You'll become more grateful when you find your why

by Chester Elton

Changing careers midstream is unusual, but my friend Whitney Johnson did it.

A decade before being named one of the world’s ten foremost business thought leaders by?Thinkers50, and a decade before founding her Disruption Advisors tech-enabled talent development company,?Whitney was a successful Wall Street stock analyst. “I was good at picking stocks. I could build a decent financial model. I liked being able to say I was an Investor.” People respected it. It carried prestige.

But Whitney was restless and dissatisfied at work. It was an “I’m good at this, and that’s why I can’t keep doing it” kind of feeling.

Major self-disruption isn’t easy. When you disrupt yourself, you’re not just asking?what?you want to be, you’re asking?why?you want to be. “Exploring my?Why?helped me recognize that I wouldn’t stay in the investing business forever,” she said.

What stemmed from that discovery was her S Curve of LearningTM?framework that she now teaches to some of the world’s top executives. Founded on cutting-edge research,?Whitney demonstrates that significant learning can be modeled on a vertical curve. An effortful Launch Point phase at the bottom leads to rapid upward acceleration in the middle “Sweet Spot.” Then the learning curve gradually levels off at the top as Mastery is achieved, and once-challenging skills become automatic.

Finding the courage to start a new S Curve is a topic?Whitney explores with business and personal growth icons on her award-winning?podcast. She said, “When I sat down with author Bob Proctor, he?agreed?that brilliant people shy away from their deepest aspirations because ‘the image they have in their conscious mind is Present.’ They can’t see themselves as anyone other than who they are right now.”

Whitney’s?latest book,?Smart Growth: How to Grow Your People to Grow Your Company, discusses the importance of circling back to your inner child, and to your childhood growth mentality, when anything was possible.

One of?Whitney’s surprising early inspirations as she explored her career change was the TV sensation?American Idol. “While still an equity analyst, I read Tom Peters’ article?The Brand Called You, published five years earlier.?American Idol?was also beginning to peak in popularity. I decided to start one of our team training meetings by talking about how American Idol contestants each had a brand—the ‘diva,’ the ‘comeback kid,’ the ‘oddball.’ I then asked every analyst to think about their own personal brand. Were they a stock picker, an industry expert, a connector?”?

That was?Whitney’s liftoff moment. “I loved preparing that presentation. I spent every spare minute thinking about these ideas and their implications for my colleagues. I wasn’t technically being paid to do it, and I didn’t care.” When?Whitney looked at her own personal brand, she saw a major disconnect. “I realized I was only thinking about the market when I had to. At all other times I was thinking about people—their talents, experiences, their potential. I was far more excited by the idea of investing in people than the idea of investing in equities.” A friend told her, “You don’t just invest in stocks. You invest in people and their dreams.”

Whitney had found her?why.

Five years later, she was investing alongside?Clayton Christensen. Together they launched the Disruptive Innovation Fund, perhaps the first venture capital initiative to invest heavily in unique individuals rather than in big firms. “After Clay introduced me to the theory of disruptive innovation, I started to wake up to the study of growth. His theory that a silly little David-business could overtake a Goliath-like incumbent enlightened my thinking as a Wall Street analyst. It also revolutionized my thinking about growth. To me, this theory wasn’t just about products, but about people. If we are willing to become a silly little thing, stepping back from who we are today, we can slingshot into who we want to be. And it’s not just for our own benefit. Very often, we also become who the people around us need us to be.”

If I were to sum up?Whitney Johnson’s work in three words, those words would be Disruption, Momentum, and Why. She wants you to grow, she certainly helped?me?grow, and she has a simple visual model that will show you how to direct your growth.?Whitney says your launch date is?now. 2022 is the year of the Great Aspiration. “The last two years certainly shook up the ground…but broken ground is where new things love to grow,” she adds.

P.S. If you want to learn more on?Whitney’s philosophies, read our book,?Leading with Gratitude.

As always, with love and Gratitude,

WE THRIVE TOGETHER

If you are looking for a safe place to talk about anxiety at work and mental health, please join us at?We Thrive Together?This is a free community that Adrian and I have started to help people who suffer from anxiety themselves or are managing people who are feeling anxious, burnout, and stress. We share ideas and show up for each other, and everyone is welcome.

ANXIETY AT WORK PODCAST

It's a proven fact that you can't be in a state of anxiety and gratitude at the same time! Each week, my coauthor and dear friend,?Adrian Gostick?and I talk to some of the world’s leading authorities on mental health and explore the causes of workplace stress and anxiety, along with practices that are proven to reduce tension and cultivate calm. In the latest episode of?Anxiety at Work?podcast, our new friend Alaina Love, CEO of Purpose Linked Consulting?talks to us purpose and overcoming Imposter Syndrome. I hope you can join us!

I am grateful for good and trusted friends. When life is hard and a little (or a lot!) scary. It is nice to know that you have friends that will share the load and make it less scary.

I am blessed with many good friends like that. What friends are you grateful for today?

IN THE BOOK CORNER

Smart Growth: How to Grow Your People to Grow Your Company?by Whitney Johnson

Growth is the goal. Helping people develop their potential—enabling them to articulate and become the self they want to be, are capable of being, and that best serves them and others in the short and long term—is what we as individuals and leaders strive toward.

Order your copy today

How to Begin: Start Doing Something that Matters by Michael Bungay Stanier

Start Something That Matters

As a coach, leader or mentor you can help people set and achieve Worthy Goals. When people find the right combination of thrilling, important and daunting, they become a force for change. This book offers a powerful process in nine steps to help people find their Worthy Goal, commit, and cross the threshold to begin.

Chester Elton has spent two decades helping clients engage their employees to execute on strategy, vision, and values. His work is supported by research with more than 1 million working adults, revealing the proven secrets behind high-performance cultures and teams. He and his coauthor, Adrian Gostick are the founders of The Culture Works, a global coaching, speaking, and training company.

Leading with Gratitude?&?Anxiety at Work?are available wherever you like to get your books.?Visit?The Culture Works?for free resources including videos, podcast episodes, and more, to help you build a culture of gratitude.