Impact associate, Howard Crook, shares his thoughts on adventure, with inspiration from the Kendal Mountain Film Festival.
Every year Kendal, a small town near Impact's HQ in the Lake District, hosts an extraordinary film festival celebrating adventure and exploration. As the winter draws in, it provides me with my nectar as I marvel at the creativity and determination of the human spirit allowing us to achieve incredible things.
As a presenter and host I’ve had the pleasure to meet many of the film makers. What always strikes me is that those who achieve so much are just ordinary people driven by a sense of purpose and can-do attitude. The inspiration I draw comes from the way they think, seeing ways around seemingly impossible barriers, refusing to run with convention and as a result reaping the rewards by seeing and experiencing new things for the first time, pushing back boundaries and living life to the full.
This leads me to consider how we can take inspiration from these adventurers and apply it into today's complex world of work. What can we do to create energised, curious and exciting places of work that allow our people to achieve great things?
The raw ingredients of adventure surround us all the time - including our lives at work: dealing with risk, conquering personal challenges and the facing the unknown. Life and work feel most vibrant when we find the courage to stretch our wings and challenge our boundaries with the support of others.
Why not put aside some time to come together and define what it is that’s really important to your team. Don’t expect corporate vision statements to light people's fires - define your own sense of purpose and unique challenge. Treat is as a great adventure and work should feel exciting, vibrant and full of energy and purpose.