It's fuzzy but clear

For the past two years, I have embraced the notion of living to a fuzzy beacon. Rather than resolutions, SMART goals or concrete commitments a fuzzy beacon is simply a big contextual word that makes me think differently about how I project myself into the year ahead. It is one word, something distinct, to which I live with through the year. Audaciously grand, it is not meant to be easy, and if need be, it is a light to pull me back on track, and to keep me true to my intentions should I waiver.

My first word was BRAVE. It was about being brave, making tough decisions and seizing opportunities. Last year my word was much bolder, it was ROGUE. I deliberately made it bolder, to push me outside my comfort zone, because I am inspired by the motto…

“If it doesn’t challenge you, it sure as hell won’t change you.”

This motto, I first heard in Soldier Hollow, Utah, USA. I was competing in my first ever Spartan Beast Race. With 12+ miles (21km) and 30+ obstacles between me and the finish line, the Spartan Beast tested everything I was made of - strength, endurance, and resolve.

And they were right, it changed me.

Since then I have lost count of how many Spartan races I have completed. Gaining a trifecta and a double trifecta by traveling across Australia to compete. Thankfully, my family loves Spartan racing too. We jokingly call ourselves the ‘Kemptans”.

I defined ROGUE as being a warrior on a quest towards development, progress and enduring relevance. It was about breaking down barriers that restricted my progress in order to achieve. My intention was to be a rogue with a ‘quiver of options’ - because with a quiver of options and meaningful progress I will outfox the Inevitable Kraken of Doom!

Reflecting on 2017, I am pleased with my efforts. When I was faced with uncertainty, I asked myself what would a rogue do? I pushed myself to achieve things that I once thought would ‘be nice’. I even managed to encourage others along the way. One of the biggest ROGUE actions I took late last year, was to take on an enterprise compliance management role. This has broadened my focus beyond my safe world of safety. And I am looking forward to the challenges and new learnings this role will bring in 2018.

As such, for 2018 I have chosen a word inspired by the Byzantine period. A time when Sparta was at its peak and Justinian (I) the Great was the Roman Emperor (527 to 565BC).

My fuzzy beacon for 2018 is Justinian.

It kinds of sounds of bit historically wanky, and I am not a history buff. However, when I read the stories about Justinian 1 and the people of Sparta there were many aspects that inspired me:

• Justinian was ambitious and known for the partial "Restoration of the Empire".
• His legacy was the uniform rewriting of Roman law, the Corpus Juris Civilis, which is still the basis of civil law in many modern states.
• He was a prolific builder and most notably for splendidly rebuilding the Hagia Sophia.
• He was a prolific builder and most notably for splendidly rebuilding the Hagia Sophia.
• He took measures to counter corruption in the provinces.
• He gave greater administrative power to the leaders of the provinces, with an aim to simplify administrative infrastructure.

I see this relating to my new role as there is an element of ‘restoring compliance’ in the enterprise. With a strong focus on legal and regulatory compliance, I will be rebuilding a compliance system so that it will provide a stronger supporting structure for the leaders. Integrity is one of my first compliance priority areas, which will provide assurance that we manage crime and corruption appropriately. My greatest challenge for the year is to establish a simplified compliance management framework to ensure clarity of ownership and accountability among the leaders of each compliance area.

Now, while the history of Sparta has its negatives (like all civilizations) it was also known for its unique social system and constitution. It was described as an ideal state, strong, brave, and free from the corruptions of commerce and money. Spartan women had status, power, and respect that was unknown in the rest of the classical world. Women enjoyed considerably more rights and equality to men, girls were fed the same food as their brothers and received extensive formal education.

Spartan women were notorious for speaking their minds even in public!

Spartan women also had economic power because they controlled their own properties, and those of their husbands when at war. Many women played a significant role in the history of Sparta, the most notable being Queen Gorgo, who was an influential and well-documented figure. Plutarch's Moralia includes a response from the Queen when asked ‘why Spartan women were the only women in the world who could rule men?’ She replied ‘Because we are the only women who are mothers of men’.

Being a mother of two children, one boy - one girl, I believe it is important to raise them to be strong, brave and respectful. When reading about how the Spartan girls are fed, educated and military trained just like the boys it made me reflect on how I treat my daughter quite different from my son. Don’t get me wrong, I feed and educate them both! But when it comes to doing something challenging or even risky, I find myself expecting and encouraging my son to take more risks and telling my daughter to be more careful. This realisation hurt. Not only was I being restrictive and unfair to my daughter, but I was also not teaching my son (1) safety values and (2) that girls can be brave too.

So, in 2018 I am endeavouring to be Justinian in all aspects of my life. Here goes…

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Naomi is the founder of Safe Expectations, a proud Young Safety Professional (YSP) and director of the Safety Institute of Australia. She is a pragmatic manager who challenges ‘the way it has always been done’ to help leaders during pivotal times set safe expectations.

Connect with Naomi at www.safeexpectations.com.au

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Read more about fuzzy beacons from Dr. Jason Fox here.

Get some goal-setting tactics from Holly Ransom here.