s the years pass, it feels as though the frequency of crucial decisions increases, as does the intensity and costs of related consequences. There still exists a part of me that strives to minimize the frequency of wrong choices, but over time I appreciate more and more that it is less about the number of right or wrong choices, and more important how I choose to respond to the outcomes of those choices. There is a line in the 1989 bestselling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey. It describes what it means to be responsible, the ability to choose your response – RESPONSE-ABILITY.

Twelve years ago, I chose a new career path that often left me mentally struggling and internalizing the “what if” questions. I had left a secure, well-paying job for one in the high-risk technology sector. At that time I was also recently married, had purchased my first home and was expecting my first child in a few months. I frequently thought about the negative consequences potentially associated with the choice I had made. Fortunately, a few months after my daughter was born, I caught a break. I found myself sitting across the table from Mexico’s Minister of Education and his delegation, advising them about a recently introduced technology initiative scheduled for implementation across the country. In that moment I was reminded why I made the choice I did: for my work to have greater impact. From that day forward, I chose to think less about what could go wrong and more about how I could do more, serve more and have a greater impact. This clear conviction became the foundation for why I do what I do and leads every decision that I make. Subsequently, this drives me forward, transforming the negative emotions that come with failures into positive energy and momentum. This mindset has been an important ingredient galvanizing many of my behaviors during the uncertain times of the pandemic.

Early in 2020, I stepped into new waters – again, steering the direction of an organization in its infancy, Catalyst. Its mandate: to connect education leaders who want to do more than just talk about change – those who want to be catalysts in transforming ideas into action. I enacted a new strategy to partner with existing education organizations to convene leaders and offer unique experiences to their members. A significant aspect of the effort hinged on leveraging face-to-face events. Imagine how I felt once the pandemic began sweeping the globe in early March. Meeting after meeting, I met with partners who regretfully informed me that they would be postponing their events until later in the year or cancelling them altogether.

Acting response-ably, my team and I began to think about how we could transform our strategy into a unique online format and convene leaders globally within the different spheres of stakeholders. We were necessarily adaptable and nimble, but we struggled to find organizations open to exploring this new strategy. On March 18, in a meeting with an organization that convenes Ministry of Education officials across Africa and the Middle East, a moment in time mobilized an opportunity. They were exploring the possibility of convening their network in an online leadership learning group. Quickly identifying the possibility of alignment, I suggested we combine forces to offer a global convening of government leaders. Two weeks later we held our first gathering with more than 20 officials and officially formed the Global Online Learning Alliance (GOLA!).

Pulling off an initial gathering with 20-plus officials was gratifying. Trying to pull off a second, third and fourth, while increasing the number of participants, would prove we were starting to create something of value for leaders. As optimistic and determined as I was, success would depend on leveraging existing contacts and relationships – partners that would support the efforts. The goal was not without challenges. As I trudged through my contact list, I was met constantly with the extreme difficulty of getting a high-level education government official to attend an event during what was likely to be the busiest time in their careers. It was a sobering experience. It quickly became clear that I needed to stay grounded to my foundation, focusing less on the quantity of supporters and more on remembering and valuing those who believed in and willingly took the leap into this new territory.

Lack of sleep, compromised family time, making personal financial investments and continuing to push while having constant reminders from naysayers, all seem like valid sacrifices one needs to make for something you believe in. I chose to see these sacrifices as investments. The more I put in, the greater the future return provided the investments were made in the right place. At a time when everything was being put online and everyone was starting to have Zoom fatigue, I knew the key was an authentic leadership experience different than what most online experiences currently presented. Fortunately, we had already designed and facilitated unique and successful online Catalyst Sessions™ experiences that were interactive and got participants working together. But the question remained: would-high level government officials engage in this same way? Together with the other GOLA founding partners, we utilized the Catalyst Session™ methodology as our guide and created a safe and productive place for government officials to engage candidly with each other, share challenges and strategies and collaboratively produce national policy recommendations together. The approach worked and our numbers grew from 20 to 40, then 80-plus. To date, we have collectively convened more than 500 senior government officials and spent thousands of hours in conversations with senior leaders representing more than 90 countries across the globe. We found a way to add value. I will reserve the plethora of insight gained in watching these leaders lead during a pandemic for a future article, but some of my most memorable moments included watching Ministers of Education genuinely thank each other for using what was shared in past gatherings and humbly recognizing the value of shared thought leadership.

Throughout the past 12 years, I have had the good fortune of being in the presence of some of the world’s most memorable education leaders, influencers and all-around incredible human beings. Observation, exploration and experimenting with the common traits I observed in these remarkable individuals has led me to internalize an aspirational mindset:

1. Have a clear understanding of what drives you – why you do what you do.
2. Learn to let go. You can’t control what happens to you, but you can control how you choose to respond to what happens to you – act response-ably!
3. Understand that your greatest achievements will likely not come from working in isolation – focus your energy on the right partners!

Knowing that the work from GOLA generates impact in countries across the globe fuels my addiction to finding ways to facilitate greater impact. More important for me though, is that this experience served as an additional reminder to have the right mindset, to be response-able for choosing my focus and, of course, to be grateful for and value the partners I have found along the way, partners who are equally passionate about driving impact today and in the years to come.