You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward.
Steve Jobs’s iconic 2005 commencement address at Stanford University highlighted the importance of trusting one’s journey even when the path isn’t clear. As I reflect on my journey, I’m reminded of Jobs’s wisdom. I can see how each step, each encounter, and each realization has been a dot in a larger picture that only now comes into focus. My journey began in 2009 when I left my corporate career, driven by a desire to address the persistent issue of failed organizational change initiatives. This decision marked the first dot in what would become a transformative path.
Just as Jobs encouraged the graduates to have faith that the dots would somehow connect in their futures, my journey unfolded through a series of 13 meaningful steps that, looking back, form a coherent narrative. In this Advisor, I share three of those steps.
Be a Catalyst to Change Something Broken in the World
Reflection: The journey begins with recognizing that the world is calling for healing and that we are the ones to answer that call. This realization can be the spark that ignites the quest for inner leadership.
Personal experience: Throughout my 40-year career in corporate America, I noticed that many change initiatives aimed at enhancing organizations failed to bring genuine or lasting change. In 2009, after playing a key role in driving yet another corporate change initiative to a significant achievement, I saw all our progress vanish with the arrival of a new leadership team. Disheartened by this pattern, I resigned without having another job lined up, determined to find a way to change this.
Purpose connection: This recognition can scaffold purpose by aligning our actions with a greater cause, providing a foundation for meaningful leadership.
Question: How does my journey of addressing organizational change resonate with your own experiences or desires to make a difference?
There’s Great Power in Small Steps Aligned with a Larger Purpose
Reflection: Small actions aligned with a larger purpose can lead to significant improvements.
Personal experience: Unsure of where to start, I created a list of 70 ideas and discussed them with colleagues. One idea stood out: interviewing experts and asking them, “What improvement strategy or tactic has worked the best for you?”
Surprisingly, most of them shared insights that went beyond their well-known areas of expertise and shared something much deeper. This interview series (and later book) was called 5 Minutes to Process Improvement Success.
Purpose connection: These small, aligned actions scaffold purpose by creating tangible progress toward our larger goals, reinforcing our sense of direction and impact.
Question: Reflecting on your own journey, what small actions have you taken that unexpectedly aligned with a larger purpose? How did they unfold?
Participate in the Emerging Future by Sharing Your Insights
Reflection: Publishing or sharing insights is not just about contributing to a conversation. It’s about participating in the collective consciousness. Your participation itself will shape you and your consciousness in unexpected ways.
Personal experience: In the summer of 2012, Cutter Consortium issued a call for papers on the topic of blending agility with structured standards. I saw this as a chance to share important insights gained from discussions with leading experts and practitioners in the field. My central argument was that the ongoing debate persists because our collective focus is misplaced, and we must ask better questions. This idea was contrary to the prevailing opinions and practices at the time, and I was initially doubtful it would be accepted for publication due to its controversial nature.
To my surprise, not only was the article published in the next issue of Amplify, it garnered support and positive feedback from many people. Moreover, it opened several unforeseen opportunities for me.
Purpose connection: Sharing insights can scaffold purpose by connecting our individual experiences to collective growth, amplifying our impact and clarifying our role in shaping the future.
Question: How has sharing your insights shaped your growth? What possibilities do you see in your experiences for contributing to your field or community?
[For more from the author on this topic, see: “The Inner Leader’s Journey to Scaffolding Purpose & Authentic Leadership.”]
