I just finished up an engagement with one of our clients in Texas. I think I’ll call her “Jett” for Joan Jett, a female rocker from the 1980s best known for her contribution to Rock’s discography, “I Love Rock ‘n Roll.”
My client Jett started with Larry last year before he died. He always spoke of her as a “rock star” for her headlong rush into the BUILT TO LEAD materials, her embrace of our philosophy, and her hunger to learn.
You see, Jett had been appointed to a very senior role in her organization and felt unprepared for it. She went looking for help; for someone who could help guide her through a logical framework of learning and growth, AND who would push her out of her comfort zone and into a new world where she’d be unskilled, uncomfortable, and awkward. But there, she knew, she’d do something a lot of us stop doing too early…
…she knew she would GROW.
Our man Larry was the man for the job. Then The Lord took him just like that.
Jett was caught in those awful days when we were dazed and confused and grief stricken. She was, too, for Larry and his friends and family in Columbus, and also for herself. She was in desperate need for guidance and support, as she had summoned the courage to confront a corrupt situation at her organization just then.
Jett decided to stick it out with BUILT TO LEAD when yours truly went down to Texas to care for Larry’s clients. He was right, she was a Joan Jett rock star all the way. Jett tackled her responsibilities and confronted a pathology so deeply entrenched at her work that it had frozen the place in fear. She was fought by subterfuge from her colleagues in senior management every step of the way. You want to know why? Because she suggested they bring in an independent audit of senior management salaries, bonuses, and use of funds. That’s all. Just a little transparency. As we say, “light is the best disinfectant.”
I worked with Jett to gain clarity on her CORE; her deepest beliefs, values, and strengths, as well as her core purpose. Her big “WHY.” All that stuff.
The work we did together helped her clarify that the organization she’s currently serving can no longer serve her wants. She’s gone back to school, is meeting completely new people, and plans on working “with people I both like AND respect.” Done so.
Jett knows why she’s here: to encourage and guide others to think more clearly, deeply, and creatively about how they can be the best they can be. Now she’s off on the journey, guided by that purpose which she says “sings to her.”
Yeah, Jett. Put another dime in the jukebox, baby!
Keep in touch.
BUILT TO LEAD 