Curiosity Was There From the Beginning
I've always been curious. About myself, the nature of life, how things work, and why we respond the way we do.
As a child, I watched my parents approach life's challenges from different perspectives. My mother showed me unconditional love and perseverance. My father, a pastor with an extraordinary ability to see possibilities, was always asking what other options might exist. He taught me to look again, consider another angle, and stay open to what I hadn't yet imagined.
I didn't know then how much those early experiences would shape the questions I would keep asking throughout my life.
Learning Through Experience
My curiosity has taken me into some fascinating places: service as a Navy Hospital Corpsman, medical science, marine mammal research, and a life alongside horses.
I met horseman Pete Spates when I was barely 20. He taught me to pay attention to what was happening beneath the behavior I could see. Through feel, timing, pressure and release, and appropriate boundaries, I began to understand how our presence and actions influence the responses we receive.
Usually, the most important adjustment was mine to make. That lesson followed me far beyond the arena.
Read my reflection on Pete Spates and the quiet work of leadership →
Leadership in the Real World
My work eventually led me into human resources, organizational leadership, and executive coaching. There, I encountered different versions of familiar questions: What is happening beneath the surface? What are people responding to? What is the environment asking of them?
Corporate leadership taught me about complexity, confidentiality, hard choices, and the courage required to act with integrity. I learned how to hold my ground, build trust, and stay curious when a situation seemed to have only one explanation.
I continue to carry those lessons forward into my work with executives, teams, and individuals navigating change.
Bringing the Threads Together
Over time, I began to see connections among the experiences that had shaped me. We all develop patterns that help us navigate the world. Some serve us beautifully. Others become automatic, influencing our responses even when our circumstances have changed.
I became particularly interested in the moment we recognize a pattern while it's happening. What becomes possible when we pause, get curious, and realize we have a choice?
Those questions led me to create The Leadership Trail Map™, and they continue to inform my forthcoming book, Capacity in Motion: Authoring What Comes Next. My work brings together coaching, leadership development, speaking, writing, and experiential learning at my Georgia farm.
Explore The Leadership Trail Map™ ↗
Still Curious. Still Becoming.
Horses are remarkable teachers. So are people. Sometimes an unexpected interaction reveals something that years of thinking haven't made visible. I'm still intrigued and awed when that happens.
I'm still learning from the people who shaped me, the people I work with, and the experiences life continues to offer. I'm increasingly interested in what we choose to carry forward as we make room for and create our future.
Perhaps there's something we can explore together.