Kathleen Curran, PhD, ACC
I’m an Explorer with Purpose. That identity is one that, while I have only recently crystallized that concept and title, has actually defined my whole life!
Early on, I questioned my purpose, so after a couple years in college, I quit to go explore! A year backpacking across Europe led me to greater clarity, so completed my Bachelor’s in Linguistics and Masters in Intercultural Communication, and launched my international career by moving to Asia. Quoting a fortune teller’s prophesy years ago, “You will first go temporarily, then end up staying there”. I moved to Malaysia in 1986 for a 10 week program; I moved back to Texas in 2017!
Spending my career primarily in cultures different from my earliest one(s), I became an explorer full time. I also became very familiar with the state of I-Don’t-Know-ness and adept with navigating it. Every day I checked my perceptions and interpretations; frequently, I could be sure that my client, colleague, or counterpart was looking at any issue from a different angle; I was equally sure that I didn’t really know what it was or what to do next!
Yet curiosity, exploration, discovery, and trying it out fed my purpose to continually learn, understand and turn on lightbulbs. These are the very germs from which innovations grow and spread! So I can also really say with certainty that the state of I Know is not always optimal nor realistic. Paraphrasing Aristotle, the wisest person is the one who knows that s/he does not know. Following Aristotle with Gregersen, “Questions are the answers”.
Having completed my PhD in Human and Organization Development at an older-than-average-age, I build on my intercultural corporate career and focus on helping leaders at all levels and stages in life learn to recognize and strategically leverage IDKN in myriad contexts and for myriad needs. In the process, we continually turn on lightbulbs that illuminate more than we could imagine!