Thanks for investing your valuable time here! I’m Catherine Harrison and connecting, creating and communicating is at the core of everything I do. For three decades (30 years), I’ve enjoyed working in the corporate space, creating and performing in the music space, shouting from the rooftops in the save-the-world space. The one constant observation is that the leaders that change the world for the better are those who develop and leverage a curious and reflective mindset and put humans at the center of their strategic focus.

I believe that whole human beings show up in the workplace and in communities. It’s important to uncover, discover, and celebrate the different aspects of oneself to bring the best self to whatever effort—including work—you are investing 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 rich 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 in the midst of 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 give ourselves permission 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 business becomes 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 head, heart and gut of the humans. Leaders must accept that their top priority is meeting the psychological, emotional and physiological needs of their employees 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 fully engaged humans. To fully utilise the entire essence of the humans who work with them.