In a recent post, Jeff Goins describes that moment when the so-called “imposter syndrome” prevents a writer from publishing his work. I could relate to that feeling … I often find myself agonising about whether or not something I’ve written is “worthy of publishing”. Typically it sounds like “Who am I to write about this? I’m not an expert” or “What if the actual experts read this?” … a real concern if some of those experts are your friends!
I really like the advice Goins gives to overcome this barrier : See your blog as a place to “learn out loud”. By virtue of the focus of my work, I am always learning and exploring new ideas. One of the benefits of working in the field of complexity for so many years is that clients trust me as a thinking partner when they need to navigate uncharted territory. Fact is, we are all learning how to navigate uncertainty together, complexity has just provided me with different perspective and more appropriate tools.
So I’ve come to see myself as a “wayfinder” – not a pathfinder, because that assumes there is an existing path. The More Beyond brand emerged from this ethos … More (or Further) Beyond comes from Plus Ultra, it became the motto of Spain after Columbus successfully returned from his voyages. Prior to that, it was Non Plus Ultra … literally declaring that was nothing more beyond the so-called known world. A symbol that is significant to me (and therefore part of the More Beyond brand) is that of a Lion clawing away the Non in front of Plus Ultra that can be seen at a monument dedicated to Columbus in Valladolid.
I chose this as the name for my company because I truly believe there is ALWAYS More Beyond, and it is that "beyond" that I am exploring and learning about together with my clients and fellow explorers. So I’m going to try out this idea of “learning out loud”, sharing as I go along so that more of us can learn together about “navigating the white water” as one of my clients put it recently. In a way, I’ve already started with my anthology of useful metaphors and analogies, as I find those to be useful ways of making sense of, and integrating new concepts.
My current explorations are mostly around change (specifically becoming change fit), enabling resilience & responsiveness, leading effectively in the unknown, new forms of strategy in a world of fast-paced and continuous change; skills required to thrive in the new world of work and finally how to design for emergence. In all of these, I am attempting to answer the “so what?” of complexity, i.e. how can complexity thinking make a tangible difference to our practices and create different business outcomes.
If you’re a fellow explorer, I invite you to follow my blog, comment, contribute …. Let’s Learn out Loud together!