We often think of a 'shift' that produces a sense of greater well-being in our lives and the environments in which we work. How does that happen in the environments in which we work? I want to share an experience that is probably consistent across the gamut of companies and organizations tasked with such.

On a business/corporate level, there are no doubt numerous organizations around the world that support human resource and workplace development. I was invited to participate in such as a web developer for a local chapter of an international training and development support organization. I attended their (2009) annual international leadership conferences in Crystal City, Virginia, not far from their headquarters.

I met CLOs (Chief Learning Officers), CIOs (Chief Information Officers), and Instructional Designers from all over the world, all wanting to make the working environments better for employees and human resource development/training. I learned of a shared hosting platform available for all the chapters to use. We had a WordPress site that wasn't integrated into the organizational platform, so I spent nearly 100 hours rebuilding in SharePoint, the international platform in use at the time.

Doing so seemed logical and pragmatic, demonstrating the association and integration of a unified field, so to speak. It was an integral part of being in an international organization. It was well received and I was invited to get on the track for leading the chapter as president in two years. I was excited, and given the task of creating the local chapter's annual event.

Meanwhile, having some experience in organizational development (MA in Org. Mgt. as well), I suggested using tools we know were available, such as DISC, so we could learn more about each other (Board) and increase our productivity. The current president, with a communications degree, put the kibosh on the notion with the board, and frankly, no one had the gumption to argue for its value. It was a big disappointment.

I'd been mulling over a phrase and extrapolation I remembered from a study group in my MA program, Challenge to Change. They referenced the difference; 'lle' removed created 'change.' I couldn't help blurting out, 'Liabilities, Limitations and Excuses.' I apologized for my outburst, and it did get a few 'hmmms' from classmates. Nearly a decade later it came up again.

A series of serendipitous events led to the name and theme of our 2010 conference, 'The Shift - Challenge to Change: Removing Liabilities, Limitations and Excuses in the Workplace. Some reports were it was a capstone event of the last decade. I was pleased, yet as a volunteer, I wasn't willing to move ahead and resigned.

What I've witnessed over the years in organizational, personal and professional development is the echoing of that phrase and its inherent processes of self-discovery, first, then a shared discovery through setting up a foundation of psychological safety and intellectual humility for the 'team' to explore. Many have discovered the efficacy of such work and its benefits for transforming business, society and self

By Zen Benefiel

Keywords: Change Management, Leadership, Project Management