I am a member of a fabulous tribe of engaging, creative, brave, successful people; my local tribe is in Brisbane, and our tribe is a part of a worldwide tribe that brings amazing people together to share amazing experiences.
My Tribe and My Thirst for Learning
Recently, my Brisbane tribe had our annual dinner where the dance moves were enthralling and the food exquisite. The event included a number of awards and I was fortunate enough to receive one of those awards. I was surprised and humbled. I felt extremely fortunate to be recognised within my tribe.
The award by name is ‘Thirst for Learning’ and you may think, what sort of award is that – how hard is it to have a thirst for learning? You are right, it is not hard, but time and time again in Change2020 we find ourselves working with leaders who are: wedded to old ways; fearful of creativity; and reluctant to think about things from a different perspective. These leaders are suffering from an abhorrent lack of curiosity! They get ‘stuck’, they revisit old ways, they err towards the ‘tried and tested’, yet the world we live in no longer values consistency the way it once did. It now looks for innovation, creativity, a culture of continuous improvement.
Our Change2020 values were defined around six years ago – one of them is Curiosity. We are passionate about supporting the people we work with to be curious, to ask questions, to query, challenge and hypothesise. The reward I just received tells me I am living that value!
The fact that my tribe recognises and celebrates a ‘Thirst for Learning’ is truly magnificent.
Change2020 is doing our bit to encourage curiosity, but maybe we need to step it up, maybe we need to celebrate and reward learning. We are privileged to work with many fabulous organisations who invest in their people, who build career opportunities and encourage people to push themselves, but is it enough? Perhaps we need to start at the ‘top’. Find and reward those leaders who are genuinely curious, those who are ‘ok’ with uncertainty, those who relish a new idea or a complex problem – those who embrace ambiguity.
Change2020’s vision – to inspire more people to embrace ambiguity. We want to build a tribe where we move towards the new, the unknown, where we are always moving forward. Our business world is a new one; the key differentiator will be our people, with AI knocking on our door (very loudly in some industries) we have no choice but to bring out the best in our people and what better way than to encourage learning.
So, while I love my local tribe and Change2020 seeks to build our tribe of people inspired to embrace ambiguity, I encourage you to create your tribe or join a tribe where learning is recognised, celebrated and rewarded.
Thank you to my local tribe, I commit to retaining and sharing my thirst for learning!
