In wrapping up this year’s study of the Spiritual Disciplines, the last one focused on the corporate discipline of Celebration. It’s a good reminder to pause and celebrate—especially as we close out another year.
2023 was full of significant changes and new experiences for me personally and professionally, and we had a lot of family fun along the way!
Stay tuned to the end of this post, where participating family members reflect on their Word for 2023 and how it impacted their journey this year.
Throughout my career, I’ve often wondered how to apply the concepts of the Sabbath year and the Year of Jubilee. Working in a large organization for many years, I noticed that when Executives remained in their roles longer than seven years, multiple things happened:
Those Executives often burned out in their roles, reducing their effectiveness;
Successors were not adequately prepared; and
The organization often stagnated, losing opportunities for fresh perspectives and new ideas.
What about the Year of Jubilee? I turned 50 in 2021, and 2022 marked the most difficult year of my professional career. Just six months after celebrating my 50th birthday, I found myself on the receiving end of some difficult feedback. Our leadership pointed out that, as Deputy Chief Human Capital Officer, I was not as engaged as I needed to be in key leadership discussions, and there was a disconnect between what our organization was doing and what customers wanted. My boss and I were encouraged to get out to the Field Centers and more actively seek customer feedback. Further, our Executive Leadership Team was not aligned around a common vision for the future.
In June, the Chief Human Capital Officer and I decided to divide & conquer in a new way. She would take more of the CEO focus on where we were going—up & out with customers. I would take more of the COO focus on how we would get there—down & in with our team.
Click here for my reflections of the last six months
