User story:

We spent some time with Derick hearing his growth story and the impact that Mygrow has had on his life. The following is what he had to say, shared with his permission.

I started off doing Mygrow by viewing it as just another task in my day that I needed to get done. Yet as we progressed through our daily droplets, this changed for me.

As a team, we went into the first module (Bootcamp) together, watching each other on the leaderboard and seeing each other’s Growth Score. This was a big motivator and the competition was initially a big part of why we engaged in the way that we did. After Bootcamp, however, each of us entered a very personal journey of self-discovery. The leaderboard actually became less important and we started doing Mygrow because of the impact that it was having on us. The growth we were seeing and experiencing became our motivation as opposed to our scores or where we sat on the leaderboard.

Engineers doing Mygrow

As engineers, we often approach people with the same mindset that we approach our work or tasks that need to be problem solved. We try to fix the problem at hand. Our mindsets have shifted into seeing that you cannot deal with people with the same approach we have to our work. People cannot be fixed like you fix a problem you are working on. Life can be rather stressful when you approach people in that way. I used to take people at face value and not understand all the complexities involved when relating to people around me.
Since starting Mygrow, I now take a more developmental approach in my understanding and expectation of people and I assess every interaction in order to get the best outcome depending on the person.

Team impact

It has been great doing Mygrow as a team because we have been able to share the journey with each other. I feel that we have all grown in understanding and empathy for each other. It has been amazing to see the growth in one another and also recognize where our weaknesses have improved and our strengths have gotten even stronger.

“As engineers, we often feel like we understand the world and how things work, but the way in which we approach things and our work needs to be different from how we approach people. If you understand people, you will know how to approach them. Mygrow has given me this understanding and the ability to deal with people in a way that leads to winning.”

Interpersonal skills

Over my time on Mygrow I have realized that my approach to people has been disempowering. I think the reason for this is that my understanding of how humans work needed development. Now the way in which I approach people is with a different kind of understanding. I want to empower them and be empowered and so I take a more developmental role in the way that I approach people around me. I now embrace that each person is different and needs to be approached differently.

Self-awareness

The areas that I needed growth in according to my EQ assessment and then also my peer assessment were Flexibility, Assertiveness and Emotional Expression. This year I have done both Mygrow and some coaching and I have seen a big change in my life as a result of this. I realised that you don’t have to accept your lot in life and that you can grow, develop and change the way you think and see both your life and the people in your life.

I wish I had done this a long time ago because it impacts every area of your life for the better. I have signed my 17-year-old daughter up for Mygrow, which means she will be able to learn these skills long before I was able to.

Confidence, assertiveness and impulse control

I am growing in both confidence and assertiveness as a person with the journey I have been on. I have also become a lot more emotionally aware. I now ask myself why I’m feeling negative emotions when those kinds of feelings arise. Then instead of just reacting based on the feeling, I assess what to do next.

My ability to control my impulses and think through how I want to respond has also grown massively. My wife and family have noticed the change in me and I would say that I am not the same person that I was a year ago.

DEEPEN RELATIONSHIPS
IN YOUR TEAM, COLLABORATE BETTER
AND TRANSFORM YOUR COMPANY CULTURE