Learning as Much as I’m Leading

Lately, my work has spanned a wide range of projects—brand development for an agricultural business, consolidating KPIs and action plans for a nonprofit strategic plan, assessing upfront groundwork for channel expansion, and reviewing loyalty programs and best practices. Layer on staying current for my classes, and my brain feels like it’s firing on all cylinders.

And honestly? I love it.

At this stage of my career, I find myself learning just as much as I’m leading. That feels different from earlier chapters. For many years, I was more of a conductor—guiding teams, setting direction, orchestrating execution. I learned constantly through new challenges, of course, but there was also a familiarity to it. Sometimes I’d catch myself thinking, We tried this before. It didn’t work.

The tricky part is that experience can quietly turn into caution—or worse, a reflexive “no.” I never liked being the naysayer. I’ve always believed that growth comes from questioning assumptions, including your own. And it's so valuable to surround yourself with team members who constantly challenge your thinking.

What I’m enjoying most right now is how often I find myself asking, “What if?”

• What if the timing is different now?

• What if the market has finally caught up?

• What if the idea was right—but the conditions weren’t?

• What if there is a right to win this time?

This shift has been energizing. Experience still matters—it helps me recognize patterns, avoid obvious traps, and anticipate challenges. But instead of using experience to shut ideas down, I’m using it to help teams think through how to overcome obstacles and take a different route.

There’s something freeing about holding both truths at once:

• Knowing what hasn’t worked before

• And staying open to the possibility that now might be different

That balance—between perspective and curiosity—is where I’m finding the most joy in my work right now. It’s fun. It’s stimulating. And it’s a reminder that growth doesn’t stop just because you’ve been doing this for a long time.

If anything, it gets better when you give yourself permission to keep learning.