A Heroine's Journey: From Sticky Notes To Global Movement

The Evolution of an Idea - The beginning

 Picture a corporate classroom. No, not that kind with the ping pong tables and the espresso machine. Go back thirty years – or so. The window is the room’s best amenity. The rest: dull, grey, dusty, and a blackboard. Maybe it was a whiteboard; I’m not sure. As boring, sterile, and uninspiring as that room was, I want to tell you that it was the setting for an idea erupting within me that is still unfolding to this day! The focus of this blog is to tell you about its most recent unfolding, but a little more history first. (Or just skip to My Aha at the end!)

One good thing about getting old…er is that you can look back in this way and trace the growth of a seed that was planted so long ago.

And yes, it was at least thirty years ago when the seed was planted!

TQM

I was working at Bath Iron Works (BIW), a shipbuilding company for the Navy. (The story of how I, a former English Teacher, ended up there is a story for another time.) It was in the late 80s. It was during the time when every business, large and small, was on a quality kick, all fueled by what was happening in Japan at the time. Japan led the business world because of its focus on quality, which was initiated with the help of the American W. Edwards Deming. As you probably know, Deming is credited with giving Japanese companies a large advantage in the quality movement.  As early as the 1950s, Japanese companies began to work out the advantages of emphasizing quality throughout their organizations, and eventually, all this work and research found its way to the U.S.

The corporate world was very focused on quality improvement or TQM, Total Quality Management. I was placed on a team to examine the shipyard’s existing processes and find ways to make them more efficient. I loved it. We were all about “not paving the cow paths.” We poked mercilessly at the explanation, “but we’ve always done it this way.” This was interesting to my process-oriented mind, but it was the arrival of a consultant from the Center for Quality Management in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that lit a fire inside of me that still burns today.

This consultant introduced us to the KJ process invented by the Japanese ethnographer Jiro Kawakita. Kawakita used it as a way of organizing his findings and his notes. Our consultant taught us to use it to capture our team’s findings. Observations, thoughts, and ideas are written on 3M notes (stickies) and posted up for all to see. Team members then group them into common categories. The team then looks at everyone’s “thoughts” as a whole can see things differently. They then drew conclusions and made recommendations.

I can’t remember what processes we studied. I left the shipyard in 1994. But that technique is still with me. I adapted it. The process always starts with a question and then people generate ideas in response, the ideas are grouped and then observations are made. As a facilitator of many groups, I used it to determine what those groups were grappling with: What have we learned? What are all of the questions we need to be asking? What issues are coming between us? What do we need to know before we start this project? 

First Discovery

Then, I made a discovery. I realized that this process works very well as a framework for the strategic planning process! I was doing a lot of strategic planning facilitation. What will our (fill in the blank) organization look like in three years? This was our starting question, and I used it with countless organizations – schools, churches, nonprofits, and art organizations. They would gather a team. I would bring my stickies and a long white piece of paper that we’d put on the wall – and we’d begin. It worked… well.

Second Discovery

 Then, another discovery… in 2000, I thought, what if I did this with individuals? How would that work? Shouldn’t they be able to brainstorm, collect, categorize, and prioritize their ideas, too? I used a couple of friends as guinea pigs and then tried it at a women’s conference in Maine in 2000. That was the start of my women’s empowerment business. My LLC was called Ruby Slippers because I taught the importance of using one’s intuition to write those stickies. Our intuition often comes up with far wiser ideas than what our left brains think we should write. Just like we always have our intuition with us, ready to be consulted, Dorothy had the ruby slippers on her feet, which she could consult if she knew how. (She learned at the end!) Ruby Slippers, LLC offered women’s groups of all sizes the same process with a different question: What will my life look like, be like, in three years?

Third Discovery

In 2007 I was introduced to the Hero’s Journey and I’ve written so much about that already in my blogs (… also in a book! And I established The School for Real-Life Heroines based on that journey) so I won’t go into all of that again. But in my book, I included this same process. It is the best tool for someone navigating her Heroine’s Journey, i.e., life. I have put it in everything I teach. I use it with my coaching clients. I have renamed it Intuitive Visioning because I work to fire up one’s intuition before asking participants to answer, “What will my life…?” And I keep using it. It was at the center of my most recent retreat at the beginning of June, and the next one in November.

Has it proved itself? Yes. Does it still have utility? Absolutely.

My Aha

I can only call this an “aha.” I have my knowledge of the Heroine’s Journey to thank. The arc of the Heroine’s Journey has three phases: Preparation, Transformation, and the Return. 

Preparation is all about learning the steps, learning what’s required, and what to expect when one goes on a Heroine’s Journey. One receives a call to make a change during this part. And the heroic part is when you accept that call.

Transformation is about acting on that call, which is always leaving some sort of comfort zone, and stepping over into a “new world,” a new situation as a result. This part is full of challenges that mold and make you into a more evolved human being.

The Return is about coming back with your newly acquired knowledge to assist your community, your “village,” in some way. Even if it isn’t a material something, and it rarely is, YOU will be different and more capable because of what you’ve gained on your journey - and that will make a difference to the people around you. Ultimately, adding all the returns of all the heroines up will make a big difference to our world.

Then it dawned on me! My Aha is I am on my return! I’m so ready to share with my community -that’s you! I am bringing back all these tools gained from 25-plus years of caring about the journeys of all the women I’ve met and helping them navigate them. It’s time to share those tools before I depart for a whole other type of journey!!

So, here’s what’s happening. See, I told you I’d get to the point…

weHeroines

This is exciting. This is an elevation of what we’re about here at The School for Real-Life Heroines. It was predestined considering the very nature and meaning behind the Heroine. All Heroines eventually get to the return – then they share their gifts! This is the most recent unfolding of this saga. Gather groups of Heroines to share their stories and provide support and encouragement, and then something happens - the borders start to give. We’re bulging out! This is a movement that can’t stay small!

We needed a more encompassing name. And it’s not just me anymore. I have a growing team; students are graduating and want to participate more.

We are expanding, Heroine, as we include more and more women in our circle. We have grown bigger than the School because of you and your participation. Thank you!! We’ve had gatherings of Heroines and workshops and retreats. One hundred women are enrolled in our online course – at various stages of completion. And wait until you see the book we are working on to accompany the course…and the workbook! Together, we are a large assembly of women striving to improve ourselves and working to reach our full potential as we learn from each other in a myriad of ways. Talk about potential impact!

 Maybe most importantly, we fully understand that in order to make the world a better place, we have to start with us first.

weHeroines is the new “umbrella” name of our movement, which recognizes the Heroine in every woman. She deserves to be seen and nurtured. She might attend a program, come to a Gathering, or take an online offering. Any of those entry points identifies that woman as a Heroine, someone pursuing learning because of her personal mission to grow.

weHeroines provides a forum, a path, a strategy for women traveling the road of life, the Heroine’s Journey. We exist to provide support, guidance, encouragement, inspiration and community for all of you who can call yourselves Heroines.

If you haven’t yet, please join us! Visit www.weheroines.com

Wait! There’s more!

The next phase?

Watch for the announcement of teaching opportunities for graduates of the course. I know I’ll be looking for “student teachers” for the November retreat this year. We will also begin our train the trainer process in 2025. I’ll be leading students through a class to give them the opportunity to use my tools with their clients.

It’s time for Heroines to share their gifts and be the rising tide that lifts all of us up! The world needs Heroines now more than ever!