“I am deeply curious, fascinated by the human condition, and like making stuff.
That pretty much sums up everything I do.”
Thanks for investing your valuable time here! I’m Catherine Harrison and connecting, creating and communicating is at the core of my daily experience. For more than thirty years, I’ve enjoyed working in the corporate space, creating and performing in the music space, and shouting from the rooftops in the save-the-world space. The one constant observation is that the leaders who change the world for the better are those who develop and leverage a curious and reflective mindset and put humans at the centre of their strategic focus.
I believe that whole human beings show up in the workplace and communities. It’s important to uncover, discover, and celebrate the different aspects of oneself to bring your best self to whatever effort—including work—you invest energy in. Taking the time to get to know yourself and all your messiness helps you openly and honestly get to know others and all their messiness. This leads to better relationships—in families, communities, organizations, and nations. An open, curious mind is a vital ingredient to a fulfilling life. Deepening a habit of reflection in one’s own life supports the integration of reflection and aligned action in one’s professional life, a critical leadership skill for the 21st century.
How do we get clear and present with ourselves? How do we pause and reflect amid constant distraction? How can we use our stories – our own and each other’s – to learn, inspire, expand, adapt, perform and thrive? How do we look beneath the surface of things and notice the intricate interconnectedness and then make decisions that matter? How do we stop doing so much and start being more? How do we waste less and progress more? How do we allow ourselves to see, hear and feel more completely?
Our environments are rapidly changing, but as humans, we are pretty much the same. We need fresh air, clean water, movement, rest, good nutrition, and positive social interaction.
As businesses become more automated and decentralized, well-led strategic organizations will invest in meeting human needs and cultivating human “soft” skills as a key to their business viability.
I love working in this space because humans are infinitely fascinating and malleable. You can automate most business processes but not the heads, hearts, and guts of humans. Leaders must accept that their top priority is meeting their employees’ psychological, emotional and physiological needs as humans.
I get excited when I see leaders identify and implement strategies that shape their culture into one that nurtures diversity, innovation and continuous learning, full of passionate and engaged humans. To fully utilize the entire essence of the humans who work with them.