Radical change with "purpose"

You may have thought from the headline this article was going to give you some insight, some intentional advise or thought that would help you create more possibilities in your career. I can promise you all 3 just not quite in the way you had imagined.

I have embarked on a totally new direction, brought about by a number of factors including a global pandemic, lockdown in Wellington and disillusionment in the place of work - business, corporate, B2B all all that it promises and takes away. During lockdown, I reflected on 32 years making my way to the top to find the view is not as great and authority is the sky and control the landscape. I lean towards an agile and collaborative workforce that is genuine and authentic. I reflected that I had the chance of making a change 15 years ago coming to New Zealand - a quieter rat race and I didn't take it. I chose to continue on that climb higher and of course you can imagine the way down was bumpy. What I learned along the way however was inspiring and perfectly positioned me to think about and create "radical change".

Leadership has all the possibilities of collaboration, safety, people first and a heart at the centre of business decisions but in all my years I lost hope in the 32nd year. I never lost my enthusiasm because if you know any Irish people, we are an enthusiastic bunch always up for the crack (a laugh!). Agile became the possibilities of better work practices, a more people centric methodology with an instruction manual and I embraced it whole heartedly. Unfortunately many companies have tried along with me but lacked the enthusiasm to make real change stick or what I came to believe radical change was required and workplaces are not geared to embrace radical!. Enter the pandemic and the age of remote working and most companies seemed to accelerate their workload and "busy" and it seemed to me, to lack the courage to really connect with possibilities for change. In that environment I had to admit I am not in the right mindset for another job. But I am not done yet and I thought "If I expect others to transform and really change than I should lead with radical change that will lead to a better purpose. Turn everything I have learned from the corporate world in leadership, collaboration, strategy, agility among 32 years and turn it into radical change - location, earning a living, building for the future, working and having fun!

I am incredibly lucky to take this journey with the very best of men, my partner, Stu, who is an agile coach and lives and works with the integrity needed to embark on radical change. We both have backgrounds in technology, start ups, coaching, strategy, recruitment. We worked together at an eCommerce company in New Zealand called Trade me. We have both worked in different locations and different industries but discovering what will make you happy and content is a pursuit we had not entirely mastered, although Stu is on his way for Wahoo Fitness, a business that seems to be in the right place, with the right products at the right time.

Our strategy quickly formed into a large property in a beautiful sunny place called Mapua in Nelson. It is currently run as an art gallery is a place to develop diverse revenue streams such as an art gallery, accomodation, a fitness studio and some bitcoin mining. They may not look inter-linked but there is at the heart of each business - purpose. Art has a purpose which has the same demographic as those seeking a healthier body, a peaceful luxurious retreat, a retail space all focused on curating beautiful experiences that people can love.

Running multiple possibilities ourselves with the demographic and purpose at the heart has been liberating and provided us with courage and this is our insight. We have reached out for help, surrounded ourselves with a community that will grow over time to share in our purpose. This is our intentional advise. We have found a way to create either passive income or collaborative income. This is the possibility in our purpose. The leap of faith required has always swayed me to take another job or risk a single venture. Now that I have leaped into the unknown I realise it is not the unknown. I can draw on specific skillsets that have always been there. I just lacked an alternative way of achieving my purpose.

My values are finally aligned to purpose, crafted with love, community and authenticity. It just required radical change to find. Our website will be launched next week www.purpose.gallery and we are open for business in Mapua, a warm and sunny part of New Zealand that is as beautiful as our art.