In recent weeks, I had the privilege of working with a remarkable group of leaders from Mongolia through the University of Queensland’s International Development Women’s Leadership Program.
What unfolded was more than a workshop. It was a deeply human exploration of leadership, innovation, and creative ways of thinking.
I brought along the Shift Your Thinking cards, and something unexpected happened.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve had one of the most meaningful facilitation experiences of my professional life.
I had the opportunity to work with a group of emerging leaders from Mongolia as part of the University of Queensland’s International Development Women’s Leadership Program. The program, coordinated with such thoughtfulness and care by Dr Erin Evans and Nina Grange, brought together entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, and changemakers, each with a strong desire to raise their self-awareness and explore their leadership more deeply.
One of the highlights for me was introducing the Maverick Minds Shift Your Thinking facilitation and coaching cards. I created these cards as an extension of a daily art challenge I set for myself (mentioned in my newsletter introduction) and have since evolved them into a powerful tool for reflection, storytelling, and leadership development. Participants used them to help shape their final presentations, organise their thinking, and make sense of their experience.
Their responses were enlightening:
- The cards chose me.
- They brought my thoughts to life and made them vivid.
- Now I can see my story more clearly.
- The images helped crystallise what I’ve been trying to make sense of.
Their enthusiasm and willingness to engage reminded me why I created the cards in the first place. They allowed us to create a shared language, a tangible, visual way to express ideas that often feel complex or difficult to articulate. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Throughout the sessions, there were bursts of laughter, quiet moments of reflection, a few unexpected emotions, and conversations that lingered well after the formal sessions had ended. You could feel the shifts happening, not only individually, but as a group.
And now comes the next part: integration and returning home.
This reminds me of the Hero’s Journey. That universal story structure where the traveller leaves their familiar world, faces challenges, learns something new, and then returns, changed, with fresh insight to share. That’s exactly where they are now.
They’ve been in a new landscape, travelled into unfamiliar territory, and now they carry fresh insights and new ways of seeing. The next challenge is weaving those discoveries into everyday life and leadership, back in their own context, their own country, their own organisations.
It brings to mind the quote:
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
Their eyes have changed, and so have mine. Being alongside them filled my cup to overflowing. Their willingness to lean in, be open, curious, creative, and courageous gave me the unexpected gift of seeing my own work with renewed perspective.
This group truly put their cards on the table, in every sense of the phrase. It’s a reminder of the kind of work I want to do more of: deeply human, creative, purposeful conversations with people who are ready to reflect, explore, and shift their thinking.
If you or your team are curious about creative leadership and innovation, or would like to experience the Shift Your Thinking Cards, I’d love to hear from you.
Let’s put some ideas on the table and see where the conversation takes us.