journey you went through.
  5. Learn along the way.

 

In my many years, I have concluded that we learn most from failure. While we may thrive and grow with success, putting yourself out there where there is an opportunity to fail is brave.

 

Be brave and embrace change.