What in the world is Julie doing now? How I became a stray cat.

This time last year, I left the big job jumping into the unknown. I wrote about my thoughts, fears and excitement around this decision in "Choosing a career break: How I jumped off the cliff with no parachute ". It's time I updated you.

I spent most of 2022,

• Getting real with myself - what am I good at vs just ok.
• Figuring out how I can provide value to organizations and society - what is meaningful to them AND me.
• What makes me happy AND provides the life I want to live.
• What I’m willing to do or trade-off for that life.

I labelled 2022, My year of YES, where I got curious about anyone and anything. There were moments where I felt lost, disappointed, used and at the same time I felt free; I was the creator of my own life with the opportunity to craft it as I wanted it to be. The challenge was solely on me. I felt creative and optimistic like I never felt before. I knew something was out there, I just needed to keep circling and I would land.

"Pay attention to what you pay attention to" - sage advice that helped me tune in.

MY WHY ??

Critical Thinking is my jam. It led me from an Engineer to a People Exec making me a Generalist along the way.

What's the story of my knowledge and experience?Of who I am and what I stand for? All sewn together on a logical thread?

Here are the pillars that drives my work. We need to

• Take a good look at ourselves and identify habits, behaviours and mindset that propel or hinder us.
• Get the right team recipe for who is at the table contributing to the solution.
• Appreciate that good decisions = good process.
• Know when to grease the decision wheels with the use of a facilitator.

So what am I? I am a stray cat needling individuals brains, creating AI assisted ah-ha moments, getting large teams to a desired outcome and changing the boardroom makeup. Let me explain.

I am a conductor.

A conductor ensures a unified sound to the music through each individual. And that’s exactly how I feel when I facilitate.

Getting a group of smart and passionate individuals together to make the best large and complex decisions needs to be carefully crafted and designed. It's important to

• Get the semantics of asking exactly the right question at the right time.
• Sequence events that crescendos to the desired outcome.
• Read the room and synthesize quickly what is being said and what is not being said.
• Juggle many hats so the participants can focus on their #1 job - the hard and deep thinking the session requires.

Intersol is engaged on some of the most challenging issues facing Canadians, helping them make big leaps forward on their initiatives.

I am home as part of the Intersol Group as it combines well my generalist skills and my love of facilitation.

I am a brain needler.?

Good critical thinking skills are essential to our future. Period.        

Your brain is a muscle, that needs constant development if we are to overcome the challenges that are here and to come.

Ben Tregoe and Chuck Kepner observed, back in the 1950’s, how great leaders were successful in complex decision making and problem solving. They transcribed the methodology into a teachable systematic process.

I’ve been developing my rational thinking skills for 20+ years and it has changed my life, both professional and personally. As part of the Kepner-Tregoe team, I teach and coach Critical Thinking with the goal to make everyone Chief Questioners.

I create AI assisted ah-ha moments.

Imagine small (micro) daily interactions guiding you through proven cognitive methodologies.

These interactions lead to ah-ha moments.

The ah-ha moments develop new mindsets, behaviours, and habits.

Imagine 100+ of these changes over the course of a year.....

Imagine the boost in personal & career growth from these 100+ changes....

That, in turn, leads to significant organization growth.

Now imagine entire teams and organizations on these daily interactions. ???

Yep, I’m an AI assisted micro coach with Impro.AI . Impro analyzes data from multiple sources and provides actionable insights designed to help improve management efficiency and effectiveness so you can supercharge your productivity and scalability.

This work links so beautifully my engineering mind to human development. It uses my systems thinking skills for self- improvements to more directly contribute to organization performance.

And so, I am officially a stray cat.

Fear drove the agonizing dilemma of choosing to be a stray cat vs finding a loving home. It started small, see if I can walk the streets and find some food, only to snowball into a full consultancy business. 8Ball Clarity is born.

8Ball? Huh? Drug reference?Billiards?

Remember the Magic 8 Ball ?? that provided an answer to your question?

While I’m no fortune teller, I know my experience and expertise can help leaders and teams find solutions despite the noise and clutter of business complexity - fast.

Or hey if billiards come to mind - it’s the winning shot. Drug reference? Let’s get high on good thinking.

And that wraps up the Where in the World is Julie Working Tour. I’m incredibly fortunate to have crafted work in the ways I want to make a difference.

Curious on any of these topics? I always love connecting. In particular reach out to discuss

#criticalthinking #teamleadership #microcoaching #facilitation

#solopreneur #careerpivot #workvalues