Navigating Transformation
The Role of Gratitude and Patience
Transformation is exhilarating, but it’s also tough. Whether personal or organizational, it's not something you rush or force—it demands patience. What I’ve found through years of experience is that patience alone isn't enough. You need a sense of gratitude for the journey, for the people on the team, and for the lessons—both the ones you expect and the ones that catch you by surprise.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that real change doesn’t happen overnight. And just like in personal growth, organizational growth isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. You can’t just copy and paste someone else’s playbook and expect it to work for you. Instead, you need to absorb those lessons, understand the frameworks, and make them your own.
When I began leading the Growth Marketing transformation at Manulife, I knew it wasn’t just about introducing tools, new org charts, or even a fresh strategy. It was about shaping a structure where strategy can breathe, innovate, and evolve. The real focus was, and still is, understanding our business in a way that connects every action to our goals.
Whether we’re talking about consumer goods or financial services, the principles behind success remain the same. From my early days in trade marketing, where I learned about distribution, to now leading Growth Marketing, the idea that success hinges on how you position yourself—and your product—in the world rings true.
It’s not just about “getting something from A to B.” It's about placing it in the right hands at the right time, making the right impact.
The shift we made in Manulife was more profound than just changing titles or structures. It was about adopting a growth mindset, a shift toward collaboration over command, agility over rigidity. I was inspired by Jensen Huang’s thoughts on building teams. His comparison of organizational structure to a neural network resonates with me. It’s not a rigid hierarchy; it’s dynamic, agile, and mission-driven.
At Manulife, we’ve started to build a similar system. Our teams aren’t stacked in layers of control—they’re aligned with a mission. And that mission is the boss. Every decision we make is driven by what serves that mission best. It’s not about doing things the way they’ve always been done; it’s about figuring out what will work best for us.
Transformation Takes Time—And Effort
One of the most pivotal moves we made as a team was offering the Growth Marketing MiniDegree from CXL to everyone. And in less than a year, Faith completed it and transitioned into a completely new role—an Agile Product Owner on our marketing squad.
Transformation isn’t about instant gratification—it’s about building something meaningful over time, allowing space for growth and development. And that takes commitment, continuous learning, and a culture that encourages it.
It’s not about adopting models from others; it’s about asking, “What can I learn from this, and how does it apply to my world?” That’s the approach we’re taking at Manulife. Not to replicate what’s been done, but to build something new, something next.