Last weekend the most amazing partner in crime, Matt Corker, and I presented two workshops at the UBC Student Leadership Conference on “Getting out of your own way”. 

It was a new experience for both of us – I had never presented at the SLC before (let alone with a remote teammate) and Matt had never presented digitally (which didn’t stop him from bringing crazy positive energy and fun into the room all the way from Copenhagen on Skype). He wrote a great piece on his learnings from presenting digitally here.

It was a blast. It was challenging. It was exciting. Yep, there were some technical hiccups. The delegates were awesome (watch out for these young leaders, they are up to some pretty big things!). 

Overall, Matt and I had a lot of fun and ended up winning a ‘Best of the SLC’ award for our sessions which was an incredibly humbling bonus. Bonus #2 includes meeting Neil Pasricha, the author of 1000awesomethings.com and The Book of AWESOME! woot!

Let’s shift gears here for a second and focus on the leg-work which is where the growth and learning is. In a results-driven world we often lose sight of the process (the prep-work, decisions made, small actions taken along the way, obstacles and fearful “sh*t, not really sure how I’m going to do this” moments overcome) that lead to the result, especially when the outcome is good (we hit targets, achieve goals etc.). 

Whenever we go after a BHAG goal, take on a stretch assignment or do really anything that pushes our boundaries, although our core might not change much, I believe there are envitable shifts that happen to who we are overall. Essentially, we are ‘becoming’ [a better leader, more confident, more innovative, less afraid of uncertainty etc…] along the journey. While the end result can offer valuable feedback and is important, the process leading up to the end result is actually shaping who we are becoming more than the actual result. Why? Because the outcome will come and go, but the shifts made to who we are carry on.

So, sticking with one of my 2012 themes: “Who Am I Becoming?” as a result of the things I take on, the goals I set, and experiences I have this year, I reflect on the process of co-designing the workshop and co-presenting it at the SLC…through which I became:  

• A better planner
• More aware of how much I have to learn (really excited about this)
• More in love with the material
• Inspired to continue to get out of my own way
• A better presenter, co-presenter/teammate and supporter
• A better trouble shooter
• More resourceful and aware of the variety of digital presenting options (distance is no longer a deal breaker like it would’ve been years ago. Cool!)
• More aware of how the choices I am making now are contributing to the kind of leader I want to be
• More connected to my purpose
• More aware of what a difference having  SUCH a great co-presenter can make – who I learned a ton from. Thanks Matt!

This can be applied to a variety of things you do, for example:

• When you have a difficult conversation with someone that goes well – great that it went well (result) but through the process you are becoming someone who is a little less fearful of confrontation.
• When you finish a triathlon for the first time (result), through the process you are becoming someone who is incredibly focused and disciplined.
• When you tell someone how you really feel, you are becoming someone who gets out of their own way and is less scared of rejection.
• When you take on bigger and bigger initiatives, you are becoming someone who expands their limits, takes risks, taps into their potential, perhaps becomes more resourceful and more confident in themselves and their capabilities.
• When you don’t succeed at something (result) but pick yourself up and go after something bigger, you are becoming someone who doesn’t let failure get in your way (huge).

Finishing a project on a high note, achieving a goal or some other great result is always good but don’t forget to take a step back and ask: 

Who was I before?

Who am I becoming along the way?

Who am I now?

You might be surprised how much you’ve grown…..believe it or not, 6 or so years ago I was terrified of public speaking, like terrified…oh how things have changed…