Walk. Talk. Connect. With Jackie Asiimwe
Jackie’s reflections…
Today I had an amazing time with Lindzy. She reached out way back in June this year. Treasure, who is my Executive Enabler, keeps an excel sheet of people who have requested to walk with me, so that we can keep track and ensure that I walk with all who have reached out. For some reason though, Lindzy had fallen through the cracks, so I was glad she reached out again to remind me.
Part of the interesting things about the walks, especially with people I don’t know, is that you just never know what to expect. Sometimes the person is a bit withdrawn and has to be drawn out slowly and gently over the course of the walk. Others come full guns blazing and it’s high energy from start to finish.
That’s how Lindzy was — a ball of fiery energy. I lost count of the times she leaped in the air as we connected over a shared epiphany. Thinking about her leaps even now causes me to a smile. At the end of the walk I told her that her energy had charged my battery to 100% and I left her feeling ready to conquer the world.
One of the things we talked about this morning was questions.
We spoke about questions and questioning. We generally live in a culture that frowns upon questions, especially from children/young people. We treat questions as rudeness or an affront to power. We shut down questions with disdain or silence. Those that question truly suffer in a society like ours.
This culture is often carried to and present within our organizations. In the totem pole of hierarchy, we quickly learn that the lower one is in an organization, the less questions one can ask. These unasked questions morph into secrets, conspiracy theories, corridor talk, pain , frustration and a whole cocktail of emotions and actions at the work place.
We need a new lens through which to see, receive and perceive questions. We need to appreciate those among us that ask questions. It is an act of courageous vulnerability to ask questions.
As leaders — what questions are you asking yourself in this season? What questions is your team asking? Are you a question enabler or a question blocker.? Are there undiscussables — those things which your team knows never to raise, never to ‘go there’ because you will literally chop their heads off?
How do we learn the humility needed to hear and receive questions? How can we learn to treat questions as gifts for discovery, growth and stretching?
I left with a lot to ponder…..
Lindzy’s reflections…
To walk and connect with Jackie was such an experience. Yes, I like to walk but what I like more is having intentional and deep conversation.
I kept on telling her that for someone in her position, she is such an exemplary leader clothed with humility. Our conversation today was centered around our value systems and how they inform the decisions we make in life.
Values also act as boundary lines because that way people know how to interact with us, what to do and what not to do…our values should never be left to wherever the wind blows.
Time management, Kindness and Excellence made it to the top of her list.
We asked questions like;
How is it okay to settle for mediocrity?
How do we show up for our commitments and then give the bare minimum?
Through it all and the changing scenes of life, we realized that cultivating virtues like discipline and consistency keep us going.
We also talked about things on our ‘bucket list’ and realized that we both would like to go sky diving. We then came up with the ‘basin list’ too for the people we would each like to meet and have one on one conversations with.
During our walk, I shared about how I enjoy reading and usually hold onto handwritten notes. Lo and behold, Jackie had carried with her a handwritten note just for me.
It’s been a pleasure taking the 76th walk with you. Now onto reflecting on the fact that “Broken crayons still color”
