Your Name | Kali Gibson |
---|---|
Email Address | kalianngibson@gmail.com |
Cohort Assignment | Americas Hybrid In-Person/Online with Intensive in the Hudson Valley, Spring-Summer 2024 |
1. What do you see as your primary work at this stage of your life? | The world is riddled with big challenges and business often plays the villain in this reality. I am interested in exploring how we can support organizations and businesses to exist for more than simply getting the next funding round or for profit. I believe we can harness the power of business for good if a transformative change occurs in individuals' lives and impact is built into business strategy. I see my primary work as helping organizations better understand their purpose and how to build an agile, transformative, stakeholder-focused strategy that meets their goals (including impact-focused ones). In practice, this can look like a KPI development plan to running an interactive Theory of Change workshop, to developing resources to be shared on impact strategy. While I spend most of my time with the World Wildlife Fund right now, I see my work focused on various clients through a consultant-based relationship. This allows me to reach more clients and diversify my work. My underlying work is to maintain a balanced lifestyle and work schedule that helps me stabilize my health issues and allows me to have the energy to work and live in a way that brings me joy. |
2. What role do you see as yours to play? | I see my role as two-fold right now. Primarily, I am a learner. I am still new to the consulting world and am always learning innovative theories and techniques for strategy and impact measurement. I am also learning from each client I work with. Secondly, I do think I have experiences and skills I can share openly and honestly with others about. My life mission statement (right now) is: Showing love to others by sharing my experience, skills, plans, and creations in hopes of bringing momentary joy or lasting justice to a world needing radical change. I do think it's my role to be a part of creating a positive change in the world - both professionally and personally. |
3. What goals or aims do you have in regard to the above? | 1. To deepen my understanding of innovative and transformative methods for strategy and impact measurement that I can then offer to clients. |
4. Where do you feel your next arenas for personal growth are? | I think I am at a bit of a crossroads in life. Maybe it's my age (33) or the fact that it's almost been 2 years now that I left the more mainstream work life to pursue something that works better for my health needs and lifestyle preferences. I think my next personal growth areas are: |
5. And for professional growth? | Some professional growth areas are: |
6. What have you invested in to get you where you are? | I have invested in two degrees - an undergrad in Economic Development and a graduate degree in Social Business & Microfinance. My husband and I invested a year and a half of our lives to living in Scotland for me to pursue my grad degree and to learn more about the UK/European context. I have invested lots of overtime hours at previous jobs ( B Lab for 8+ years) and in a career coach who helped me leave that job and pursue something that is more in line with my health and well-being needs. I have invested a lot of time reading books on my own, listening to podcasts, attending webinars and training and being on hours of zoom calls connecting with others in the field/mentors. More recently, I Invested in a website for myself, a cut in pay to try something new and all of the resources that come with trying to go out on your own in work as a consultant. |
7. What fields of learning and which thinkers have been important in your life? | I grew up in Christianity so Jesus's teachings and displays of radical justice were important. Economic and Community development (and international development before I re-trained my way of thinking) were very important to me. A bit later in life, social business, social enterprise, the cooperative movement and the Certified B Corp movement were important topics. Right now, transformative outcomes, impact strategy (I think I made this field up), climate change and cultural change are areas of interest. Søren Kierkegaard, Wendell Berry, Shane Claiborne, Edgar Allan Poe and E. F. Schumacher (Small is Beautiful) have been super influential and important to me in their writings. |
8. Can you frame your philosophy or cosmology of life? What role(s) do humans play in it? | Honestly, right now I can't as I am in the process of deconstructing some of the old stories and religious beliefs I was taught growing up. I can share a few things I think I know. I do believe there is a higher power (call it God) and I think being in nature is the best way to connect to it. |
Date Created | May 5, 2024 |