GROW AS WE GO

“Few people wake up suddenly feeling prepared to lead or create.  They become prepared by taking the leap anyway.” Adam Grant

This past week at work has been exhausting, chaotic and honestly emotional.  It was a week filled with unknowns, changes, promotions and tough discussions.  Late on Friday afternoon, I received a text from a supportive colleague and friend that read as follows:

“Never fear or shy away from any challenge.  You have much more strength and skill than you may even know.  Experience comes only when you reach forward.”

There have been a few different posts on this site that have spoken to the fear of taking on an unknown challenge.  In the past, the changes that were made this past week would have likely led me to question if I would be capable in the new role I will be assuming.  But the past is not now, and any internal questioning of my own capabilities is no longer a conversation I need to have with myself.

It is incredibly true that experience only comes when you reach forward and I have experience in spades.  That experience is written word for word in this 39 page litany of posts, stories, learnings and mentoring.  As I reflect back on the last 25 years of my career and re-read the experiences I have shared, it is clear to me that we all grow as we go. 

I spoke with a mentee this past week that is a young new mother struggling to achieve the balance in life of being a “good” mom and a “good” and productive employee.  The heaviness of her breathing over our Zoom call was a direct reflection of the heaviness of her heart.  I try to not just tell her that everything will be okay.  “Okay”, is not what she wants to hear.  Instead, I try to listen and pull only from the experiences I can share.  I encourage her to “reach forward” and say out loud what she needs.  To share her struggles with her manager and provide solutions that will meet her needs as well as the companies.  The answers she gets will not always be the ones she wants to hear, but “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter to us.” Martin Luther King.

This mentee will grow as she goes, she is starting from a different place than where I am on my path but I will reach back and lead her while she reaches forward to grab a helping hand.

The new role I have assumed within the organization does not scare me, there is no fear in my heart.  I will continue to grow as I go.  I will reach forward to gather even more experiences and I will reach behind to mentor and lead those that want to grow as we go together.