Meet Caroline

Born in Zambia and raised in South Africa, one of my richest learning experiences was playing a role in the organizational transformation, alongside the societal transformation, of a South African company following the end of apartheid in 1991. It was a time of gut-wrenching heartache as well as witnessing the seemingly impossible happen. Bombings in sacred places, hijackings in stores, people held at gunpoint, my role was to support people through events, respect their experience, and together find tiny steps towards a pathway into some sense of normalcy. Many times, situations arose where differing expectations, assumptions, and meaning collided into confusion, or worse. Circumstances which, many times, I felt sorely ill-equipped to handle. There were also goosebump moments where understanding clicked, a sense of “having more in common than apart” morphed, and in hindsight, the witnessing of an emerging new future. In 1998 I moved to Amsterdam and began a career in global financial services, again involved organizational change, this time related to bank mergers, divestitures, growth, and integration, initially in Amsterdam and subsequently New York.  In 2014, I had the opportunity to work side by side with a team of globally respected financial crime compliance leaders in delivering a challenging organization transformation initiative. Important milestones were achieved amidst high pressures and competing demands. And at times, progress stalled. 

What was it that sustained people to give their best and succeed against all odds? What fueled alignment around challenges? What ingredient was in the social glue “I’ve got your back” cementing shared commitment and accountability? And what can stonewall or demolish all of this?