A Time To Be Brave
“In speed skating, a hard pivot is an aggressive shift of direction that requires courage, practice, and split-second timing.” Apolo Ohno, three-time overall World Cup champion, overall World Championship gold medalist, record holder for most Olympic medals by a U.S. Winter Olympian.
Time has given me many gifts. I have been fortunate to travel and work all around the world. I have collaborated with talented minds and passionate souls. I have challenged people to think big and helped them navigate stormy seas. We thought about the future. We wanted to make an impact on our communities, to create, to build, to do work that people could be proud of doing, to write our own chapter and influence the future. The path was not always clear. We were learning and evolving aware that careers are made not in a straight line. Growth was the drumbeat.
The journey continues and the conversation today is about change. A hard pivot. There is much happening. We have seen tremendous economic uncertainty mixed with continued record low interest rates that are only now slowly changing. Gross domestic product (GDP) surged in the U.S. at an impressive 6.9% in the fourth quarter of 2021 to close out a year in which the measure of all goods and services produced in the U.S. increased 5.7% on an annualized basis. That came after a pandemic-induced 3.4% decline in 2020, a year that saw the steepest but shortest recession in U.S. history. In Canada real gross domestic product (GDP) grew 1.6% in the fourth quarter of 2021, following a 1.3% rise in the third quarter. Real GDP posted a strong 4.6% growth in 2021, after the COVID-19 pandemic-induced decline of 5. 2% in 2020. Competition is fierce. Mental health is a workplace issue. Statistic Canada reports that 16% of working Canadians say their workplace is a frequent or ongoing source of feelings of depression, anxiety or other mental illness. The same reporting identifies that 38.6% working Canadians would not tell their current manager if they were experiencing a mental health problem. As a result of the pandemic working virtually and remotely has changed how we work. Technology is reshaping the future. These changes are here to stay. We need to adapt. We need to reinvent. We need to create value.
I have had the privilege of working with CEOs in many different capacities and from different perspectives. That experience taught me that being part of transforming a company is a responsibility. Everyone’s responsibility. That the biggest goals require action. That the difference between success and failure is people. The conversations successful leaders are having now are about doing the work, hard work. To be forward thinking, creating the space for innovation, building talent strategies that are inclusive, being active contributors to a sustainable future for the generations to come, leaning into change and embracing opportunities for the mutual health of the organization and our people. Hard pivots.
This is a time to be brave. As individuals I encourage you to look for challenging assignments. To use your voice, to be seen, to own your career. Your leaders are challenged to define what the organization will be and why it will matter. Your challenge is to explore your passions, have a growth mindset, and be part of a community. Change starts with you. Ask for authority and take responsibility. Deliver. Earn the trust of your leaders and colleagues. Give back.
World class speed skaters are defined by their strength, flexibility, agility, and balance. As business leaders, as people, our challenge is to find those same elements of success within ourselves so that we are able to make a hard pivot. Start small, think big.